As one of the biggest film stars in the world, you may assume Al Pacino has more money than he can count, but the actor revealed he was flat ‘broke’ at one point.
Known for his iconic roles in The Godfather, Scarface, You Don’t Know Jack and Ocean’s Thirteen, it’s hard to believe the Oscar winner, 84, could ever struggle to make ends meet, but that’s exactly what happened around 2011.
In his new autobiography, Sonny Boy, Pacino revealed he first realised he was in trouble after he started ‘to get warnings that my accountant at the time, a guy who had lots of celebrity clients, was not to be trusted.’
Then renting an extravagant Beverly Hills home, taking friends and family on a European trip, and spending money the average person could only dream of, he quickly realised upon returning home from his vacation, that his finances still looked the same.
‘I thought, It’s simple. It’s clear. I just know this. Time stopped. I am f**ked,’ he wrote in the book.
As it turned out, Pacino had unknowingly been working with a corrupt accountant, which resulted in a loss of $50 million (£38.4m).
While the accountant was later found guilty of running a Ponzi scheme and served time in prison, the actor was left with bills to pay, including $400,000 (£307,278) to his landscaper, and no money to pay them.
‘The big paydays that I was used to just weren’t coming around anymore. The pendulum had swung, and I found it harder to find parts for myself,’ the star, who was 70 years old at the time wrote.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way and for Pacino, that meant saying yes to films he never thought he would.
‘Jack and Jill was the first film I made after I lost my money. To be honest, I did it because I didn’t have anything else,’ he wrote. ‘Adam Sandler wanted me, and they paid me a lot for it. So I went out and did it, and it helped. I love Adam, he was wonderful to work with and has become a dear friend. He also just happens to be a great actor and a hell of a guy.’
The 2011 film was an interesting one for Pacino; while it holds a rating of just three percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it wasn’t exactly a flop as it was the second-highest-grossing film at the time after opening at $26 million (£19.9m) at the box office, and received decent reviews from audiences.
While it’s unclear what other projects the actor referred to when he said he took on roles he wouldn’t usually, around the same time, he starred in The Son of No One, which grossed a total of $1.1 million (£850,000) worldwide at the box office.
In 2012, he appeared in Stand Up Guys with Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin, with the film opening at $5.1 million (£3.92m) at the box office and holding a 37 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating.
The actor said it wasn’t only films he said yes to either: ‘My seminars were another big find for me. In the past, I used to go to colleges all the time and talk to the kids there, just to get out there and perform for them, in a sense. I’d tell them a little bit about my life and have them ask me questions. … I didn’t get paid for it. I just did it. Now that I was broke, I thought, “Why don’t we follow this up?”‘
He also expanded his seminars and held them for more than just university students, which worked as he remained popular with his fans.
Elsewhere, he starred in the Vittoria Coffee commerical which was directed by Barry Levinson and an unreleased Dunkin’ Donuts ad.
While it seems the actor’s finances are back on track, he admitted that he ‘has to think very seriously about my estate now. That means I have to get advice from people who are way smarter than me’.
Pacino also revealed that while he is still making films, most recently Modi with Johnny Depp. One from his catalogue that still makes him money today is the mega-hit Scarface.
Touching on the 1983 film, considered one of the greatest films ever made, he said the residual cheques still support him. Adding: ‘I can live on it, I mean, I could, if I lived like a normal person.’