Alfredo James Pacino (born April 25, 1940) is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, Tony-, BAFTA-, Emmy- and SAG award-winning American film and stage actor and director, widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of all time.

He is well known for his roles as Michael Corleone in the The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon, Frank Serpico in Serpico, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman, and Roy Cohn in Angels in America. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1992 for his role in Scent of a Woman after being nominated 7 times beforehand for various roles.

It was the 1971 film The Panic in Needle Park, in which he played a heroin addict, that would bring Pacino to the attention of director Francis Ford Coppola. Pacino's rise to fame subsequently came after portraying Michael Corleone in Coppola's blockbuster 1972 Mafia film The Godfather and Frank Serpico in the eponymous 1973 movie. Although several established actors, including Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and a little-known Robert De Niro were vying to portray Michael Corleone, director Coppola selected the relatively unknown Pacino, much to the dismay of studio executives. Pacino's performance earned him an Academy Award nomination, and offered one of the finest examples of his early acting style, described by Halliwell's Film Guide as "intense" and "tightly clenched".

In 1973, Pacino starred in the very successful Serpico and the less popular Scarecrow alongside Gene Hackman. In 1974, he reprised his role as Michael Corleone in the very successful sequel The Godfather Part II, acclaimed as being comparable to the original. In 1975, he enjoyed further success with the release of Dog Day Afternoon, based on the true story of a bank robber John Wojtowicz. In 1977, Pacino starred as a race-car driver in Bobby Deerfield, directed by Sydney Pollack, and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama for his portrayal of Bobby Deerfield, losing out to Richard Burton, who won for Equus.

During the 1970s, Pacino had four Oscar nominations for Best Actor for his performances in Serpico, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, and ...And Justice for All. He continued his dedication to the stage, winning a second Tony Award for The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and performing the title role in Richard III for a record run on Broadway, despite poor notices from critics.