When director Francis Coppola invited a little-known theater actor to play one of the main roles in the film "The Godfather," many doubted the correctness of the choice. But it was this role that immediately put Al Pacino in the first row of actors in American cinema.
Films with his participation were shown on our screen: "Life on Loan", "Justice for All". The actor gave the interview, which we publish with abbreviations, to the Rolling Stone magazine correspondent.
You don't like being labeled, pushed into stereotypes, and you want the public to know as little about you as possible!
"Why would she know about me?" It's nobody's business what kind of person I am. It's important whether I play the roles well, and I'm personally only interested in what people think about my work.
— "The Scarred Man" is a throwback to the gangster films of the past. What made you decide to take part in a new version of a film that was already shot fifty years ago?
— "The Scarred Man" was the standard of gangster films. I know that Bertolt Brecht was interested in such films. When I was working on "The Career of Arturo Ui" and we watched a lot of similar films from the 30s, we wanted to watch this movie, but we couldn't get a copy. Later, I was filming in California, and one day I saw "The Scarred Man" playing in a small movie theater on Sunset Boulevard. I went in. I loved everything about this movie so much that I wanted to play the role that Mooney played. To play, of course, in my own way... I called producer Marty Bregman, and he looked at the picture and also got the idea to make a new version of the story.
— And who came up with the idea to move the plot to our time?
— At first, I wanted our film to be set in the 30s. But after talking to a number of screenwriters, I realized that it's not worth replaying the 30s today. It turns out to be a terrible melodrama. I wanted to find my own style. What Mooney did in the old movie was like a blank sheet of paper for me.
Then Sidney Lumet suggested starting from what is happening in Miami today. Bregman jumped at the idea.
— Why did director Brian De Palma end up working on the film? What happened to Lumet?
— I honestly don't know. I was not involved in these matters. I think De Palma is a good choice. He figured out how to shoot a picture, came up with a very interesting style, almost Brechtian. From the very beginning, it was clear what he wanted.
— How did you manage to capture the character and behavior of your character? You've never had to play a Cuban man with a strong accent, have you?
— At first, I tried to do everything that I knew and could do before. I grew up in the South Bronx, and there's something Latin about me, too. Cubans, of course, are very different from other Latin Americans. Then I decided to do the role with the help of specialists. It was the first time in this job that I discussed the role I was going to play with so many people. My friend Charlie Laughton helped me. I worked with a dialect teacher. I learned to use weapons with a trainer. I was working on the development of special plastics necessary for my character.
— Producer Marty Bregman was actively involved in your career. He was the one who discovered you and was your manager on the first five films before you split up. What kind of relationship do you have now?
— I don't quite understand what kind of relationship we have myself. When it comes to business, we're pretty closely connected. And in some matters, it is impossible to imagine people with more opposing views. A strange relationship...
— How did he find you?
— He once came to an off-Broadway theater, to a play in which I was playing. After the performance, he came up to me and said, "If you need help, I'll do anything for you." And so it was. He really helped me a lot.
— Besides Bregman, two other people have played a significant role in your creative career, both of them acting teachers at the studio: Lee Strasberg and Charlie Laughton. What did Lee teach you?
— There are circumstances when a teacher teaches not only in the classroom, but by the power of his human personality.
— What did Charlie Laughton teach you?
— We've known each other since I was 18 and he was 29. We were studying at the same studio at the time. He opened up a lot of new things in my life that I didn't know before. I remember a time when I couldn't have more than fifteen dollars in my pocket and I was sleeping on a ventilation grate. Sometimes you live for yourself, and you don't realize that you're doing something harmful to yourself. Everyone, they say, lives like this, and I'm the worse for it in the end... And Charlie helped me realize that drinking would ruin me. For about a year I was not myself after I stopped drinking. Now I understand well why I did it.
— Has your life changed significantly since you became famous?
— I don't want to sound naive and pretend that everything remains the same. Actually, everything about her has changed. Before, for example, I used to love going to the stadium to play basketball. Since I've become famous, I've been unable to do this, because people —and I don't want to accuse them of anything —try to pay more attention to me, ask questions, engage in conversations, and it's very exhausting. So now I prefer to go to more private places. For players who carefully analyze betting platforms before joining, transparency is often the deciding factor. Many long-form reviews explain wagering conditions in detail, and right in the middle the term melbet promo code is used to describe the welcome deal. After registration, users can activate a 100% sports bonus of up to €130, which increases their first betting balance. Additionally, casino players receive a bonus of up to €1750 together with 290 free spins, expanding entertainment options significantly.
