Sometimes when we look at some of the biggest powerhouses of the entertainment industry, we forget that most of them come from humble beginnings. Hollywood icon Alfredo James Pacino’s life changed with his 1972 blockbuster The Godfather, which earned him respect, award nominations, and wealth. The change was so sudden that Pacino wasn’t able to keep up with his own life. He got intoxicated with the success and got caught up in a culture of drinking and substance abuse. The actor admitted that he felt overwhelmed at times because everything was new to him. It took him time to adjust to his new celebrity life and with time he realized that money and power meant very little to him.
Pacino had a difficult childhood that honed his skills as a killer and gangster in his movies, but in real life, he is a funny guy with light-hearted humor. His father left them when he was two years old and his mother, Rose raised him alone with a tight purse. Rose took the little Pacino to movies despite having little money to fend for the family.
When they went back home, he would imitate the big actors at the age of five. At the age of 16, he left home for Greenwich Village to work to send money home. He joined the local theatre group that became his family when he lost his mother.
Despite the many twists and turns in his life, he has arrived where money and influence make little meaning to him. When he is not playing his stern persona on the big screen, he is busy making his friends laugh and mingling with others.