‘The Only Movie I Wanted to Make’: Al Pacino Still Regrets Turning Down This Six-Time Oscar-Nominated Biopic – Film News

Nine-time Oscar nominee and winner of the award in 1993 for his work on Scent of a Woman, veteran Al Pacino has so many masterpieces in his career that it’s hard to think he has anything to regret.

However, although the actor’s career will go down in history due to his unforgettable work in films such as Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon or Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy, to name some of the most famous, the reality is that Pacino would like a specific film to be part of his hit list, but when he had the opportunity he didn’t consider himself suitable for the role.

Probably every Hollywood star can immediately name at least one professional decision that they have bitterly regretted for years: either opting for a film that later turned out to be a failure or, conversely, not accepting a project that later turned out to be successful. and it became a masterpiece. Al Pacino is no exception.

While it’s fair to say that the 84-year-old actor has achieved everything that could be achieved in the film industry and, most difficult of all, staying in the business for over half a century, he has also faced major challenges since then, especially in his heyday in the 1990s. 1970, had to prevail against a number of other important actors. Some as big as Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood and Dustin Hoffman, who then competed for the same roles.

Precisely the last of those mentioned, Dustin Hoffman took on the role that Pacino remembers with the greatest frustration: the actor was chosen to play famous comedian Lenny Bruce in the film Lennya biopic that was nominated six times for an Oscar – including best film and director – and which was initially offered to the Serpico actor.

Director Bob Fosse initially offered the film to Pacino, but he turned it down. Decades later, the actor admitted in an interview with Larry King in 2010 that he regretted it a lot. Although he didn’t clearly mention the film, there was no doubt he was referring to Lenny:

I don’t want to embarrass anyone, that’s the problem. When I first read it, I thought, ‘No, I’m not suited for this.’ But then when I saw and saw someone doing something in a club, I suddenly saw what I wanted to do with that role

Without specifically naming the film, Pacino admitted that “it was a great performance by Dustin Hoffman”, admitting that he realized he was wrong to say no after seeing the finished film.

In the style of an interview film, the drama tells the story of comedian Lenny Bruce who, during the 1960s, had an innovative style and made comments about society that were often considered too obscene for the public.