Al Pacino: An Evening With Al

Q: Why did you choose Richard III?

A: Because I did it twice when I was young. I knew more about it. Richard III is not necessarily my favorite play.

Q: Do you consider Shakespeare therapy?

A: I consider this therapy [Laughs]. It's all therapy. If you're trying new things, you're stepping out a little bit, there's a kind of therapy in that.

Q: Is movie work as fulfilling as stage work?

A: I'll just say this: Doing theater is like walking the tightrope. You go way up there, and if you fall, that's theater! In movies, there's a wire, but it's on the ground. That's the difference. Your body changes when you're up there on the stage. Your chemicals change to cope with that. The lifestyle of the movies is a different experience. Not that it's less of an art or a craft. It's apples and oranges.

Q: Did you star in Glengarry Glen Ross because you were attracted to David Mamet's writing?

A: Mamet writes in a very restricted way-- you've got to say Mamet's words, because if you don't, you lose the syntax somehow. He's brilliant at that. It's very helpful. At the same time, you can't just get locked in to only the words, you have to fill it with your own imagination. That takes time.

Q: When you're choosing projects now, do you look mostly at scripts or do you make your decision based on who the director is?

A: It's the script first. But if you have the right script and the wrong director, forget it.

Q: What other passions do you have besides acting?

A: I have passion about everything, really. I like that you used the word "passion"--because sometimes wise guys like Larry use the word "obsession." But it's passion.

Q: What's the difference between the two?

A: If I have to tell you, man....[Laughs] Obsession is another kind of thing. I don't see life to it. It doesn't have a drive. It isn't all-inclusive, it's relegated to just a person.

Q: With everything that's going on in the world right now, do you think movies are frivolous?

A: Well, everything does seem frivolous, but you have to adjust. One has to think about what was done during wartime in the past. They just continued as best they could. I heard that when England was being bombed during the second World War, actors would still do their plays. They'd go downstairs for shelter when the bombs were being dropped and then go back up to the stage when it stopped.

Q: Have you ever wanted to give up acting for, say, directing or writing?

A: If I could write I wouldn't do anything else. I once wrote to a woman I was really in love with and I never mailed it. I had a hard time with it, the only way I got through it was to write this letter to her. I'd sit there writing and I'd look up and five hours had gone by in what felt like five minutes. I thought, what a wonderful way to live. That's how I feel about my movies, the little ones I do. Just to be able to be in there and get lost so that time just... [snapping his fingers] it's wonderful to get involved.

Q: Why haven't you released The Local Stigmatic, which you funded?

A: Because that way no one can take control of it.

Q: Isn't that a big financial loss for you?

A: Steven Spielberg said, "Don't make pictures with your own money," and he's right. But I'm going to continue to do it anyway because I'm a sucker for a good script.

It was time for Al to go to the Fowler Museum for the Friends of English event, where 300 people waited, including David Spade and Benicio Del Toro. The clip and discussion session went on for over three hours and only finished when we were told the building had to be closed.

Two days later I had lunch with Al at Chianti on Melrose Avenue, and I was reminded what a busy actor he is. He had two scripts with him and was trying to decide which movie to do next.

"That was a good night," I said to him.

"Yeah, that was a nice evening," he said with warmth in his voice. "A very nice evening."

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• Students who contributed to this article: Mike Maloney, Nathan Ihara, Rhea Cortado, Tenny Hovsepians, Mary Yoon, Chris Moriates, Antero Garcia, Mary Williams, Matthew Ball, Maryellen Whitlow, Ryan Joe, Lynn Kwan, Jenny Kim, Boaz Ronkin, Kelsey McConnell

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