Say Hello to Al Pacino’s Most Memorable Killer Performances

“Say hello to my coffee friend,” shouts the 70-year-old Al Pacino, his eyes wide and voice gravel. Pacino delivers the line in a commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts, hawking the chain’s new offering, the Dunkaccino. In fact, he’s playing himself doing a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial in the 2011 Adam Sandler comedy Jack and Jill.

In almost any other case, a beloved character actor parodying himself in an Adam Sandler comedy indicates a complete fall from grace. But with Al Pacino, the example just shows how he can poke fun at his screen persona and still win over fans. Instead of a failure, Pacino’s Jack and Jill joke demonstrates his strengths as a performer, strengths he’s developed over a 50-year career.

Throughout his five decades on screen, Pacino has found new ways to play intense, conflicted, and, yes, even funny characters, as demonstrated in these cinema greats. Find here the most remarkable Al Pacino performances.

1. The Godfather (1972)

If Paramount Pictures had their way, The Godfather protagonist Michael Corleone would have been played by Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, or some other popular actor. Given the pulpy Mario Puzo novel they had as source material, the studio saw no problem with going for the glitz and the glam. But whatever reservations director Francis Ford Coppola may have had with the excesses of the novel, he was determined to bring a sense of authenticity to the film, and that meant casting then-unknown Al Pacino in the part.

Despite their concerns about Pacino’s height and star power, Coppola won out, and The Godfather is all the richer for it. When Michael enters the picture in the middle of a raucous Italian wedding, he almost slips into the fray, trying to keep whatever strands of distance still available to him.

The sideways glances and the matter-of-fact way he describes killer Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana) to his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton) all become key elements of Michael’s pathos. Thanks to Pacino’s reserved approach, viewers believe Michael when he steps up to take over the family business and mourn the loss of what could have been a good man.

2. The Godfather Part II (1974)

The first Godfather ended on a chilling note, with Kay peering through a closing door at her husband Michael getting his hand kissed, now established as the new head of the Corleone crime family. But The Godfather Part II somehow shows that Michael may not be unredeemable, a trick it pulls off by contrasting Michael’s tenure with the rise of his father Vito, now portrayed as an immigrant by Robert De Niro. Michael’s brutal decisions seem somehow reasonable in light of Vito’s desperate choices.

Whenever the sympathy Vito garnered slipped, Pacino was there to emphasize the conflict inside Michael. When he barks orders after an attack on his home, Pacino convinces viewers that he’s a worried father and husband, not a mob boss. When Michael kisses his brother Fredo (John Cazale) in the middle of an independence party, viewers believe that the misbegotten Corleone has indeed broken his kid brother’s heart. Michael may begin The Godfather Part II as a monster, but Pacino believes that he can be redeemed and brings that belief into every scene of the masterpiece.

3. Angels in America (2003)

“Say it,” conservative political operative Roy Cohn (Pacino) demands of his doctor (James Cromwell). “Say Roy Cohn is a homosexual, and I will systematically destroy your reputation and your practice.” The threat that Cohn makes toward the start of Angels in America, the Mike Nichols-directed adaptation of the stage play written by Tony Kushner, has nothing to do with Cohn’s actual interests and activities. But it has everything to do with reputation and perception, and reputation and perception are two things that Cohn cannot afford to let others control.

Kushner’s play combines the fantastic with the real, moving from metaphysical elements involving the titular angels to a fictional drama about a man dealing with his AIDS diagnosis to imagining conversations held by real-life Reagan supporter Cohn. As overwhelming as that might sound, Kushner has a keen eye for character and detail, as demonstrated by Pacino’s take on Cohn. Pacino plays Cohn like an animal backed into a corner, snarling and sneering at anyone he considers a threat, despite his obvious weakness.

4. Donnie Brasco (1997)

In a way, Donnie Brasco feels like a more refined version of Pacino’s earlier film Carlito’s Way. Both movies involve people with complicated relationships between crime and innocence, with Pacino as a man who has grown tired of his underworld activities. Written by Paul Attanasio, adapting the memoir of undercover FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone, and directed by Mike Newell, Donnie Brasco stars Johnny Depp as Pistone. Taking the alias Donny Brasco, Pistone goes undercover in the Bonanno crime family, where he befriends worn-out enforcer Lefty Ruggiero (Pacino).

Pacino calls upon his career playing wise guys, bringing a unique weight to Lefty. While viewers believe Lefty’s boasts about his knowledge about the crime world and the atrocities he committed back in his youth. But there’s a tiredness and regret to Pacino’s depiction missing even from the aged Michael Corleone from The Godfather Part III. Donnie Brasco shows Pacino at his best–one of the most captivating and sympathetic Al Pacino performances.

5. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

At first glance, the sweltering Sidney Lumet-directed thriller Dog Day Afternoon falls right in line with The Godfather and Serpico, another gritty crime flick with an electric Pacino in the lead. However, where those movies cast Pacino as a man in control, at least of himself if nothing else, his character Sonny Wortzik is overwhelmed from the start, when his partner Stevie (Gary Springer) runs off outside of the bank. From that point on, Sonny does whatever he can to survive the ordeal, and maybe get enough money to help his partner Leon (Chris Sarandon) transition to a woman.

Based on the true story recounted in a Life article, “The Boys in the Bank,” by P. F. Kluge and Thomas More, and written by Frank Pierson, Dog Day Afternoon follows the ill-fated bank robbery led by Sonny and his friend Sal Naturile (John Cazale), through the stand-off that ensues. The script gives Pacino some big moments to play, including a scene in which he turns the crowd against cop Eugene Moretti (Charles Durning) by leading a chant of “Attica!” But the best scenes involve the quiet moments of vulnerability Pacino gives Sonny, whether during chats with the bank hostages, with his pal Sal, or a heartbreaking phone call with Leon. Dog Day Afternoon is not a story about a crime hero, and Pacino understands that from beginning to end.

6. D-ck Tracy (1990)

D-ck Tracy is a weird film. A passion project of Warren Beatty, the good-looking actor took the role of not just director, but the 50-year-old performer put himself in the lead as the hatchet-faced detective. Beatty used his pull to make a fantastical-looking film, complete with bright-colored sets and amazing make-up. Furthermore, Beatty pulled in a bunch of his New Hollywood pals to put on prosthetics and sometimes shoot small parts as gangsters, including James Caan, Dustin Hoffman, and, of course, Al Pacino.

Under a hunchback, a fake long chin, and a protruding nose, Pacino portrays Big Boy Caprice, a visionary gangster planning to unite the city’s hoods against the police. Despite the wacky, unreal setting, Pacino commits to the bit, bringing an unexpected intensity and even emotional depth to a two-dimensional crook. Against the odds, Big Boy Caprice stands alongside some of the best criminals that Pacino has ever played, an enviable list.

7. Heat (1995)

Few performances have been harmed by internet memes like Pacino in the Michael Mann classic Heat. The image of a crazed-looking Pacino spreading his arms about in exultation makes him ridiculous, and that’s without viewers knowing what enormous body part his character is talking about.

Within the context of the movie, the scene makes sense as part of a rich epic about the devoted cop Lieutenant Vincent Hanna of the LAPD (Pacino) and professional thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). Outside of the oft-memed moment, Pacino plays Hanna as a cop burnt out by everything in his life except chasing down guys like McCauley. His self-destructive approach creates a sympathetic, almost tragic character, part of an austere story that’s much more complicated than the goofy Pacino picture presents.

8. The Irishman (2019)

Based on the book I Hear You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt and written by Steven Zaillian, The Irishman serves as an elegy for the gangster pictures that director Martin Scorsese made throughout his career. Robert De Niro plays Irish World War II vet Frank Sheeran, who becomes a hitman in the mafia. As always, Scorsese presents the story not as a glossy adventure but as a picture of the grief left after a life of crime.

Pacino enters the picture as Jimmy Hoffa, the legendary Teamster who hires Frank as muscle. While the Hoffa plot line drives The Irishman toward a flashy historical conspiracy, there’s very little of such histrionics in Pacino’s rendition. Instead, Pacino plays Hoffa as a man overwhelmed with sadness and hopelessness. Even when Pacino gets big, as he often does in the later years, he emphasizes the pathos of his character, making The Irishman all the richer.

9. Serpico (1973)

In between his stints as Michael Corleone, Pacino took on a different look at organized crime in the biopic Serpico. Directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler, based on the book by journalist Peter Maas. Pacino plays real-life reformer Frank Serpico, a detective who investigated corruption in the NY police force, a project that cost him his life.

One might assume that Serpico has nothing in common with Corleone, but Pacino plays both characters with remarkable vulnerability. Like Michael, Serpico is a true believer, a man who believes he can restore the crime-riddled NYPD to legitimacy. Even as Serpico grows tired of his crusade, Pacino’s wild eyes reveal a determination that won’t stop until his end.

10. Cruising (1980)

Even to this day, the William Friedkin thriller Cruising remains controversial. Back in another cop part, Pacino stars as Detective Steve Burns searching for a serial killer in New York City. Cruising breaks from standard cop movies when Brurns goes undercover in gay clubs to draw out the killer. Friedkin’s take on the gay scene leaves much to be desired, as he frames the investigation as a descent into debauchery to shock viewers of the 80s.

Despite these shortcomings, Pacino’s take remains unimpeachable. As the committed Detective Burns loses sight of his endeavor, Pacino lets him become more unhinged and angry. His take keeps pace with Fiedkin’s overheated approach, which grows more surreal as the film continues.

11. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Those who have heard of, but have not seen, Glengarry Glen Ross may know that it features a show-stopping monologue halfway through. If those people look at the cast list, they might assume that Pacino delivers the infamous speech. Those who have seen the movie know that Alec Baldwin comes in for a one-scene wonder, playing a motivational speaker who bullies the sad sack real estate agents who populate James Foley’s adaptation of the David Mamet play.

Pacino may not be the swaggering tough guy of Glengarry Glen Ross, but he’s not a pushover either. Pacino plays top closer Richard Roma, who spends most of the movie harassing a client to make a big purchase. Against the more sympathetic figure played by Jack Lemmon, Pacino’s Roma embodies everything wrong with the masculine salesmen of the play. With his unflinching stare and mocking tones, Roma believes his firm’s always-be-closing ethos, never realizing the emotional cost. 

12. Scarface (1983)

Anyone who follows a Pacino movie from the early 70s with one of his more modern films might assume that something, be it drugs or fame or boredom, ruined what was once a promising actor. Gone is the man who could deliver waves of emotion with just a look.

In his place is a shouter who rants and raves. While that take simplifies Pacino’s evolution as a performer, those looking for a movie to blame for the transition might point to Scarface. A remake of a 1932 film about an Al Capone-style figure, the 1980s Scarface captured all of the decade’s vices and put them in a powder keg, courtesy of a script from Oliver Stone, direction from Brian De Palma, and a cast that included Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Against all logic and taste, Pacino plays Cuban refugee Tony Montana, who establishes a drug empire in Florida. Pacino gives Montana an edge befitting the drug he peddles, delivering every line with a wide-eyed shout. Unlike later movies, where such an approach may not work, Pacino’s bluster almost gets lost in the world created by De Palma and Stone, which takes 80s excess to an absurd degree.

The resulting film may not be “good,” at least not to everyone, but there’s no denying that it earned a place in the cultural imagination and one of the most iconic Al Pacino performances, for better or for worse.

13. The Insider (1999)

Two years after Heat, Pacino once again worked on a Michael Mann project, playing a man making a hard decision alongside a fellow great actor in The Insider. The actor in question is Russel Crowe, who portrays former tobacco industry executive Jeffrey Wigand, who is considering testifying against his former bosses about the dangers of cigarettes. Pacino portrays the man pushing Wigand toward the decision, 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman.

Less pulpy than their previous outing, The Insider has its own energy and stakes. Wigand’s testimony has the potential to undermine a billion-dollar industry, which is enough of a reason for Bergman. The script by Eric Roth and Mann gives Bergman few opportunities to question himself, and yet Pacino finds spots nonetheless, tempering his bulldog of a newsman with moments of humanity and grace.

14. Danny Collins (2015)

Written and directed by Dan Fogelman, Danny Collins reminds viewers that Al Pacino is not, in fact, a criminal veteran. He’s a movie star, a performer with boundless charisma. As the titular Danny Collins, Pacino portrays an aging pop star who drops back into the life of his estranged son Tom (Bobby Cannavale). Fogelman’s script reaches for profundity it never earns, falling into schmaltz when it thinks it’s being authentic.

However, it all kind of works, thanks to the cast's charisma. Cannavale grounds the anger of his jilted son, Annette Bening retains her character’s dignity while falling for Danny, and Pacino makes Collins into someone viewers want to pull for.

15. Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia seems quaint compared to the types of films that director Christopher Nolan makes today. Nolan’s third feature, written by Hillary Seitz and remaking the 1997 Norwegian movie of the same name, Insomnia lacks atomic weapons, dark knights, or dream worlds. That said, Insomnia does have Al Pacino as Will Dormer, a respected but guilt-riddled detective sent to investigate a murder in Alaska. When Dormer begins suspecting a beloved teacher (Robin Williams), he recognizes the thin line between cop and criminal.

By this point, Pacino has played multiple exhausted police officers. But with Insomnia, the unending daylight of the Alaskan setting intensifies Dormer’s guilt. To match the character’s situation, Pacino pushes his performer to heretofore unseen limits, embodying a man on the ragged edge.

16. Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019)

Al Pacino shows up in just one scene of Quentin Tarantino’s celebration of the last days of the studio system, Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood. But he kills that one scene. Pacino plays agent Marvin Schwarz, who meets with fading star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) to point the younger man on a different career path. During the conversation, Schwarz gets animated praising Dalton’s work and talking about the glories of Italian cinema.

Small and silly as the part might seem, Marvin Schwarz captures the tone of Tarantino’s film. It’s not just that Schwarz is an old-timey character that one would find in an old screwball comedy. It’s also that Pacino himself represents the New Hollywood movement that renders people like Rick Dalton obsolete, and his aged face on screen adds context to the film.

17. Carlito’s Way (1993)

For Carlito’s Way, Pacino reteams with his Scarface director Brian De Palma and even plays another Latino character, the Puerto Rican Carlito Brigante. And yet, the duo’s second go around does not go as over the top as its predecessor, choosing a melodramatic character study instead of a trashy action indulgence. Although he leaves prison on a technicality exploited by his slimy lawyer (Sean Penn), Carlito does his best to go straight, vowing to have learned his lesson after three decades behind bars.

Neither De Palma’s approach nor the broad script from writer David Koepp, based on the novels by Edwin Torres, lend themselves to nuance and Pacino doesn’t try to force it. Instead, he embraces the operatic tones of Carlito’s Way, turning his struggle into the stuff of high tragedy and street-level legend.

18. Scarecrow (1973)

Scarecrow gives viewers a look at the type of movie Pacino doesn’t make anymore. It’s not just that his mentally challenged character Lion Delbuchi wouldn’t be handled in the same way today. It’s also that Pacino gives a proper character actor performance, disappearing into a figure that has none of his star power or charisma.

Directed by Jerry Schatzberg and written by Garry Michael White, Scarecrow co-stars Gene Hackman as ex-con Max Millan. Millan and Lion go on a cross-country adventure, learning about themselves along the way. White and Schatzberg don’t do anything that other post-60s movies about discovering America like Easy Rider do better. But as a showcase for two legends, before they were stars, Scarecrow makes for an entertaining watch.

19. Sea of Love (1989)

Based on the novel Ladies’ Man by Richard Price, Sea of Love leans into noir tropes. Price’s screenplay veers from his source material to take advantage of the star persona that Pacino developed throughout the nineteen 80s, creating characters self-destructive and driven characters who fit within hardboiled and overheated stories. Pacino plays homicide detective Frank Keller, a run-down and disillusioned cop with a destroyed personal life. Frank gets a sense of purpose when a bizarre case comes his way, one that sets him on the trail of a killer.

Pacino channels his inner Humphrey Bogart for Keller, a sentient rumpled brown bag of a man who comes from the dregs of society to deal with a big case. In most cases, that glum demeanor would not translate to animal appeal, and yet Pacino and the femme fatale, played by Ellen Barkin, have actual chemistry, giving the film a much-needed steamy charge. Sea of Love never transcends trashy fun, but Pacino embraces its lowbrow pleasures.

20. The Merchant of Venice (2004)

Pacino may have made his reputation playing cops and criminals, but he got his start on the New York stage. So it’s not too surprising that he would take on the Bard at least once on screen. What is surprising, however, is that he would accept the role of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare’s more troubling productions. The play leans into antisemitic tropes common in Shakespeare’s day and today.

Director Michael Radford tries to push his version away from those tropes, adding title cards that explain the oppression of Jews. Furthermore, he gives Pacino room to play Shylock as a human being and a tragic hero, asking the audience to turn their anger toward nemesis Antonio (Jeremy Irons) and romantic lead Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes). Radford doesn’t quite achieve his goals, but Pacino's take remains fascinating.

21. City Hall (1996)

Written by Kenneth Lipper, Paul Schrader, Nicholas Pileggi, and Bo Goldman, City Hall reunites Pacino with his Sea of Love director Harold Becker. But where the previous film stayed within the realm of pulp and noir, City Hall has more dignified aims, as demonstrated by recruiting Martin Scorcese writers Schrader and Pileggi. As much as it wants to present the relationship between street crime and political corruption with complexity and dignity, the finished product is more melodrama than analysis.

Pacino plays New York City Mayor John Pappas, a career politician with plans beyond the Big Apple. When a criminal once pardoned by Pappas gets involved in a high-profile incident, a major investigation ensues. Pacino doesn’t veer too far from the big bosses he’s done in cop and gangster flicks, which adds meta-commentary to his politician. But even if he doesn’t reinvent himself, Pacino remains undeniable in his ability to command the screen, saving what otherwise would be a failure.

22. The Scent of a Woman (1992)

If Scarface puts Pacino on the path of overacting, The Scent of a Woman solidifies his technique. Directed by journeyman filmmaker Martin Brest from a script by Bo Goldman, The Scent of a Woman is a big crowd-pleaser, and Pacino takes full advantage of every opportunity to chew the scenery offered him.

The Scent of a Woman stars Chris O’Donnell as a privileged prep school student hired to spend Thanksgiving weekend looking after a cantankerous and blind Viet Nam vet. Despite the initial dislike between O’Donnell’s Charlie Simms and Pacino’s Frank Slade, the two soon find a bond, with the older man giving his charge a few life lessons and the younger man pushing the old-timer back into the world. The plot won’t surprise anyone, but Pacino’s charm goes a long way to earning forgiveness for any shortcomings in the story, making The Scent of a Woman a good watch.