Al Pacino’s 'Trauma Therapy': 'Godfather' Icon So Scarred by Pressures of Fame he Went Into Counseling After Skipping Oscars Out of 'Shame'
Pacino bailed on the 1973 Academy Awards leading to plenty of theories.
Oct. 29 2024, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Al Pacino has opened up about the brutal impact fame had on his life while at the peak of his career.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the iconic actor found himself seeking counseling in hopes of battling the pressures that he faced in Hollywood.
Pacino reached out for help in hopes of dealing with the pressures of fame.
The 84-year-old told Dermot O'Leary on his BBC 2 radio show: "Jack Kerouac, the great writer, best generation writer who lived in the city, couldn't cope with it and somebody said of him that he was embarrassed by success.
"Fame embarrassed him. So, I think I might have had a little of that in me, or something."
Pacino added: "So I didn't show up to a couple of the Oscars and I get a reputation - because they thought, somebody said and my representation said, 'Oh Pacino's not going because he's not the leading actor, he's a supporting actor for the Oscar...'"
The 70-year-old did not attend the 45th Academy Awards in 1973, leading critics to suggest he was upset over the nominations.
The Hollywood star received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather, however, Pacino did not end up going to the 45th Academy Awards.
At the time, critics suggested Pacino had missed the ceremony because he believed he should have instead received a Best Actor nomination like co-star Marlon Brando.
Brando, who also did not attend the ceremony due to the poor treatment of American Indians in entertainment, won his category while Pacino lost to Joel Grey.
Pacino was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Michael Corleone in The Godfather.
Despite the rumors of the reason behind Pacino's no-show, he clarified on the radio show: "Can you imagine me saying, 'I don't want to go because I should be up there with Brando? It's just not in my nature, it's nowhere near it. And I knew that I didn't want to go because it scared me, frankly.
"I was working in Boston in the theatre and I was afraid."
He explained: "Because feeling out of place is a strange feeling. I mean not being able to function because you don't know the language, in a way, it's a precarious place to be in. And I experienced it a few times because I was very famous and didn't even know it."
The actor admitted he did not attend the event because it 'scared' him.
While Pacino missed out on the Oscar for his role in The Godfather, he picked up a National Board of Review (NBR) Best Supporting Actor instead.
The actor shared: "I was in Boston doing a play, and I was staying over the director's house, he gave me a room at his house. I remember waking up and he said, 'You won the National Board of Review Award for acting in The Godfather,' and I remember saying to him at the time, 'Wow sure that's cool.' I said, 'Do you know a psychiatrist I can see?' Right out of my mouth because that's the state I was in."
Pacino did not win his category that night as Joel Grey took home the Oscar instead.
Pacino's time filming The Godfather was a tough one, as he battled a scary injury. The star was jabbed with a "fat needle" to numb the pain after his ankle "slipped" while filming a getaway scene.
He recounted on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast: "[When it happened] people just swallowed, got around me and they said, 'He's hurt,' and then they put one of these big fat needles in my ankle so I could finish the day, and they kept me."
At the time, Pacino thought the injury would "get him out of the film," which he was hesitant to audition for in the first place.
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He explained: "Paramount didn’t want me to play Michael Corleone. They wanted Jack Nicholson. They wanted Robert Redford. They wanted Warren Beatty or Ryan O’Neal."
Pacino was told he had to fly out to California to screen-test for the part, which he "just didn't want to do." However, he landed the role which launched his career.
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