Al Pacino says he was glad he lost an Oscar because he was too high
Topics: Film and TV, Oscars
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: ZUMA Press Inc / PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy
Topics: Film and TV, Oscars
Al Pacino is regarded as one of the most successful and influential actors of the 20th century.
The 82-year-old has countless accolades to his name including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making him one of few actors to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.
Pacino has never had the best relationship with the Oscars though after attending the show for the first time in 1974.
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Back then, he was nominated for detective film Serpico, when he was shocked to find out the ceremony was three hours instead of an hour long.
After that, his disapproval for the Oscars grew further and a 1979 Playboy interview revealed how he was glad he lost due to being high as a kite.
Speaking on the 1974 Oscars, Pacino said: "I was at the Oscars once, for Serpico. That was the second time I was nominated. I was sitting in the third or fourth row with Diane Keaton. Jeff Bridges was there with his girl. No one expected me to come. I was a little high.
"Somebody had done something to my hair, blew it out or something, and I looked like I had a bird’s nest on my head, a real mess. I sat there and tried to look indifferent because I was so nervous. Any time I’m nervous, I try to put on an indifferent or a cold look."
He continued: "At one point, I turned to Jeff Bridges and said, ‘Hey, looks like there won’t be time to get to the Best Actor awards.’ He gave me a strange look. I said, ‘It’s over, the hour is up.’ He said, ‘It’s three hours long.’ I thought it was an hour TV show, can you imagine that?
"And I had to pee—bad. So I popped a valium. Actually, I was eating valium like they were candy. Chewed on them. Finally came the Best Actor. Can you imagine the shape I was in? I couldn’t have made it to the stage. I was praying, ‘Please don’t let it be me. Please.’ And I hear, ‘Jack Lemmon.’ I was just so happy I didn’t have to get up, because I never would have made it."
In more Pacino-Oscars beef, the actor was only nominated for the Supporting Actor category for the first The Godfather film, which certainly didn't go down well with the actor.
Speaking on that in the same interview, he said: "That was outrageous. It’s things like that that get you a little sour. I decided to pass the ceremonies by.
"There were certain people around me who wanted to write a letter, who wanted to announce that I would not accept the nomination.
"I would always say, ‘Let it go. Let it go. Don’t make waves.’ But then, even though I didn’t go, I watched it on TV. I felt bad. I didn’t care for that kind of contradiction."