Al Pacino reveals why he doesn’t like showing up at the Oscars
Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino has shared that he felt “nervous” about going to the Academy Awards on a few occasions when he received nominations.
The 84-year-old American actor received an Academy Award for his role as a blind veteran in Scent of a Woman and has been nominated for seven other acting awards throughout his career.
Pacino shared on BBC Radio 2's Dermot O’Leary show that "Jack Kerouac, the renowned author from the Beat generation who resided in the city, struggled to handle it, and someone remarked that he felt ashamed of his success."
"Being famous made him uneasy. I guess I might have felt a bit of that myself, or something similar."
"I missed a few Oscar ceremonies, and now I have a certain reputation. People assumed it was because someone mentioned, and my team echoed it, that I didn't attend because I was only nominated for a supporting role, not a leading one. Can you picture me saying, 'I’m not going because I think I should be up there with (Marlon) Brando'?"
"It's simply not who I am at all. Deep down, I realized that I didn't want to go because the thought of it frightened me, to be honest. At that time, I was employed in the theater scene in Boston, and I felt a lot of fear."
In 1972, Brando was honored with an Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather. That same year, Pacino received his first nomination for best supporting actor for his role in the same film.
Pacino mentioned that he sometimes felt like he didn't belong, admitting, “I was quite famous, yet I was unaware of it.”
He mentioned, “I began feeling it even before I received my Oscar nomination.”
Al Pacino holding his Emmy award for outstanding lead actor for his performance in Angels In America (Specker Francis Specker/PA)
I recall winning a significant award while I was doing a play in Boston. I stayed at the director’s home, where he provided me with a room. One morning, he told me, 'You’ve won the National Board of Review Award for your performance in The Godfather.' My reaction was, 'Really? That’s awesome!'
I asked, “Is there a psychiatrist you could recommend for me?” It just slipped out, reflecting exactly how I was feeling in that moment.
Pacino has just published a memoir titled *Sonny Boy: A Memoir*, which reflects on his childhood in New York City. It details his journey from those early years to studying acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio and eventually achieving stardom as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic mafia trilogy, *The Godfather*.
He received his latest Academy Award nomination in 2020 for portraying union leader Jimmy Hoffa in The Irishman.
Pacino received two Emmy Awards for his performances in Angels In America and You Don’t Know Jack. Additionally, he has been nominated for 19 Golden Globe Awards and has won four of them.
