Al Pacino Turns 85: How 'Godfather' Icon Narrowly Avoided Drug Addiction, Battled Anxiety and Had A Near-Death Covid Fright That Saw His 'Pulse Stop'
Al Pacino overcame addictions and a near-death COVID battle to reach his 85th birthday.
April 25 2025, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Al Pacino has battled drug addiction, mental health struggles, and nearly died from COVID before reaching his milestone 85th birthday on April 25, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The legendary Godfather star has been open about struggling to come to term with aging, as well as how his wild lifestyle impacted his mental and physical health.
Pacino began drinking at age 9 and experimented with drugs at age 13.
Pacino has a lot to celebrate on his 85th birthday after several close calls with death.
In his memoir, Sonny Boy, Pacino recalled a frightening experience when his pulse stopped as he was suffering from COVID during the height of the pandemic, before a vaccine was available.
He wrote: "I fainted, and when I opened my eyes, there were six paramedics in my living room.
"I didn't have a pulse. Everybody thought I was dead."
At the height of the pandemic, Pacino fainted while battling COVID and his pulse stopped.
Although the actor didn't see any kind of "white light," being "gone" for the brief moment gave him a new outlook on life.
He said: "Now I started thinking about that, and I never thought about it in my life. But you know actors, it sounds good to me to say I died once. It felt like death."
While reflecting on his life, Pacino confessed he battled alcoholism at the height of his fame – and he even admitted to being drunk during his screen test for The Godfather in 1972.
Pacino revealed he had horrible "blackouts" and would even miss events and award shows due to his drinking problem and struggles with anxiety over his fame.
Pacino's alcoholism and anxiety over fame got so bad he started skipping events and award shows.
He said: "Alcohol is a depressant – like, literally it brings you down."
Thankfully, Pacino managed to overcome his alcohol addiction and has been sober for decades, but it came at a cost. After he stopped drinking, things got "a little worse for a while" before he finally turned a corner.
The movie star noted: "It really was terrible. But then, eventually, thank God, it got there."
Alcoholism isn't the only abuse battle Pacino has fought in his lifetime.
The star credited acting and his mom refusing him to run the streets at night for saving his life.
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The Scarface star admitted he starting drinking at age 9 and began experimenting with drugs in his early teens – first trying marijuana at age 13 – when he was running amuck with his childhood friends in the South Bronx.
He recalled his childhood: "We climbed to the tops of roofs and jumped from one building to another, we held on to the back seats of buses and if we wanted food, we stole it. We never paid for anything. Getting into trouble was our pastime."
Finally, his mother Rose, who suffered from mental health issues, refused to let him go out at night with his friends.
While he said he was "furious" at his mom, Pacino confessed she "saved my life."
Tragically, Pacino's three closest childhood friends – Cliffy, Bruce and Petey – all died from heroine addictions.
Discovering acting also helped save Pacino and rescue him from a life on the streets.
He attended a performing arts high school and became a voracious reader, until he decided to drop out at age 16 to pursue acting as a career.
Pacino worked as a delivery man, a waiter, a janitor and even a doorman to support himself as he tried to break into New York's theater scene. Then, he enrolled at the Actors Studio.
The Serpico star said: "I never thought this was going to happen. I just kept doing it, and then finally one day, a long time ago, I thought, 'I can express myself here,'" adding acting "saved my life."
