On December 15, 1995, Michael Mann gave the world one of the greatest heist films of all time and an amazing ‘90s movie that is still influencing pop culture with the release of Heat. Known as the first movie to feature Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in a scene together (they never appeared together in The Godfather Part II), this landmark action flick broke new ground for the genre and introduced audiences to some of the most iconic movie characters of all time.

With one of the biggest films of 1995 about to celebrate its 30th birthday, I’ve gone back and watched what I consider one of Mann’s crowning achievements (it’s a toss-up between this and Thief) to see how things hold up. Spoiler: this movie still rocks, still has the loudest shootout of all time, and still has one of the meanest movie villains of all time.

The Downtown L.A. Shootout Is Still The Best (And Loudest) In Cinematic History

Long before I watched Heat in all its nearly three-hour glory, I was introduced to the film’s iconic shootout in Downtown Los Angeles. Taking place after Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and his crew pull off one final bank robbery (and earn more than $12 million in the process), this legendary, lethal and loud-as-hell firefight between L.A.’s finest and a hardened crew of robbers is still the stuff of legend after all these years.

Michael Mann’s decision to use the audio of the blanks being shot on the streets and under the towers of Downtown Los Angeles is still the right call 30 years later, as it adds a level of realness, chaos and disorientation to the 10-plus-minute sequence. You don’t know where the bullets are being fired, where they’re going and who’s who in the intense exchange of gunfire. You’re just thrown into the middle of it, your heart jumping with each concussive blast. They don’t make em like this anymore.

It’s Also Crazy How Much Heat Inspired Both Cinema And Pop Culture

There’s no denying Heat’s place in pop culture, as Michael Mann’s 1995 crime epic inspired all kinds of crime films, video games and other aspects of pop culture in the immediate fallout of its release and over the past 30 years. Look no further than movies like Den of Thieves and The Town (the Fenway shootout is up there with Heat’s gunfight), and you’ll see this film’s DNA running through them. Hell, the opening sequence from The Dark Knight is an extended love letter to this movie that even includes William Fichtner.

A little more than a decade after the film’s release, Grand Theft Auto IV took inspiration from the epic heist scene to create the beloved “Three Leaf Clover” mission, where you rob a bank. Five years later, Rockstar Games took their love of Heat and based pretty much an entire game on it with Grand Theft Auto V, which has a story centered around big heists. I mean, the list could go on and on, but you probably get the point by now.

Vincent And Neil Are Just Different Sides Of The Same Coin

Though they’re on opposite sides of the conflict throughout Heat, LAPD detective Vincent Hanna and hardened bank robber Neil McCauley are really just different sides of the same coin. Sure, one guy is a criminal and the other hunts criminals, but their personalities aren’t as different as they initially appear. Both have some serious personal issues when it comes to being vulnerable and communicative, both live by a set of rules they aren’t willing to break (to an extent), and they’re both what many would consider to be obsessive.

The famous diner scene, the first time Al Pacino and Robert De Niro shared the screen, shows both this duality and dichotomy of their relationship and character dynamics at play. They go about their business in similar ways; it’s just that they want completely different things. That’s what makes their dynamic so great all these years later.

Before I move on, it’s also not lost on me that the criminal (the typical bad guy) is less unhinged than the man hunting him down. I just kind of wish Michael Mann hadn’t cut that wild scene involving Vincent and cocaine.

Neil Would Have Survived Had He Not Broken His Own Code

In the famous diner scene, Neil McCauley says, “Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.” This famous line, from which the movie’s name is drawn, perfectly explains the prolific bank robber’s personal code and highlights how he’s been able to stay alive despite so many close calls. Everyone needs a code, right? Well, as long as they live by them.

Here’s the thing: Neil ended up breaking his own code. Instead of living by it, he died because he strayed from it when he went back to kill Waingro (Kevin Gage) after pretty much getting away from the downtown shootout. Instead of driving off into the sunset and counting his blessings, he went back to settle the score with his one-time accomplice and paid for it with his life.

However, Waingro Had It Coming

The line between good and bad is blurred for pretty much every character in Heat... well, except for Waingro. Introduced in the opening minutes of the movie as a new member of McCauley’s crew for the armored car robbery, Waingro immediately shows that he’s a force of pure evil and chaos by murdering a guard without reason or remorse. A killer, serial rapist and all-around terrible person, Waingro becomes a thorn in Neil’s side after escaping death early on.

Waingro has no redeemable qualities and can be seen as the Grim Reaper, as everything and everyone he touches dies in the end. While Neil probably should have kept going to LAX and gotten on the plane with his love interest, Eady (Amy Brenneman), to escape the City of Angels, I understand why he went back and killed Waingro. It cost him his life, but he did get retribution before breathing his final breath.

I know there are still a few weeks before the official 30th anniversary of Heat, but with a movie like this, it’s never too early to celebrate!

I don't know what it is, but if you were around during the ‘90s, then Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were ostensibly linked. Perhaps it was the fact that they both starred in one of Francis Ford Coppola's best films, The Godfather Part II back in the ‘70s.

Or maybe it was that they both starred in numerous gangster films, with Pacino famously connected to one of the coolest ones, Scarface, and De Niro, of course, starring in multiple Scorsese gangster flicks, like Casino and Goodfellas. But, whatever the reason, when you think of De Niro, you likely also think of Pacino, and vice versa (again, that’s if you were around during the ‘90s).

Speaking of the '90s, both actors had a really interesting decade. But, whose was better? Well, you're about to find out.

Robert De Niro Made Far More Films In The '90s Than Pacino

Do you know how many movies Robert De Niro made in the ‘90s? Twenty-five. Yes, you heard that right. Of those films, I’d say the REALLY big ones were Goodfellas, Backdraft, Cape Fear, Casino, Heat, The Fan, and Analyze This. Of the medium-sized (and probably more importantly, respected) movies, I’d say Awakenings, This Boy’s Life, A Bronx Tale, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Wag the Dog, Sleepers, Jackie Brown, and Ronin.

That is a LOT of movies, and noteworthy ones at that. All counting, I’d say De Niro was in 15 meaty roles, with many of them still being talked about today (Most notably in Goodfellas, which is definitely one of the best movies of the 1990s). However, I did say he was in 25 films, and many of them you might not have heard of before. Here are just a few of them: Stanley & Iris, Mistress, Night and the City, Mad Dog and Glory, Cop Land, and Flawless, just to name a few.

Now, I’m not saying that these other movies aren’t good (I especially love Cop Land), but sometimes an actor can be in too many films, and you start to wonder how big of a role they actually played in all of them.

For example, yes, he is in Goodfellas, but is he the first person you think of, or is it Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta? Yes, De Niro’s in one of my favorite Tarantino movies, Jackie Brown, but is he the lead, or supporting cast? These are all important questions to ask when considering who had the better decade!

That Said, Pacino Might Have Had More To Do In This Same Time Period

Okay, so let’s look at Pacino’s ‘90s now, shall we? When it comes to films, he was in 14. That said, I’d say that they were probably meatier roles than De Niro’s for the most part. For example, of the big movies, Pacino starred in The Godfather Part III, Scent of a Woman, Carlito’s Way, Heat, Donnie Brasco, The Devil’s Advocate, The Insider, and Any Given Sunday. For smaller roles, he was in Dick Tracy, Glengarry Glen Ross, and City Hall.

However, it doesn’t stop with film, because unlike De Niro, Pacino also did some theater in the ‘90s, such as Chinese Coffee, Salome, and the Eugene O’Neill play, Hughie, which he also directed. Not only that, but he also did documentaries (De Niro did one in the ‘90s, that being narration for Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth) such as Madonna: Truth or Dare, and Looking for Richard (which Pacino also wrote and directed).

I think this is important, because it shows that Pacino branched out more than De Niro in the ‘90s, as the latter stayed mostly in front of a camera. That said, was The Godfather Part III anywhere near as impactful as Goodfellas, or even Casino (which I still don't think gets enough credit)? Of course not. But, Pacino carried that film. Inversely, Pesci did a lot of the legwork in those aforementioned De Niro movies.

Which is a salient point. Because besides Cape Fear and Ronin, I feel like De Niro was more of a supporting actor in the ‘90s. A damn strong one, sure, but more supporting than leading. Not so with Pacino. He led in most appearances.

De Niro Made His Directorial Debut In The '90s

Here's a big one. De Niro beat Pacino to the director's seat by a few years, as A Bronx Tale, which was De Niro's directorial debut, came out in 1993, whereas Pacino's directorial debut (if we’re talking featuring length films and not documentaries) was 2000’s Chinese Coffee, which was based off of a two character, one-act play that he starred in back in 1992.

However, Chinese Coffee is rather small in scope, which I assume is similar to the play (I’ve never seen it). A Bronx Tale, on the other hand, is very ambitious in scope, and it feels like the work of somebody who has been in the director’s seat for years.

Also based on a play (this one a one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri, who plays mob boss, Sonny, in the movie), A Bronx Tale is about a teenager named Calogero (Lillo Brancato Jr.) who becomes enamored with a life of crime, but also wants to do better because of his hard-working father, played by De Niro himself. There’s also racial tensions between Black people and Italians in the story, and it’s a pretty potent film.

And, the story broadened years later when it was turned into a Broadway musical. Now, the musical is based more on the original play, but De Niro co-directed the Broadway show in the 2010s, and it’s almost like it’s the story that keeps on giving for him, so there’s that as well. That said…

Pacino Won Best Actor In The '90s

Not too long ago, I wrote about how I thought Scorsese's best decade was the ‘80s, and I'd say the same for De Niro. That was the decade when he won his Best Actor Academy Award for Raging Bull, and also the decade he starred in one of my favorite Scorsese movies, The King of Comedy.

It's also the decade where he was in three of my favorite De Niro movies, those being Brazil, Once Upon a Time in America, and The Mission. All of this is to say that I think De Niro had a stronger ‘80s than ‘90s, even though he did substantially fewer films.

So, he didn't win any Best Actor Awards in the ‘90s. But, do you know who did? Al Pacino for 1992's Scent of a Woman, which is about a blind, retired Lt. Col. who bonds with a preparatory school student (Chris O'Donnell) over the holidays.

I'm going to be honest with you. I don't even like Scent of a Woman. When Elaine from Seinfeld makes fun of it (“Hoo-ah”), you know you've lost. That said, Pacino DID win Best Actor for his performance, which is a crowning achievement for any actor. So…

I Guess It All Comes Down To Heat

You knew it would come down to this, right? Pacino and De Niro have appeared in four films together (The Godfather Part II, Heat, Righteous Kill, and The Irishman), but 1995's Heat is arguably the most memorable, and mostly because Pacino and De Niro are in direct opposition with one another.

De Niro plays a master criminal, while Pacino plays a police detective, and the question is, who's cooler in the movie?

Well, as great as Pacino's character is, I have to give it to De Niro as Neil McCauley. It's probably his coolest character of all time, and for that reason, I'm giving the ‘90s to him.

What do you think? Would you give it to Pacino? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance as Elvira Hancock in Scarface is iconic. The 1983 Brian De Palma movie is often considered one of the best remakes of all time, and part of what makes it great is the Hairspray star’s performance. But, if you can believe it, she was the last person Al Pacino wanted in the role, and she knew it. On that note, I just learned the wild story behind her casting in one of the best '80s movies of all time, and we have to talk about it.

Pfeiffer opened up about her attempts to land one of her most famous roles while speaking to the hosts of the SmartLess podcast via YouTube. The fan-favorite actress opened up about the now-legendary story of how she went from rejection to screen-testing opposite Pacino, and accidentally drawing blood. Before that situation happened, though, Pfeiffer was apparently having a tough time auditioning:

Director Brian De Palma was pushing for Michelle Pfeiffer from the start, but Pacino wasn’t sold. And, after two months of auditions, the Ant-Man alum admitted she went from nailing it early on to spiraling under pressure. She continued:

Pfeiffer thought that was the end of it, until a month later, she received a surprise call to return for a screen test. Burned out and assuming it was a lost cause, she walked in with nothing left to lose. And that’s when things got... bloody. The (arguably best-ever) Catwoman actress herself recalled:

Turns out a little chaos, and a lot of broken glass, was exactly what the role needed. It's fitting, really, for a movie where barely anyone makes it out alive. Pfeiffer nailed it, and the rest is cinematic history.

Now, Scarface is considered a great gangster film by many, but I’ll be honest: it’s not one I’m racing to rewatch. It’s a solid remake, arguably better than the original but, for me, it’s not exactly fun. That said, Michelle Pfeiffer is easily one of the best parts of a not-so-great movie, in my eyes. Now, knowing what she went through just to get cast, beyond the extreme weight loss and months of rejection, I find her performance to be all the more impressive.

Still, if you’re not like me and do want to dive back into Scarface (and catch Michelle Pfeiffer at her most radiant), you can stream it now with your Netflix subscription. Pfeiffer will also next be seen on the big screen in the holiday comedy Oh. What. Fun., which is set to hit theaters on December 3 amid the 2025 movie schedule.

There were so many great films from the ‘70s that it's hard to pick just one “best movie.” If I had to pick, though, it would be 1975's Dog Day Afternoon, starring Al Pacino and John Cazale.

Yes, I know. The ‘70s were the decade of Coppola. I mean, most of his best movies came from that decade. I'm also aware that we got Jaws, Star Wars, and Taxi Driver in the ‘70s.

All of this is true. Yet, I STILL believe that Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon is the best movie of the decade (and this is coming from somebody who loves The Warriors, the quintessential ‘70s movie). So, here's why I think that Dog Day Afternoon is the best movie that the ‘70s has to offer.

First Off, It's Based Off Of A True Story, But It's Still Incredibly Enthralling

I typically like movies based on true stories, but one issue that I have with some of them is that they can be sooooo sloooow. This is of course not always the case, and I like most biopics. However, some movies based on true stories have a tendency to have rough patches where we’re learning a bit too much about the event rather than giving us the most interesting details.

Well, Dog Day Afternoon, which is based on the real-life bank robbery by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore “Sal” Naturile doesn’t have that problem. In fact, for its 125 minute runtime, the movie never lets up. It might be because what really happened is stranger than fiction, and it makes for an amazing story.

Pacino plays Wojtowicz as Sonny Wortzik, and he’s the “leader” of the bank robbery. However, things almost immediately go south when one of his two partners, Stevie (played by Gary Springer), loses his nerve and bails. That leaves only Sonny, and his friend Sal, played by the magnificent John Cazale, in the bank.

Neither of them know what they’re doing, and the robbery turns into a hostage situation. The rest of the film consists of them negotiating their escape, and, much like Spielberg’s hidden gem, The Sugarland Express, there’s a fatalistic quality to the story, where you know the criminals won’t get away with their crime, but you somehow root for them anyway. It’s great stuff.

Also, Since It’s Based On A Man Who Wanted A Sex Change, It Still Feels Incredibly Modern

Now, if you read deeply into the actual story of John Wojtowicz, you might hear conflicting stories. For example, in an article from The Village Voice, there’s mention of how the Mafia was somehow involved in the botched robbery. But, the initial story that came out was that Wojtowicz’s boyfriend wanted a sex change, and that’s the story that we get in the movie.

It’s about midway through the film where we learn about Sonny’s true intentions, and it’s through his boyfriend, Leon (played by Chris Sarandon), who wants a sex-change surgery. Similar to how Pacino and Cazale are based on real people, so is Leon, as the real person Sarandon’s character is based on was a transgender woman named Elizabeth Eden.

As somebody who is firmly behind trans rights, I find this incredibly modern for a film from the ‘70s. The film was fascinating up to the point where we’re introduced to Leon, but was made even more engaging when we got an actual reason for the robbery.

And, even though I consider myself one of the few Emilia Perez apologists (as yes, I’m well aware of its many glaring issues), I still somehow think that Dog Day Afternoon feels even more modern than that film. Because again, this is a movie from the ‘70s!

John Cazale Starred In Five Academy Award Nominated Films, And This Is Arguably His Best Role

You ever hear of “The Fredo Kiss”? It comes from The Godfather Part II, and in the scene, Michael Corleone (Pacino) kisses his brother, Fredo (Cazale) on the lips, and tells him, “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!” It’s one of the most memorable scenes in all of cinema history, and it might be the best scene Pacino has ever been in.

That said, I wouldn’t say the same for poor John Cazale. He played the middle Corleone son masterfully, but, much like his character, he often gets overlooked in the Godfather movies. His death is probably his most memorable moment. The crazy thing is, Cazale starred in only five feature-length films, and all of them – Godfather 1 and 2, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter – were nominated for Best Picture.

Even so, with this third pairing of Pacino and Cazale, I genuinely feel that he steals the spotlight this time around. In this film, Cazale is the polar opposite from his co-star. Pacino is loud and blustery (not quite Scarface blustery, but blustery all the same), while Cazale is quiet and sympathetic.

However, it’s in being the quiet one that he steals every scene that he’s in. There’s a sadness to his performance that sticks with you throughout the entire movie, and by the end of the film, his is the face that you remember the most.

There’s Probably Never Been A Movie That Physically Felt Hotter Than Dog Day Afternoon

Lord have mercy, this is the hottest film you will ever watch. I mean, movies where the sun plays a central role in the story don’t even feel as hot as Dog Day Afternoon does, which is really saying something.

This makes perfect sense, too, given the title. Because even though the Life magazine article, “The Boys in the Bank,” is a fitting description (it’s what the movie’s screenplay was based on), it more covers the people involved with the crime rather than the event itself. However, the movie feels like it’s focusing more on the hot summer day in which the crime took place.

This really makes it stand out, because I can only imagine how hot it must have been inside that bank, or even outside the bank, baking on the street. You know, I often criticize movies for not making me feel anything, be it emotionally or physically, but this one does both!

I feel for everybody inside the bank – both the criminals, and their hostages – but I also feel incredibly hot! Like, physically hot. The sweat practically leaks from your screen, which is something I don’t think I can say for any other movie. This one literally makes you want to take a cold shower, which I love.

The Ending Will Stick With You For The Rest Of Your Life

Finally, the ending is one of the most depressing you will ever watch. Now, I’m not going to spoil it here since I want you to watch it for yourself if you haven’t already, but the film’s conclusion has stuck with me ever since I first saw it (much like the ending to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), and I think it will stick with you, too.

It’s honestly the reactions from the characters that do it. The look on one of their faces says it all, and it leaves you feeling depressed all the way into the credits.

It kind of reminds me of the conclusion to Midnight Cowboy, where we see Dustin Hoffman’s dead face on the bus, and Jon Voight just holds him closely as you hear that haunting harmonica fade the film into darkness.

Yes, the ending is on that level of sadness, and it’s a conclusion that will stick with you for the rest of your life if you let it.

Some of the most enduring stars got their starts more than six decades ago, and they are still going strong today. Stars like Harrison Ford, Dame Judi Dench, Jeff Bridges, and even Jodie Foster have been acting their whole lives, and their amazing careers will live on forever. Here is our list of amazing actors who started in the 1960s and are still working today.

Robert Duvall

After cutting his teeth with some television appearances starting in 1959, Robert Duvall made one of the most memorable film debuts of all time as Boo Radley in 1962's To Kill A Mockingbird. Duvall hasn't stopped stealing scenes in the 60+ years since. He's starred in some of the greatest movies ever, like The Godfather, and won an Oscar for Tender Mercies. His most recent credit is The Pale Blue Eye from 2022.

Sally Field

Sally Field is truly America's sweetheart. Her breakout role came on the classic TV show Gidget, and she's starred in some legendary movies and TV shows ever since. With roles in movies as diverse as Smokey and the Bandit, Forrest Gump, and Fried Green Tomatoes, Field has proven she can handle any role she takes on.

Clint Eastwood

There are no bigger legends in Hollywood history than Clint Eastwood. Not much has been said here. His career started in earnest with Spaghetti Westerns, and he's been directing and starring in movies ever since.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is Hollywood royalty as the daughter of Henry Fonda, so it's no surprise that she started her career at a young age. Her first credit goes all the way back to 16960's Tall Story, and she's still starring in movies today, like 2023's 80 for Brady.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman's career really didn't take off on screen until the 1980s (though he had plenty of credits in the '70s, too). He started mostly on stage in the 1960s and kept his focus there until landing a TV gig in 1971 on PBS's The Electric Company. Today, he remains one of America's most beloved stars.

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine made her film debut way back in 1955 and by the 1960s was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Her star has never dimmed in the decades since, either, with memorable roles in Downton Abbey and the live-action The Little Mermaid in 2018.

Dustin Hoffman

When you burst onto the scene in a movie like The Graduate, as Dustin Hoffman did in 1967, it's pretty much a guarantee you're going to be a star. In the 60 years since that seminal movie, Hoffman has won countless awards and starred in everything from comedies like Tootsie to dramas like Rain Man, getting nominated for Oscars for both (and winning his second for the latter).

Faye Dunaway

If you look at a list of the best movies of all time, you'll notice Faye Dunaway in the credits of many of them. Starting with Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, right up until the 2020s. She took a small hiatus in the teens, but has been back working regularly since.

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell's career started when he was just a kid, often starring in Disney projects. It's even Hollywood folklore that Walt Disney's last words were when he scrawled Russell's name on a piece of paper. Though there is no way to know when the note was written. Still, for the better part of seven decades, Kurt Russell has been a Hollywood superstar.

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren (you know they are important when they get a title like "Dame") started in film in 1966, and that was after having already started acting professionally on stage in the UK. She's never stopped, including starring in the recent hit MobLand on Paramount+

Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins' first credited film role came in the Shakespeare adaptation The Lion in Winter in 1968 alongside Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn. He's since become one of the most beloved actors of his generation and has won countless awards and accolades.

Jodie Foster

If you look at Jodie Foster's credits, you might think she started in the 1970s as a teenager, but she was starring in commercials as far back as 1967 when she was just three years old.

Jeff Bridges

When you have a legend for a father like Jeff Bridges with Lloyd Bridges, its not hard to understand how he got his start so young. His amazing career in the decades since can only be credited to his immense talent, charm, and charisma on and off screen. And that's not, like, my opinion, man, it's a fact.

Rita Moreno

Puerto Rican superstar Rita Moreno can do it all. She can act, she can sing, and she can dance, and she's been dancing into our hearts since she first way back in 1950! For those of you counting, that's EIGHT decades of excellence.

Judi Dench

Like Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Judy Dench started in the theater, especially doing Shakespeare plays. Her first professional stage credits date back to 1957, and right up through the 2020s, she's been a favorite of millions. One of the best actors of her generation, it's crazy she's only won one Oscar (for Shakespeare in Love).

Harrison Ford

The first thing you might think of when you think of Harrison Ford is Star Wars or Indiana Jones. It's true that it was those movies in the late '70s and early '80s that made him a superstar, but his career started humbly with roles in movies like A Time for Killing and Luv in 1967.

Sophia Loren

For more than 70 years, Sophia Loren has been a star in Europe and the United States. She started in her native Italy in 1950 before coming Stateside in 1958 when she signed on to star in movies for Paramount. Before long, she was a superstar on both sides of the pond.

Warren Beatty

Like his co-star in Bonnie and Clyde, Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty has been a star in Hollywood for decades. He's also been discerning in the roles he's taken over the years, so he doesn't have a long list of credits like most of the people on this list. That's not because his star dimmed. He's just particular, and that is something we all strive for.

Barbra Streisand

What can we really say about Barbra Streisand? She's a legendary singer and actor, and she's equally well-known for both. There are few stars as enduring and amazing as "Babs."

Robert Redford

Though he is officially retired now, Robert Redford is still one of the biggest Hollywood stars today (and ever). His career started with early roles on shows like The Twilight Zone, and by the time he hung up his cleats, so to speak, the star of The Natural was one of the biggest stars in the history of the industry.

Blythe Danner

Like many on this list, Blythe Danner started her professional career on Broadway and Off-Broadway in the 1960s. Her first movie credit came in 1972, but by then, she was a seasoned pro. She may be best known as the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow these days, but that is selling her way short, as she's been an award-winning actress for decades.

Al Pacino

Famously, Al Pacino entered the American consciousness in 1972's The Godfather, but he'd been working for a few years at that point, mostly on stage. His film debut was in Me, Natalie, alongside Sopranos cast member Nancy Marchand. He has been widely considered one of the best actors of his generation ever since.

Ellen Burstyn

Though her breakthrough didn't come until 1971 with The Last Picture Show, Ellen Burstyn had been picking up small roles on TV shows for years at that point. She has since gone on to win an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe Award. Not too shabby.

Robert De Niro

When you ask someone who the best actor of the last 60 years is, there is a decent chance Robert De Niro will be the name that comes out of their mouth. For many, many decades, De Niro has been stealing scenes and working his tail off to be the best actor he can be. He's gained weight for roles, dropped weight for others, and gotten completely cut for still others. All the while delivering his trademark charm and skills.

Cher

If you could turn back time and you were taking bets in the 1960s that Cher would still be one of the biggest stars in the world in the 2020s, you would probably get pretty good odds that she wouldn't be. She's proven everyone wrong, winning an Oscar for Moonstruck and continuing to wow audiences with her concerts.

Martin Sheen

It's hard to say just what role Martin Sheen will be best remembered for long after he's gone. Will it be Jeb Bartlett on The West Wing? Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now? Carl Fox in Wall Street? Robert E. Lee in Gettysburg? What is for sure is that Sheen, who landed his first movie role in 1967, will be remembered fondly by millions of fans.

Vanessa Redgrave

English actress Vanessa Redgrave got her star in period pieces like A Man For All Seasons and Camelot in the 1960s. She parlayed that into a decades-long career that is still going, including a role in Cold Storage in 2025.

Ian McKellen

For modern generations, Ian McKellen is known for his roles as Gandalf the Grey and Magneto, but his career is so, so much more. One of the great Shakespearean actors of the last 60 years, he's been starring on stage and screen since the mid-'60s.

Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen found her biggest fame in the 1990s with Murphy Brown, but her career started way back in 1966 in the Sidney Lumet film The Group. She was a model before that, and has turned in role after beloved role on TV and in films.

Ron Howard

These days, Ron Howard is pretty much sticking just to directing, and he's an ace director to be sure. He famously started his Hollywood career as a kid in the 1950s and became a child star in the '60s as Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. He later starred in Happy Days, before getting behind the camera and becoming one of the great directors of his time.

Goldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn first became a household name in 1968 when she starred in Laugh-In. She's been a star ever since, including starring in a slew of box office hits in the '70s and '80s. There is no question she is one of the funniest actors of her generation, and now she's also the mother to some big stars, too, in Wyatt Russell and Kate Hudson. Not a bad legacy to leave.

Patrick Stewart

Like others on this list, Patrick Stewart will be best known for roles that came in the second half of his career, like Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in The X-Men series. Of course, his career is much more than those two roles. It's a career that started in TV in the '60s on British shows like Coronation Street and Civilisation.

The three Godfather films from Paramount have left an incredible mark on cinema history. All three were nominated for Best Picture, and the first two both won. Both are considered among the very best movies ever made. While The Godfather Part III doesn't have the same immense reputation, in more recent years, critics have come around on the movie. One reason all three resonate so much with viewers is the incredible dialogue. This is a list of some of the very best lines from all three movies, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III.

A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.

Family is very important to the Corleones, and this is made very clear early in The Godfather when Vito (Marlon Brando) tells his godson Johnny Fontaine that it is important to spend time with them. Johnny had a breakdown before it, so Vito was making sure he was still "a man."

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Maybe of the most famous quotes from the movies is said by Michael (Al Pacino) while reminiscing about something his father told him. While sitting in the room that once served as his father's office, he offers a bit of advice that has been used many times over the years by many people. It's one of the most iconic lines ever.

That's my family, Kay, that's not me.

Early in the first movie, when we first meet Michael and his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton), he tells her a story about his father, Luca Brassi, and Johnny Fontaine. She is horrified by the violence in the story, but Michael assures her that he is different. Oh, how tragic that quote would become.

Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.

Poor Fredo (John Cazale) can almost never get anything right. Long before his betrayal of Michael in the second movie, he sides against Michael in a discussion with Moe Green (Alex Rocco). It's a mistake Michael quickly corrects and offers a stern warning to his older brother.

Senator, we're both part of the same hypocrisy. But never think it applies to my family.

Early in The Godfather Part II, Michael meets with Senator Pat Geary (G. D. Spradlin) at the new Godfather's son's party. When the Nevada senator gets lippy with Mike, insulting him and his family, Mike points out that they both are playing the same game, but his family has nothing to do with it. The fire and anger in Michael's eyes are downright scary.

Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment

The Godfather III, released more than a decade-and-a-half after the second installment, doesn't have the same reputation as the first two movies, but it does have some classic lines that fit right in with the franchise. Michael spends all of his time thinking and worrying about his enemies, but he never hates them. Don't hate the player, hate the game, so to speak.

I have a sentimental weakness for my children and I spoil them, as you can see. They talk when they should listen.

Sonny Corleone (James Caan) is a bit of a hothead, to say the least. He often lets hir mouth get ahead of his brain. It's something that Vito is working on. When Sonny speaks out of turn in a meeting, much like Fredo does with Moe Greene, Vito is quick to shut him down and apologize to Sollozzo for the outburst.

Do me this favor. I won't forget it. Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They'll tell you I know how to return a favor.

Young Vito, as portrayed by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II, is already full of sage advice and, as is evident by this quote, quite the reputation. Returning favors would be very important to Vito for the rest of his life.

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

Early on, while Michael is talking to Kay, we learn what making an offer someone can't refuse means. The first time we see it in action is when Vito promises that Johnny will get the movie he is hoping for, but thus far has been denied by the owner of the production company. Vito makes the offer, and Johnny gets the part. It leads to one of the most memorable scenes in The Godfather involving an innocent horse.

Every time I think I'm out, pull me back in!

While many rank the third movie a distant third when ranking the three Godfather movies, there is one line that people constantly quote and is as big a part of the series as any other. Michael is trying to go legitimate, but in the end, he's always pulled back into the underworld he has operated in for years.

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

One of the most famous lines in the movie, after Paulie is killed, comes from Peter Clemenza. The oft-quoted line was actually made up on the spot by the actor who played Clemenza, Richard Castellano.

I've loved baseball ever since Arnold Rothstein fixed the World Series in 1919.

For baseball fans, the story of the 1919 Black Sox (immortalized on the big screen in Eight Men Out) is the most infamous in all of baseball history. For a gangster like Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg), his memories are all positive.

My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.

Famously, it took decades for Al Pacino to watch The Godfather in its entirety. He'd seen bits and pieces on TV, and you have to wonder if he ever saw this gem of a line. It's something that rings true in almost any era. Powerful men do powerful things; where they stand is the only difference.

I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies.

In The Godfather II, Michael reaches a point when he feels he must eliminate all who have betrayed him and fight him. The dark side of Michael is very dark. Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) tries to reason with his adopted brother, but there is no turning back for Michael. Everyone must be eliminated, including his own brother, eventually. At least in the first one, it was only his brother-in-law who betrayed him and got dealt with.

It's not personal, it's strictly business.

Everything the characters do in the movies is business. Vito and Michael know not to take anything personally. If someone needs to die, make sure there is a business reason to kill them. Never get emotional, never get personal.

I know it was you, Fredo, you broke my heart.

Fredo isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and his stupidity is eventually his downfall. Sure, he feels slighted by his family, and that's fair. The way he tries to remedy the situation, though, by betraying them, is the wrong thing to do. The kiss of death Michael plants on his older brother in The Godfather II is emotional, but not nearly as heartwrenching as when Fredo gets his comeuppance.

If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.

As Michael and his underlings plan out how to exact revenge on their enemies, Tom argues that Hyman Roth may be untouchable, at least for a while. Michael disagrees and explains that everyone can be reached.

Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.

There are some that think The Godfather Part II is the best of the trilogy, and others, including Al Pacino, who believe the first is the best–possibly the best movie ever–and it's because of iconic lines like this. Luca Brasi never saw it coming, and when the fish is delivered to Sonny wrapped in Luca's bulletproof vest, everyone in the room understands what it means for Vito's loyal hitman.

Senator, you can have my answer now, if you like. My offer is nothing.

The conversation between Michael and Senator Geary is intense. There is an amazing tension between the two powerful men, and while Geary thinks his standing as a U.S. congressman trumps Michael's place as the godfather, Geary would be proven very wrong. It starts when Michael tells him exactly how much he will bribe the senator for a gaming license.

Women and children can afford to be careless, but not men.

Vito Corleone is one of the greatest characters in film history, but he's not the most enlightened, as evident by this quote in the first movie. He gives Michael all kinds of good advice before his death, and while this one works for its day, it's not something you want to be throwing out there in the 21st century.

I didn't want your son, Michael! I wouldn't bring another one of you sons into this world!

One of the most intense scenes in the whole series comes in the second movie when Michael and Kay fight over the nature of Michael's business. Kay has reached her breaking point, and while Michael believes she lost a child due to a miscarriage, Kay bravely tells him she terminated the pregnancy. It sets Michael into a rage, and the couple never recovers from it.

Do you know who I am? I'm Moe Greene! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders

In the long line of gangsters who attempted to go to battle with Michael Corleone, Moe Greene is one of the boldest. He insults Michael right to his face when Mike tries to explain that Moe's casino will be controlled by the family. Moe is a great character and has one of the best deaths in the whole trilogy.

I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen; I didn't ask who gave the order, because it had nothing to do with business!

Hyman Roth, like his old friend Vito Corleone, never lets things get personal. At least, he tries not to and puts up a facade that he does. Of course, that's not true, he goes after Michael for both personal and financial reasons, but not before pretending it's never personal.

I've always taken care of you, Fredo.

Fredo, Fredo, Fredo. It's so hard not to feel sorry for poor, hapless Fredo. Even Mike tries to do his best for Fredo, but the middle Corleone son just doesn't have what it takes. Michael spent a long time trying to help his brother, but in the end, the godfather had to do the worst thing imaginable.

Mr Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news at once.

Tom Hagen is the most loyal of all of the Corleone Family members, first to Vito, then to Michael. He's also a lawyer with a very special practice, serving only the family. When he tries to make a movie producer an offer that makes sense, giving a part in a movie to Johnny Fontaine, he is met with resistance. Later, the producer found it was an offer he couldn't refuse.

Your enemies always get strong on what you leave behind.

In the third movie, audiences get to see Michael return to Italy, and Michael delivers more sage advice about how to deal with enemies of the family.

Listen, whoever comes to you with this Barzini meeting, he's the traitor. Don't forget that.

Vito Corleone spends a lot of time advising his son after he retires as head of the family. One of the most important bits is about uncovering a traitor in the family. After the don dies, it's Sal Tessio who approaches Michael about a sit-down with his rival, Barzini. Michael then knows it's Tessio who has betrayed him.

I always thought that when it was your time, that you would be the one to hold the strings. Senator Corleone, Governor Corleone, something.

Vito knew that one of his sons would take over the family business, but he always assumed it would be Sonny. After Sonny is killed, there is only one option. Vito always wanted something different for Michael, but understood that Michael had the smarts and the skills to do anything, including yield real political power. Either way, Michael was going to be holding the strings.

Good health is the most important thing. More than success, more than money, more than power.

According to Michael in The Godfather Part II, Hyman Roth had been dying of the same heart attack for years. In Cuba, Roth admits that he is in poor health and seemingly doesn't have long to live. Even he senses his own mortality. Michael later helps the process along with the help of Al Neri.

I'm smart and I want respect!

Fredo does have a point that he legitimately feels passed over, but that doesn't mean he's right. His outburst in the den overlooking Lake Tahoe is intense, and it doesn't do Fredo any favors. First, he is cut out of the family, and later, after their mother dies, he is cut out altogether.

Tell Mike it was only business.

After Michael figures out that it was Tessio who betrayed him, there is only one option. Tessio goes out like a standup traitor, though, explaining it was about business, and Tom acknowledges that Michael understands that. But he still won't get off the hook, for old times' sake.

I believe in America. America has made my fortune.

One of the most powerful lines to open any movie has to be the one delivered by Amerigo Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto) at the beginning of The Godfather. The whole trilogy is a uniquely American story, and that is clear from the very start.

That time has come. We no longer get to look forward to the next The White Lotus episode on the 2025 TV schedule, because this weekend is the end! Of Season 3, at least. Now our final theories are in, it's time to look forward to Season 4 and while yes, we've been thinking ahead about where it could be set, I actually think what might be more interesting is who signs on for the cast. So, I asked two of this season’s cast members, and they had some solid ideas.

So far, we’ve seen a slew of big stars join The White Lotus. Remember when Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario (and her white bikini) and Sydney Sweeney were all in the first season? And what about Aubrey Plaza and the return of Jennifer Coolidge in Season 2? The Season 3 cast has been even more stacked with the likes of Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Lalalisa all a part of it. Who could be next?

The White Lotus’s youngest cast members Sarah Catherine Hook and Sam Nivola, who play two of the Ratliff kids have some ideas. As Nivola brainstormed:

Oh, I love Walken in Severance, and would be so game for the 82-year-old to play a retiree with some sort of dark secret in the next The White Lotus edition. Plus, due to Severance, we already know he's game for TV.

Sure, the 84-year-old Al Pacino would also be a great character actor from the same generation to catch on the small screen for another one of Mike White’s enrapturing storylines. Cruise is another interesting one because the actor has been so invested in big-screen affairs, so it’s the last place we’d think to find him, though that probably means a Lotus appearance is never gonna happen.

Nivola, who is actually the son of Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola, also said he’s thought about Kieran Culkin before as well. Culkin recently was part of the 2025 Academy Award winners for A Real Pain after having an incredible run on TV (full of award wins) as part of the Succession cast as well. And, Hook had this fabulous idea to throw out there:

I mean, of course. How could someone not mention Meryl Streep? She belongs everywhere always. And we definitely know she’s been loving being part of television shows given her stint on Only Murders In The Building after previously doing Big Little Lies. N

ow, if Streep were to come on The White Lotus, I’d definitely want her to play something completely different from other roles of hers, but to me this is a solid thought and one I'd love to see play out in Mike White's hotel universe.

During the interview, we also talked about how an actor from the ‘90s like Alicia Silverstone would be a good pick to follow up Posey’s viral time in Season 3. Though whether an actor signs on might have to do with which location the next season is going to be filmed in. For Season 3, the cast committed to being in Thailand for seven months, which proved to be oddly lonely for many of them.

And of course there’s always Parker Posey’s ideas for Jennifer Coolidge to return via hallucination! We’ll of course be looking out for casting updates once Season 4 does get underway.

The Academy Award for Best Actor has been handed out every year since 1929 — fun fact, it was awarded to German actor Emil Jannings for not one but two acclaimed roles, in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh — and in the near-century since, it's been presented 97 times to 86 actors. But while taking home that coveted statuette is definitely a career highlight for any performer, the honor does add a little extra pressure on the actor's next project. Will it be as beloved and acclaimed as the role that won them the gold? Here are 32 films that Oscar-winning actors did after taking home the Academy Award, and how they were received.

Cillian Murphy

After the enormity of portraying famed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's billion-dollar blockbuster Oppenheimer, and taking home the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor in the process, Cillian Murphy went small for his next film — literally. In the 2024 adaptation of Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These, Murphy returned to his native Ireland to play Bill, a quiet coal merchant and father of five internally struggling with the harsh realities of the infamous Magdalene Laundries. While Murphy didn't replicate the awards dominance of Oppenheimer with SMTLT, his internal and affecting performance was widely praised by critics.

Joaquin Phoenix

After four nominations throughout his decades-spanning career, Joaquin Phoenix finally took home that Best Actor statue in 2020 for his engrossing portrayal of the nihilistic clown Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips' Joker. Following that iconic role, Phoenix next appeared in the 2021 Mike Mills dramedy C'mon C'mon, an improv-heavy performance that saw the actor play a middle-aged radio journalist tasked with babysitting his nephew (Woody Norman) while on the road for work. Phoenix was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards, and the film was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the Top 10 Independent Films of the year.

Will Smith

Will Smith had quite an, um, eventful evening when he took home the Oscar for Best Actor in 2022 for King Richard after two prior nominations (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). Winning an Oscar means that a spotlight is already bright on an actor, but the added publicity from the ceremony means his post-slap comeback would be even more scrutinized than usual. His follow-up was 2022's Emancipation, in which he played a runaway slave in 1860s Louisiana. Though the drama received mixed reviews overall, Smith won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance.

Anthony Hopkins

Though he's garnered six Oscar nominations across his illustrious acting career — with his most recent win being for 2021's The Father — Anthony Hopkins' first Academy Award was for that scene-stealing villain, psychiatrist turned serial killer Hannibal Lector in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. Following up such an iconic performance is no small task and unfortunately, Hopkins' next film, 1992's Freejack opposite Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger, was a sci-fi dud, bombing both with critics and audiences. During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Hopkins himself called the film "terrible."

Leonardo DiCaprio

Five-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio had a bit of "always the bridesmaid" syndrome where the Academy Awards were concerned, until he finally took home the Best Actor Oscar for his emotionally raw and physically punishing performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2019 Western epic The Revenant. His next big-screen role was, graciously, a bit less cold and blustery, trading the frosty American Midwest for starry Los Angeles in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The latter received 10 Oscar nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including a nod for DiCaprio's individual work.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington had already taken home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a Civil War soldier in the 1989 war drama Glory, but he got his first big Best Actor win for portraying corrupt LAPD officer Alonzo Harris in the 2001 crime thriller Training Day. His next performance was another memorable Denzel role: as the title character in the 2002 Nick Cassavetes-directed drama John Q, which saw Washington play a desperate father who takes a hospital emergency room hostage in order for his son to receive a heart transplant. Alas, despite some praise for Denzel's performance, the film itself boasts only a 26% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Robert De Niro

Six years after taking home the Best Supporting Actor statue for The Godfather Part II, Robert De Niro got his Best Actor win for his iconic and intense work as boxing champion Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. A year later, De Niro put away the boxing gloves and picked up the Bible to play a Roman Catholic monsignor in 1981's True Confessions, opposite fellow The Godfather great Robert Duvall. Though reviews for the neo-noir were largely positive, the National Review's William F. Buckley, Jr. panned it: "Robert De Niro is badly miscast. He is never entirely convincing."

Matthew McConaughey

After acclaimed turns in 2011's Lincoln Lawyer and 2012's Magic Mike, the so-called "McConaissance" was officially solidified a year later with Matthew McConaughey's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS, in the biopic Dallas Buyers Club. Despite not having nearly as much screentime, the actor's next performance was just as memorable: a chest-thumping, meme-inducing extended cameo as Mark Hanna in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.

Tom Hanks

Beyond being one of the most beloved actors of all time, Tom Hanks also holds a piece of cinema history: he's one of only two actors to win back-to-back Academy Awards for acting. Yes, that means after taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his heart-wrenching performance as HIV-positive lawyer Andrew Beckett in 1994's Philadelphia, Hanks struck Oscar gold yet again with his very next performance, as the titular lead of 1995's Forrest Gump.

Rami Malek

Rami Malek belted his way to an Oscar as legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the glossy 2019 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. His first post-award performance also revolved around his voice — voice acting, that is, as Malek portrayed a mountain gorilla named Chee-Chee in the 2020 fantasy-adventure film Dolittle, with his future Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. as the titular doc. The family-friendly flick received abysmal reviews from critics, with Courtney Howard of Variety writing: "What should have been an awe-filled adventure quickly curdles into an awful one, thanks to a pedestrian formula and the filmmakers' fixation on fart jokes."

Adrien Brody

In 2003, Adrien Brody made Oscar history when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29 for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist, becoming the youngest actor ever to win in that category. Later that year, he followed up his historic win with the musical crime comedy The Singing Detective, about a mystery writer (Robert Downey Jr.) who relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations. The film scored a 39% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx had one hell of a 2004, serving up not one but two award-worthy performances: He took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as soul great Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray and also received a Best Supporting Actor nod that same year for his work in the crime film Collateral. It would be near-impossible for any performer to hit that kind of stratospheric high again, especially with Foxx's follow-up Stealth — the 2005 military action flick co-starring Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel was dubbed a "stink-bomb" by Roger Ebert.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Acting legend Daniel Day-Lewis deservedly holds the record for the most Best Actor awards ever, with three wins out of six nominations, but his first was for playing Christy Brown, a writer-artist born with cerebral palsy, in the 1989 drama My Left Foot. And though he would later follow that iconic role up by playing famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Bill the Butcher, his immediate next performance was as an Irish-American dentist traveling around Argentina in the forgettable 1989 dramedy Eversmile, New Jersey.

Jack Nicholson

The first of three Academy Awards for the legendary movie star, Jack Nicholson's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest performance as Randle McMurphy nabbed him the Oscar in 1976. Later that year, he would star as cattle rustler Tom Logan opposite Marlon Brandon in the Arthur Penn-helmed Western The Missouri Breaks. Coming hot on the heels of not only his own Oscar win but also Brando's for The Godfather, the film was highly anticipated — however, it failed to live up to those expectations and became a notorious critical and commercial flop.

Marlon Brando

One of the most iconic cinema stars of all time, Marlon Brando was nominated for eight Oscars across his decades-spanning career. He won two, the first being for his electrifying role as prizefighter turned longshoreman Terry Malloy in the 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront, widely considered one of the greatest acting performances of all time. His next role as Napoleon Bonaparte in the historical romance Désirée didn't win him any awards, but Variety reportedly called his performance "a masterful exhibition of thesping" at the time.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman had already solidified himself as a vibrant and vital supporting actor with films like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous, Magnolia and 25th Hour, but his Oscar-winning portrayal of author Truman Capote in 2005's Capote officially upped him to leading man status. He would receive another three Oscar nominations in the years to follow, but his very next role was more of a crowd-pleaser than an awards grab: as arms dealer Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III.

Russell Crowe

Audiences and critics alike were very much entertained by Russell Crowe's performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 Rome-set epic Gladiator, which earned the New Zealand-born star the Best Actor Oscar at the 73rd Academy Awards. Crowe would go up for the same award only a year later, for his portrayal of American mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. in the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind, but he lost to Training Day lead Denzel Washington.

Jean Dujardin

Jean Dujardin rose to international fame with his performance as George Valentin in the 2011 silent movie The Artist — his Oscar win was a historic one, as he was the first French performer to ever take home the Best Actor statue. Despite his newfound Hollywood status, however, the actor-comedian returned to his native France for his next film credit: The Players, a 2012 comedy anthology co-starring Gilles Lellouche, with each man also directing and writing a segment.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage's filmography is a wild ride, from critically acclaimed fare like Raising Arizona, Moonstruck and Adaptation to straight-to-video shlock. Thankfully, his 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas falls into the former category, winning Cage the Best Actor Oscar for his role as alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson. (Funnily enough, it's not one of Nic Cage's favorite Nic Cage movies.) His next movie was the 1996 action thriller The Rock, which also won Cage an award: the Best On-Screen Duo statue at the MTV Movie Awards alongside co-star Sean Connery.

Eddie Redmayne

British star Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in the 2014 biographical drama The Theory of Everything. But that career high was immediately followed by a career-low: a Golden Raspberry Award — a parody award honoring cinematic failures — for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in the galactically goofy 2015 space opera Jupiter Ascending. Even he admitted his performance was bad!

Sidney Poitier

A movie icon through and through, Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier made history in 1964 as the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field. A year later, he moved on from that seminal role with the 1965 Cold War thriller The Bedford Incident, as a civilian photojournalist aboard a U.S. Navy ship that gets into some messy business with a Soviet submarine. Though Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "the whole thing transcends plausibility," other critics clearly disagreed — the movie has an 86% Certified Fresh rating.

Sean Penn

After a trio of Best Actor nominations, Sean Penn's haunting performance as a grieving, vengeful father of a murdered Boston girl in the Clint Eastwood-directed neo-noir Mystic River finally got him the Academy Award in 2004. Later that year, Penn starred in yet another crime thriller, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, based on the story of the POTUS's would-be assassin Samuel Byck in the mid-1970s. The latter film didn't share the award-worthy gravitas of Mystic River, though, per Rotten Tomatoes, critical consensus said: "A fascinating true story and compelling Sean Penn performance are worthy compensations."

Roberto Benigni

Few Oscar wins were as memorable as Roberto Benigni's, what with presenter Sofia Loren's passionate declaration of "Roberto!" to Benigni's literal victory lap up to the stage. The Italian actor-director took the Best Actor trophy in 1998 for the Holocaust tragicomedy Life is Beautiful, making him the first honoree for a non-English language performance. A year later, he would appear in a very different movie: French-Italian-German comedy adventure flick Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar opposite Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier, which was a box office success.

Al Pacino

One of the most influential actors in modern cinema, Al Pacino was nominated for eight Academy Awards — including for The Godfather films, Serpico and the crime drama classic Dog Day Afternoon — before finally taking home the Best Actor statue for playing Frank Slade in 1992's Scent of a Woman. That Oscar win gave viewers an extra critical eye on his next role, as Nuyorican criminal Carlito Brigante in the De Palma crime drama Carlito's Way, however, reviews were largely positive.

Ben Kingsley

It's a daunting thing playing any famous figure in movies based on true stories, especially when the subject is so famous, that they need only one name. Case in point: Gandhi, the 1982 bio epic about the Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough and performed by English actor Sir Ben Kingsley. Luckily for them, the film won Best Picture and Kingsley took home the Best Actor award. Though his next project, the 1983 film adaptation of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, didn't get Oscar acclaim, it was well-received by critics.

Humphrey Bogart

It seems surprising that Humphrey Bogart didn't win the Oscar for a role as iconic as Rick Blaine in the 1942 classic Casablanca. No, it would actually be another eight years until ol' Bogie won Best Actor for The African Queen, starring as Canadian mechanic Charlie Allnut opposite Katharine Hepburn's Methodist missionary Rose Sayer. His post-Oscar follow-up was the 1952 noir Deadline – U.S.A.: Variety said "Bogart gives a convincing performance all the way" as a big-city newspaper editor who exposes a gangster's crimes.

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker was ferocious and formidable as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 historical drama The Last King of Scotland, one of his best performances that got the performer a Best Actor Oscar in '07. Later that year, the actor appeared in the ensemble crime drama The Air I Breathe alongside Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy and Brendan Fraser. Though reviews for the film were overwhelmingly negative, several singled out Whitaker's performance. Annabelle Robertson at Crosswalk wrote: "Whitaker, in particular, is extremely sympathetic in his role—a feat that is all the more outstanding after his turn as the evil dictator in The Last King of Scotland."

Dustin Hoffman

After three Best Actor nods, New Hollywood icon Dustin Hoffman received his first Academy Award for playing half of a couple going through a devastating divorce (alongside an equally great Meryl Streep) in Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980. His next movie role is just as much of a classic: as Michael Dorsey-slash-Dorothy Michaels in the beloved 1982 comedy Tootsie, which nabbed the star yet another Best Actor nomination.

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman was nearly unrecognizable in his prosthetics-heavy performance as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the 2017 historical drama Darkest Hour. The Academy Awards honored the quintessential Oldman role with a Best Actor award, his second nomination after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His next role was just as transformative, if not nearly as acclaimed: Oldman voiced an artificial intelligence in the 2018 sci-fi thriller Tau, which holds a woeful critical rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Laurence Olivier

One of the most celebrated Shakespearean actors in film history, cinema icon Laurence Olivier starred in and directed adaptations of three of the Bard's best-known words, Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955), and earned a Best Actor Oscar for playing the Prince of Denmark. After portraying one of the most famous characters of all time, Olivier switched it up by cameoing as a no-name policeman in the 1951 drama The Magic Box, a "distinguished" bit of stunt casting that The New York Times praised as a delightful "extravagance."

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck's devastating performance as a father grieving the loss of his three children in Kenneth Lonergan's gut-wrenching Manchester by the Sea clearly broke the collective hearts of the Academy, which voted to give the Boston-bred performer the Best Actor award in 2017. That year, he would tackle another exploration of love and loss with the supernatural drama A Ghost Story, which was a hit with critics — Richard Brody of The New Yorker included the title on his list of the decade's best films.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser experienced quite the career comeback when he took the Best Actor Oscar for his acclaimed performance as a morbidly obese, housebound English teacher in the 2022 Darren Aronofsky-directed melodrama The Whale. He kept those high-profile projects going with his next film credit, as attorney W. S. Hamilton in Martin Scorsese's stunning American crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph has emerged as a true star within the past several years, and she only has more room to rise in Hollywood. Now, just over a decade into her career in earnest, the actress is revealing a grounding moment involving great advice from Al Pacino. The fame-related wisdom that the iconic actor shared with her resurfaced when they reconnected for a project years later. Needless to say, it was a "full circle" moment for Randolph.

The Dolemite Is My Name actress was a guest on the Sirius XM's Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast and discussed much of her career. During the conversation, Da'Vine Randolph explained how a life-changing but a semi-abstract exchange with the Scarface star came back around years later. She said this of his metaphorical piece of advice:

The moment seems unreal and probably was to the High Fidelity alum. Al Pacino called it right out of the gate, Randolph is special and has given plenty of Oscar-worthy performances already since the 2014 conversation. Of course, Pacino is also one of the many stars who's dished out a performance that deserved an Academy Award and won for their efforts. So Randolph is in very good company.

Amid her recent interview, the Lost City actress went on to pull from her fellow actor's analogy. With that, she spoke of her experience making that proverbial climb:

Of course, the star -- who welcomed a child at 83 years old in 2023 -- would be able to foresee and be right about DaVine Joy Randolph’s career at the beginning. I wouldn't be surprised if the message seemed incredibly confusing to Randolph and too much to fully process then. The United States vs Billie Holiday alum then revealed the full circle moment where she found herself in a room with Pacino and other A-listers (and I think plenty of actors would be feeling incredibly emotional in such a situation):

What a cinematic moment for Randolph, celebrating her accomplishments in the industry, being surrounded by the best and understanding fully what Pacino meant. And how incredible is it that the moment is forever etched in history? Truly this was a beautiful moment. What's most exciting now is that the sky is the limit as, even though there are plenty of great movies and show starring Randolph, she has the potential to contribute more great work.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph shared more during her interview, touching upon whether or not Al Pacino actually remembers the moment:

By all accounts, the On the Come Up alum is a true student of her craft and has seemingly always taken the chance to learn from Eddie Murphy and other industry giants like Sandra Bullock and Paul Giamatti. Don’t be fooled though, while she does take the time to absorb what she can from veterans, her performances are all her own. And, if her unparalleled emotional performance in The Holdovers is any indication, she'll contribute even more great work as time goes on.

Think of your favorite movie character of all time. There is a good chance that the actor who ended up playing that part is not the first actor the studio approached. See for yourself by taking a look at this list of celebrities who decided to pass on a movie role that would turn out to make cinematic history.

Will Smith (Neo In The Matrix)

It is actually pretty easy for us to picture what the Matrix movies might have been like with Will Smith as Neo. However, the Academy Award winner seems to believe that Keanu Reeves was the better choice to play the chosen one in the mind-bending, dystopian sci-fi movie classic, claiming in a video on his YouTube channel that he would have "ruined it."

Jodie Foster (Princess Leia in Star Wars)

Fresh off her Academy Award-nominated breakthrough role in 1976's Taxi Driver, a teenage Jodie Foster was offered the chance to be a part of the Star Wars movies as Princess Leia Organa. As she revealed to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, the two-time Oscar winner had a contractual obligation to an unnamed Disney movie, allowing Carrie Fisher to win the role.

Tom Hanks (Jerry Maguire In Jerry Maguire)

Tom Hanks was on top of the world with two Oscar wins (for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump) when he was offered to play a sports agent down on his luck in Jerry Maguire. He ended up passing on the eponymous role from Cameron Crowe's 1996 dramedy and later told Access Hollywood (via FandomWire), "I think you look at it now and it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise," who would receive a nod from the Academy for his performance.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Patrick Bateman In American Psycho)

Christian Bale once told GQ that every one of his roles was first offered to Leonardo DiCaprio and one confirmed example is Patrick Bateman in 2000's American Psycho. The future Oscar winner told The Morning Call that he passed on playing the sadistic yuppie because he felt the script “didn’t mean anything in the end," but rumor has it Bale's stepmom, Gloria Steinem, convinced DiCaprio that it would be bad for his post-Titanic, romantic heartthrob reputation at the time.

Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Predator In Predator)

The titular terrifying alien enemy from 1987's Predator looked a lot different when Jean-Claude Van Damme was still in the role, according to THR's oral history. The Belgian actor star actually shot some footage in the original insect-like suit before deciding he would rather not be hidden in his own movie, leading to a redesign of the costume and the casting of 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall.

Jack Nicholson (Michael Corleone In The Godfather)

While we cannot imagine anyone other than Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, Jack Nicholson probably would have been great in the Godfather movies. However, the three-time Oscar winner refused the offer, explaining to Movieline in 2004 (via ScreenRant) that he believed "Italians should play Italians."

John Travolta (Forrest Gump In Forrest Gump)

When speaking with MTV News (via Collider), John Travolta revealed that he had no regrets about turning down the title role of the Best Picture Oscar winner Forrest Gump and it is no wonder why. Not only did Tom Hanks embody the role to Oscar-winning acclaim but Travolta found career-rejuvenating success with Pulp Fiction in 1994 instead.

Burt Reynolds (James Bond In Live And Let Die)

In 2015, Burt Reynolds told USA Today that, when approached to be Sean Connery's replacement in the James Bond films, he believed the public would not accept a 007 with an American accent. However, he would later come to believe that, "It was a stupid thing to say. I could've done it and I could've done it well."

Eddie Murphy (Winston Zeddemore In Ghostbusters)

While appearing on The Tonight Show in 2019, Eddie Murphy was asked by Jimmy Fallon if it is true that he passed on playing Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters. The comedian confirmed that it was true but added that it allowed him the opportunity to lead an even bigger hit from 1984: Beverly Hills Cop.

John Lithgow (Seth Brundle In The Fly)

Jeff Goldblum's iconic role from David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly was previously offered to John Lithgow, who told IndieWire that he said no, not wanting to play "something so grotesque.” Having witnessed Seth Brundle's transformation into a half-human, half-insect in the intense body horror movie, we cannot say we blame him.

Tom Selleck (Indiana Jones In Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

Having already worked with Harrison Ford three times before, George Lucas was reluctant to cast the Han Solo actor as Indiana Jones, opening up the opportunity for a rotation of actors, including Tom Selleck. As he recalled on Today, the actor was forced to pass on 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, due to his commitment to the CBS crime drama, Magnum P.I.

Christopher Lee (Dr. Loomis In Halloween)

While already a horror movie icon at the time for his acclaimed portrayal of Dracula and role in 1973's The Wicker Man, Christopher Lee could have added one of the all-time best horror movies, 1978's Halloween, to his resume. According to The Digital Fix, he would come to regret the decision to pass on the role of Michael Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, who was immortalized by Donald Pleasance instead.

Christina Applegate (Elle Woods In Legally Blonde)

Before Reese Witherspoon made Elle Woods an icon among fictional lawyers in Legally Blonde and among fictional politicians in the sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, the role was offered to Christina Applegate. The former Married... with Children star later explained to Entertainment Tonight that she was afraid of repeating the ditzy blonde but jokes it was a "stupid move."

Emily Blunt (Black Widow In Iron Man 2)

Scarlett Johansson was perfect as Natasha Romanoff but Emily Blunt would have made a killing as the Avenger also called Black Widow. The English actor explained to Howard Stern that she could not originate the role for the MCU in 2010's Iron Man 2 because she was contractually obligated to appear in that year's adaptation of Gulliver's Travels.

Emma Watson (Mia In La La Land)

Playing Mia in 2016's La La Land earned Emma Stone her first Oscar win but the role of the aspiring actor had originally gone to another Emma: Emma Watson. The Harry Potter movies star said in a SiriusXM Town Hall interview (via Us Weekly) that her commitment to Beauty and the Beast and the hard work required to star in the musical led her to pull out.

Gwyneth Paltrow (Rollergirl In Boogie Nights)

Heather Graham made her mainstream breakthrough in 1998's Boogie Nights as "Rollergirl" – a role that was previously offered to Gwyneth Paltrow. The future Oscar winner told Howard Stern (via Us Weekly) that she passed because she feared the role, which required her to completely disrobe and simulate lewd acts on camera, would "kill" her conservative grandfather.

Jennifer Hudson (Precious In Precious)

Jennifer Hudson had previously said in her memoir, I Got This: How I Changed My Ways And Lost What Weighed Me Down, that she turned down the title role of Precious because she did not want to take a role that involved her weight. The Oscar winner later retracted that statement when speaking to The Huffington Post, explaining that Was not interested in what the role, which ultimately went to Gabourey Sibide, would have required her to do at that point in her career.

Matt Damon (Jake Sully In Avatar)

Sam Worthington became a household name when he led James Cameron's astonishingly successful sci-fi epic, Avatar, as Jake Sully – a role previously offered to Matt Damon. The Oscar winner once joked to Access Hollywood that not participating in the 2009 film cost the movie "a lot."

Ian McKellan (Albus Dumbledore In Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban)

The Lord of the Rings movies' Gandalf actor, Sir Ian McKellan, could have added another famous wizard to his resume and become the Harry Potter franchise's new Albus Dumbledore. Instead, the part went to Michael Gambon after, as he told BBC News, McKellan turned it down because he couldn’t “take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me,” referring to the late Richard Harris who was a vocal critic of the actor.

Drew Barrymore (Sidney Prescott In Scream)

Given Drew Barrymore's A-list status in 1996, audiences assumed that she was the lead of Wes Craven's Scream, which could have been the case, as she confirmed on Hot Ones. However, she requested to be killed off in the beginning as Casey Becker, knowing it would shock the audience, paving the way for Neve Campbell to become a Scream Queen in the role of Sidney Prescott.

Angela Bassett (Leticia Musgrove In Monster’s Ball)

Halle Berry became the first Black Best Actress Oscar winner for her performance in Monster's Ball as Leticia Musgrove – a role that was offered to Angela Bassett. According to EW, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star felt the part of a Black call girl was too stereotypical.

Sean Connery (Gandalf In The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring)

Sir Ian McKellan mentions in an oral history about the Lord of the Rings series for The Independent that an earlier choice to play Gandalf the Grey was Sir Sean Connery. New Line Cinema executive Mark Ordesky notes that the former James Bond actor passed on the role of the wizard simply because he "did not get it."

Bette Midler (Annie Wilkes In Misery)

Despite having no qualms about playing an actual evil witch in 1993's Hocus Pocus, Bette Midler did have some reservations about playing Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's Misery from 1990. The actor and singer told Variety that was interested in playing the sadistic nurse because of her violent, unfunny, and irredeemable qualities.

Warren Beatty (Bill In Kill Bill)

In 2003, Quentin Tarantino told BBC that he originally started writing the title role of Kill Bill with Warren Beatty in mind because he wanted to work with him and the Oscar winner was set to play the target of Uma Thurman's vengeful Bride for a bit. However, after realizing that David Carradine was a better fit, followed by consideration of the time commitment and martial arts training involved, the actor and filmmaker amicably agreed to part ways.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Clarice Starling In The Silence Of The Lambs)

Michelle Pfeiffer once told Today's Hoda Kotb (via People) that her reasons for passing on roles in the likes of Pretty Woman and Basic Instinct typically had to do with scheduling conflicts. However, she told The New Yorker she passed on playing Clarice Starling (which ultimately went to Jodie Foster) in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs because the “evil” in the film made her nervous.

Al Pacino (Han Solo In Star Wars)

In his memoir, Sonny Boy, Al Pacino reveals that, before Harrison Ford was cast in Star Wars, he was offered the role of Han Solo. The Oscar winner explains that he could not "make anything out of" George Lucas' script and chose not to play the pilot of the Millennium Falcon.

Bela Lugosi (The Creature In Frankenstein)

According to the book, The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig (via SlashFilm), the star of 1931's Dracula had the opportunity to play two Universal Monsters in the same year, having also been offered to play The Creature in Frankenstein. However, the actor believed such a role was "beneath him," paving the way for Boris Karloff to rise up in the ranks of horror royalty as Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creation.

Haley Lu Richardson (Dani Ardor In Midsommar)

Haley Lu Richardson, known for one of the best M. Night Shyamalan movies, Split, passed on the role of Dani Ardor in Ari Aster's 2019 sophomore effort, Midsommar. The A24 horror masterpiece was ultimately led by Florence Pugh, whom Richardson told Backstage she has nothing but praise for, despite not yet having the courage to watch the movie.

Julia Roberts (Annie Reed In Sleepless In Seattle)

The two most prestigious queens of the rom-com genre would have to be Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan but only one could play Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle. Roberts told InStyle (via ABC News) that she was offered the part but could not do it, adding that Ryan and Tom Hanks "are just such a jewel of a fit in that."

Jamie Lee Curtis (Regan MacNeil In The Exorcist)

Jamie Lee Curtis became horror royalty with her feature film debut in 1978's Halloween but her reign could have begun earlier if not for one thing: her mother, Janet Leigh. Curtis told EW that, when she was asked to audition for Regan MacNeil in 1973's The Exorcist (which would go to Linda Blair), the Psycho star spoke on the then-13-year-old's behalf and refused the offer.

Lee Marvin (Quint In Jaws)

Robert Shaw's performance as Quint in Jaws is nearly as famous as the man-eating shark itself but the English actor was actually not Steven Spielberg's first choice. The filmmaker told Vanity Fair that he previously approached Lee Marvin but the Dirty Dozen star was not interested.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Amber In Clueless)

Elisa Donovan's character in Clueless, Amber, very nearly went to the future star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Adam Schroeder, the co-producer of the 1995 high school movie classic, told Vanity Fair that the actor's commitment to the soap opera All My Children at the time forced her to recede from consideration.

We’re less than a week away from the much-anticipated release of Wicked. Despite some initial backlash, fans are stoked to see leads Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo do their thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to imagine a world in which producers of the musical adaptation walked down a different Yellow Brick Road. At least that’s the premise behind an SNL sketch this week which wound the clock back to the auditions and showed us numerous celebrities busting out their best inner-witches.

From Al Pacino to Sydney Sweeney to JoJo Siwa, the Saturday Night Live sketch casts a really wide net covering all sorts of ages, performance styles and levels of celebrity. The only thing they have in common is they all want to be in Wicked. Well, all of them except Janet Jackson, who isn’t looking to get cast, despite showing up for the auditions. You can watch the fun below…

If you’ve watched enough Saturday Night Live before, you no doubt recognize the basic structure of this sketch. It’s something the cast members and writers talk about now and again, as well. It’s a loose audition or highlight premise that allows everyone to get their more obscure or in-progress impressions on the air. Here's one for Jurassic Park.

Some of these celebs featured in the Wicked one like Sydney Sweeney, Al Pacino and Adele have enough star power that we could see them make appearances in a more traditional sketch in the future, but others are a little less likely, which is why I love to think about someone like Chloe Fineman arguing to get her take on Leslie Mann on the air. It probably feels like now or never.

Sometimes the key to a good impression is knowing when to get in and when to get out. Some of SNL’s more famous impressions appeared on the show dozens of times. Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump is probably the most famous recent example, as it was featured prominently on an almost weekly basis for years. That works when there’s a lot to say or analyze, but for many others, the knee-jerk appeal is more in the surprise of the particular celebrity randomly showing up, in seeing who is playing them and in getting a few lines of dialogue to see how accurate the voice is. In those cases, sketches like this are perfect because they give fans a bunch in random succession.

This sketch is also a good little reminder of how many cast members are contributing on a regular basis to the show right now. The current Season 50 cast might be a little short on household names, at least apart from Kenan Thompson and kinda sorta Bowen Yang, but there is so much depth and talent, all of whom are fighting for and earning airtime. Sometimes that’s ultimately better because it really allows the show to feature a wide blend of styles and senses of humor.

You can catch the next new episode of Saturday Night Live on December 7th with host Paul Mescal and musical guest Shaboozey. It’ll air on NBC and stream on Peacock.

We’ve all been waiting for the fifth installment of our favorite ogre from Duloc to recapture our hearts while making some goofy jokes in the process. Shrek somehow sustains through pop culture decades and has cemented his place, and rightfully so. Not many can pull off being a dynamic and flexible internet meme across multiple platforms (especially with the confirmation of his return), having a musical based on him and his friends, and an A-lister fan club, the most notable of the moment being Al Pacino.

In case you missed it, the Scarface star has been making headlines for a few different reasons, including why he waited decades to watch the 1972 masterpiece. One of the most surprising and out-of-the-blue reasons emerged while talking about his now available book, Sonny Boy, with the BBC. During the interview, the 84-year-old shared that his daughter made the Shrek-themed phone case, so he kept it.

With at least a few of the Pacinos on board for the 2026 return, Shrek 5 and everything that’s known so far, I think it's safe to say, bring it on. The slimy, smelly green ogre has been long overdue to make his return since the last installment was almost a decade and a half ago. Although the world did expand during the time period and led to the Puss in Boots series.

On the off chance, anyone needs a recap or reminder, the movie is based on a book published in 1990 of the same name. It's a series that centers around a curmudgeonly ogre named Shrek who embarks on a series of adventures and mishaps amongst other classic fairy tale creatures, all who have a comedic twist to them.

Shrek 5 will see the return of the "All Star" cast, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz. As of now the trio of Shrek, Donkey, and Princess Fiona are the only confirmed, but with a monster franchise, we’re sure to see some great talent join. Helming the coming film is Walt Dohrn, who is making his directorial debut but has been heavily a part of the Shrekverse since the beginning.

The universe of Shrek has something for everyone within its franchise, compare your favorites with our top rankings. In the meantime, I hope Pacino displays more appreciation for the fun fairytale gang in continually unexpected and heartwarming ways. After all, there is still another year ahead of us before the much awaited fifth movie lands on July 1, 2026.

In the meantime, If you’d like to catch up on or watch the previous four movies you can do so with a Peacock subscription. If you’re looking for some extra ogre content, Shrek the Musical is available to stream with a Prime subscription. And if you’re really dying for some extra ogre material, you can scour the internet for things like this special effect visual video of him terrorizing a rave.

To say The Godfather is considered one of the greatest movies of all time would be an understatement. Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece starred Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, who ultimately takes over his father’s responsibilities as the head of the mafia family after he faces life threatening injuries. Pacino’s nuanced performance is a tour-de-force, and he became a movie star after the film was released in 1972. Even with the acclaim, Pacino still waited decades to watch the film and is now explaining why.

Pacino, who is now 84, recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about his life and legacy amidst the release of his new book, Sonny Boy: A Memoir. The legendary actor discussed the role that The Godfather played in his career and how it shaped him as an actor. Despite the praise he received from critics and audiences alike for his performance, Pacino still avoided watching the movie at all costs. He explained that he even left the premiere of the film before watching it:

The Scarface icon isn't the only one who has avoided watching their own performances. Adam Driver used to leave his own premieres before he became more comfortable with the idea, and Denzel Washington has said he never revisits his own work. Despite Al Pacino trying to avoid the film, it was hard for him not to get sucked in, especially as the movie would frequently be aired on TV in subsequent years. While discussing that, he provided a personal reason as to why it took him so long to watch it:

I understand him not feeling like he was the right audience for his own film. It’s hard to be objective about something you're so intimately a part of, especially if you tend to be self critical of your own work. However, the allure of Godfather is almost undeniable, and the almost flawless filmmaking makes the film objectively great. Pacino’s performance is a standout, with the Oscar-winning drama being one of the Heat actor’s best movies. He may have been a biased audience member, but almost everyone who has seen the American classic agrees that it’s one of the greats, and an essential watch of the 20th century.

After seeing the film, Pacino believes it’s even better than the beloved sequel. It was famously a fraught production, with the studio fighting against casting Pacino and Marlon Brando in lead roles and entrusting young filmmaker Coppola with the kind of budget he was asking for. After the release of the film, anxieties diminished, with the movie becoming a worldwide success, and one of the most acclaimed movies of the '70s.

Even though it may have taken a while to get there, it's great that Al Pacino can now appreciate what he helped create and enjoy the movie as an audience member and not just a performer. You can revisit the Godfather movies, which are now all streamable with a Paramount+ subscription. Pacino fans should also check out Sonny Boy: A Memoir, which can be purchased now on Amazon.

When 1977’s Star Wars came out, it effectively changed the lives of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher forever. But if the stars had aligned differently, the space epic could have been Al Pacino’s followup to The Godfather if he had not turned down the role of Han Solo. In the Academy Award winner’s memoir, Sonny Boy, Pacino has shared the story behind almost being the iconic character that starred in the best Star Wars movies.

In the 1970s, Al Pacino’s career skyrocketed immensely when he played Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece. While talking about the sudden fame in Sonny Boy (via Entertainment Weekly), the actor said this:

Pretty wild, right? As Pacino shared, he was overwhelmed with all the attention he was getting post-Godfather, and there many directions his career could have gone down if he wanted to. Of course, we know he didn’t get the role, but he certainly put some thought into starring in the George Lucas movie. As he continued:

Al Pacino decided to leave it up to his acting teacher Charlie Laughton, who would go on to be a lifelong friend and mentor to the actor. Under the guidance of Laughton, not only would Pacino reject Star Wars, but he rejected blockbusters and franchises all together (aside from Ocean’s Thirteen back in 2007). Oh, and he did a donut commercial in an Adam Sandler movie, but we’re talking about the early years here.

Over the years, we’ve learned a ton of other big actors could have done Star Wars. Both Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell auditioned, but didn’t book it. Burt Reynolds, like Pacino, was offered the role, but turned it down, though he said in 2016 that he “regret” it and wishes he could have played the part.

Even though it’s fun to imagine what could have been, it’s hard to see anyone else but Harrison Ford playing Han Solo. The story behind Ford getting the role has to do with his connection with George Lucas on his prior film, American Graffiti. But, in a fun connection to himself and Al Pacino, the actor has said that he was working as a carpenter for the filmmaker behind The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola, when he was approached for the role.

Ford’s role as Han Solo would directly feed into his legendary role in the Indiana Jones movies and help him become one of Hollywood’s biggest actors, while Al Pacino took the auteur route. Almost 50 years later, there’s more upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows on the way.

Just because someone is a celebrity doesn’t mean they aren’t a regular person. It’s a strange statement to make given that these are just people, just because they are in the public eye doesn’t mean they are suddenly higher life forms than those of us at home. But the rare glimpses we get to see of the people our favorite characters are played by, make us love them all the more.

When I hear the name Al Pacino I think Scarface, The Godfather, and other iconic characters. I never give much thought to something as simple as what phone case he has. Well now I know, he's got one based off the Shrek movies. And the TikTok of him explaining the case is delightful. Check it out below:

Revealed in a clip with BBC news, Al Pacino revealed his absolutely amazing phone case. And like me, the interviewer was also flabbergasted, mainly because it’s the last thing one would think he’d have.

Watching the video genuinely brought a smile to my face as Pacino explains that the reason his phone case is Shrek themed is solely because his youngest daughter just put it on his phone, and he kept it. It’s such a simple response, and a hilarious moment, but it felt oddly heartwarming. I’m sure many of us can relate to either changing something our parents had simply because we can, or having a child at home who did something silly and we kept it.

I myself immediately thought of the time I made my fathers phone home screen a photo of a Batman plushie I had. Something he still has as his background to this day. It was just in seeing the way Pacino just accepts his daughters silliness and keeps it with him, it’s such a simple gesture but it says a lot about Pacino as a person and a father.

Pacino recently had a new baby at age 83, and he talked about how it's been giving him a new reason to keep on going. Coupled with the phone case, all in all, our favorite mobster is quite the devoted father and it’s extremely heartwarming.

If you want a more in depth glimpse into Al Pacino’s life his memoir “Sonny Boy” can be purchased on Amazon, and you can watch his latest crime thriller Knox Goes Away with a Max subscription.

Even the greatest actors have ups and downs in their careers. For some, it's more dramatic than others. John Travolta was virtually forgotten about before Quentin Tarantino cast him in Pulp Fiction, for example. Then there was "The McConaissance," when Matthew McConaughey roared back to prominence. Those two are hardly alone in finding roles that brought them back. Here is our list of 32 roles that saved actors' careers. 

Pulp Fiction - John Travolta

This was a big one. In the late '70s, there wasn't a bigger star than John Travolta. On the strength of a hit TV show (Welcome Back, Kotter), and two huge hits at the box office with Saturday Night Fever and Grease, Travolta was on top of the world. Then, almost all of a sudden, poof, he was gone. In the 16 years between Grease in 1978 and 1994, he appeared in only 11 movies, and three of those were Look Who's Talking movies and most of them bombed. Then Tarantino came along and cast him as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction and once again, Travolta was on top of the business and he's never looked back. 

Dallas Buyers Club - Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey exploded onto the scene in the early '90s in Dazed And Confused, where he delivered some of the most iconic quotes. In the mid-90s he started playing more dramatic roles in movies like A Time To Kill, Contact, and Amistad. By the early 2000s, he established himself as a popular lead in rom-coms. Then, after a few of his movies struggled to make an impact in the late 2000s, his star faded a little. That all changed in 2013 when he starred in, and won a Best Actor Oscar, for Dallas Buyers Club and The McConaissance was born. 

Stranger Things - Winona Ryder

With movies like Beetlejuice, Heathers,  The Age of Innocence, and Little Women, Winona Ryder was a superstar in the late '80s and early '90s. But in the early '00s, after some bad press for her shoplifting conviction, Ryder's star had fallen quite a bit and she even took a short break from acting. Though she never fell off the map completely, it wasn't until she starred in Stranger Things starting in 2016, that Ryder returned to the top. 

Judy - Renée Zellweger

Between Jerry McGuire in 1996 and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2005, Renée Zellweger was one of the most popular and successful actors in Hollywood. With a slew of hits and awards,  Zellweger could do no wrong. Then, after a few less-than-successful movies, the industry showed how fickle it could be and she fell off the A-list. That all changed in 2019 with Judy, followed up with the TV series The Thing About Pam.

The Whale - Brendan Fraser

the 1990s were Brendan Fraser's decade. He had some massive hits, most notably The Mummy in 1999, but soon after, it's like everything dried up. He worked still, but barely and it left the world asking what had become of the heartthrob. He answered every one with his amazing performance in The Whale, winning the Best Actor Oscar and roaring back to the top. 

Birdman - Michael Keaton

In the 1980s, Michael Keaton delivered some of the funniest lines in some of the funniest movies. In the mid-90s and early 00s, his career slowed a bit. He was still working but wasn't the big star he'd been when he got the role in Tim Burton's Batman. That is, of course, until he starred as an actor much like himself in Birdman and brought the great actor back to the top of the A-list. 

House Of Cards - Robin Wright

When she burst onto the scene in The Princess Bride, the sky was the limit for Robin Wright. She reached new heights with her role as Jenny in Forrest Gump but found herself a tabloid regular with her marriage to Sean Penn. Ultimately, she found perhaps her greatest fame when she landed the role of Claire Underwood in Netflix's House Of Cards. 

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Ke Huy Quan

Has there ever been a feel-good story in Hollywood like Ke Huy Quan's return to fame after winning an Oscar for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once? After decades of virtually not working in the industry, having found fame as a kid, Quan was once again the toast of the town. 

Halloween (2018) - Jamie Lee Curtis

She's been called the original slasher film "final girl" for her role in the original Halloween, and Jamie Lee Curtis rode that fame to the top of Hollywood. You might not remember, but in 2006 she actually announced her retirement from acting. Though she didn't give it up completely, she was very selective about roles, mostly playing supporting characters. That changed with 2018 Halloween when she roared back into the business head first. 

Sin City - Mickey Rourke

People forget just how huge Mickey Rourke was in the 80s. Men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him, as they say. Then, he decided he'd put acting on the back burner and become a boxer. After a somewhat successful run, he returned to acting, and with Sin City and The Wrestler, Rouke was back on top in Hollywood

Scream - Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore became a huge star as a kid in the 1980s with movies like E.T. and Firestarter. In her teens, some personal problems derailed things a little, but when she starred in Scream, it brought her completely back and she's never looked back. 

Wild - Reese Witherspoon

When Reese Witherspoon won the Academy Award for her performance in 2005's Walk The Line, she was on top of the world. Just a few years later though, after a string of poorly performing romance movies Witherspoon dubbed her "love triangle period," her career hit a valley. Then came Wild which marked not only her resurgence as an actor but her transition to big-time producer as well. 

Iron Man - Robert Downey, Jr

There probably isn't a more famous comeback story than Robert Downey, Jr. After years of personal problems and addiction, his career looked like it was going to be completely wasted. Then Downey sobered up and landed the role of a lifetime as Tony Stark/Iron Man and the rest is history. 

Arrested Development - Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman has had quite a few ups and downs in his career. In the '80s, he was a teen star on the verge of big things, but then his career hit a serious lull. It really wasn't until the cult success of Arrested Development that Bateman once again commanded must-see TV. 

Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool

With big roles in 90s TV shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Two Guys And A Girl, Ryan Reynolds was poised for huge success. At first, that's what he found, but it started to fizzle out with a string of forgettable movies in the late '00s and early teens, including the disaster that was The Green Lantern. Then came another superhero movie in 2015 called Deadpool and now he will be doing that until he's 90. 

Yellowjackets - Christina Ricci

By no fault of her own, Christina Ricci's career hit a string of bad luck with projects that she shined in, but for one reason or another didn't capture the attention of audiences. That changed, obviously, with Yellowjackets starting in 2021. 

The Godfather - Marlon Brando

People forget that when Francis Ford Coppola cast Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, Brando was on the outs in Hollywood. It's well-known lore at this point that Coppola had to fight to get the legend in the movie, but we're all grateful he did. 

24 - Kiefer Sutherland

With roles in Stand By Me, The Lost Boys,  and the two Young Guns movies, the late '80s and early '90s were big for Kiefer Sutherland. The mid and late '90s saw a bit of a lull with some box office disappointments. In 2001, Sutherland took on the role of Jack Bauer in 24, which quickly became one of the most popular shows on TV and Sutherland rode it to a new level of fame. 

 Orange Is The New Black - Natasha Lyonne

Legal and personal problems almost completely derailed Natasha Lyonne's promising career in the '00s. Thankfully, she got the help she needed and cleaned up, she scored a role on the Netflix hit Orange Is The New Black and she's continued to crush in a number of roles since. 

This Is Us - Mandy Moore

Around the turn of the century, Mandy Moore was unstoppable, starring in hit movies and charting on the Top 40. It was in 2016, however, when she was cast as the matriarch in This Is Us that her fame shot to an entirely new level. 

The Town - Ben Affleck

After a big decade in the '90s, Ben Affleck's fame in the '00s was more about the tabloids than it was about his filmography. It took a few years, but eventually, he proved to everyone how great a filmmaker he was with The Town in 2010, and ever since, he's been crushing it. 

Monster-in-Law - Jane Fonda

There weren't many bigger stars in Hollywood than Jane Fonda in the '70s and '80s. Then, in 1991, she announced she was retiring from acting, coinciding with her marriage to Ted Turner. She returned, to everyone's delight, in 2005's Monster-In-Law alongside Jennifer Lopez and has scoring hits ever since. 

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle - Neil Patrick Harris

Like his character on Doogie Howser, MD, Neil Patrick Harris was a prodigy. However after the hit show ended, he struggled to move into more adult roles. Surprisingly, it was playing a fictionalized version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle that landed him back on audiences' radar screens, and then he landed his most famous gig on How I Met Your Mother

Bohemian Rhapsody - Mike Myers

Mike Myers was everywhere in the 1990s. From SNL to Wayne's World (one of the best movies based on an SNL character) to Shrek to Austin Powers, he was on top of the world. In 2010, after a string of box office misses, he retreated from the scene, only to emerge with a glorious role in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody. 

John Wick - Keanu Reeves

After proving to be box office gold for a couple of decades, Keanu Reeves had a string of misses in the late '00s, but when he teamed up with director Chad Stahelski for John Wick in 2014, he helped launch a whole new franchise that continues to pump out hits. 

Unfaithful - Diane Lane

Diane Lane has always been selective about her roles, going back to her early days in Hollywood in the '80s. This has led to multiple career "revivals" but the most notable has to be her turn in the hit Unfaithful in 2002 which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars in 2003. 

Airplane! - Leslie Nielsen

For a generation of audiences, Leslie Nielson will forever be known for his roles in some of the best parody movies like Airplane! and The Naked Gun. But before Nielson was delivering hilarious lines in those movies, he was known for his dramatic acting., though his career had slowed before he reinvented himself in the first Airplane!  

Striptease - Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the '70s, but a few poorly received movies in the '80s knocked him off that lofty perch. While many might point to his role in Boogie Nights in 1997 as reviving his career, it was really his hilarious performance in Striptease from a year earlier that put him back on the map.

No Country For Old Men - Josh Brolin

After finding success as a young star in the 1980s in movies like The Goonies, Josh Brolin hit a career drought that lasted more than a decade and left him wondering if he'd ever regain his earlier success. He did so and more after his amazing turn in No Country For Old Men in 2007 and has been one of Hollywood's best ever since. 

Trading Places - Don Ameche

With an amazing career that had started in the 1930s, Don Ameche's bookings dried up in the 1970s. Luckily for all of his, he landed a role as one of the Duke Brothers in Trading Places and he once again was a huge star, this time with a whole new, younger, generation of fans. 

Sea of Love - Al Pacino

It is easy to forget that even the greatest sometimes find themselves in slumps. Such was the case with Al Pacino in the mid 1980s. After all the incredible success of the '70s, he learned how fickle Hollywood can be and it wasn't until 1989's Sea Of Love that Pacino regained his rightful spot among the elite. 

Rocky Balboa - Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone is responsible for some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history, but even the great ones stumble. Stallone had a pretty rough run of bad movies in the late '90s and early '00s, but when he returned to his roots in 2006's Rocky Balboa, he once again found his footing and not only starring in Rambo, reviving his other monster franchise, but he launched a new one with The Expendables.

When Al Pacino comes to mind, some major movie titles tag alongside the icon – likeThe Irishman, Ocean’s 13, Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon, as well as The Godfather franchise. You could definitely call him one of the tops of the top when it comes to prolific stars in the history of Hollywood. Honestly, Pacino's been a star in everything he's in, including the Adam Sandler 2011 comedy Jack and Jill where he makes a commercial for one of America’s favorite coffee chains.

The now 84-year-old Pacino essentially has doors, windows, and even skylights open to him in the industry, so why did he jump in on a Sandler movie? Well, he sat down with the New York Times and opened up about why, explaining:

Now knowing all that, it was a smart move for the Best Actor Oscar winner to bounce back into the game quickly. Sandler's films are quite large, and he's had plenty of celebrities make appearances in them over the years, so, all around, it was a good move for Pacino.

Plus, The Godfather actor has the comedy chops, and he made one killer Dunkin Donuts commercial.

Jack and Jill isn’t necessarily a top Sandler movie, but it stands out in part because of Pacino’s role. The story revolves around twin siblings, Jack and Jill, both played by Sandler, and their family dynamics. Pacino fits in bizarrely as a love interest of Jill, and as you can imagine the film gets wackier still.

Pacino has long surpassed his days on the set of the odd sibling movie, but he hasn’t shied away from comedy-adjacent roles over the years. Dick Tracy, Ocean’s 13, and The Scout all have a humorous sense that is certainly more lighthearted than some of his other roles. All the same, this man can deliver in a movie.

What’s ahead for the Serpico star now? He has one project on the 2024 movie schedule called Modi - Three Days on the Wing of Madness, which is set in the streets of Paris during World War I. Going into the 2025 movie schedule he also has some titles in post-production, including The Ritual. Beyond that, maybe more of that funny, comedic side of Pacino will surface again. One can hope!

Al Pacino is one of the film industry’s most prominent actors who dominated the best ‘90s movies like Heat and Scent of a Woman. And, of course, you can’t forget about the Oscar-winning Godfather movies. Outside of acting, Pacino is busy being a father to his baby boy, which he says helps him to “stick around a little longer.”

Last year in May, it was confirmed that the then-83-year-old Al Pacino was expecting a baby with his partner Noor Alfallah. He officially became a dad to his new son the following June. The Best Actor Academy Award winner has been a father for the past three decades to three children – 34-year-old Julie Marie and his 23-year-old twins Anton James and Olivia Rose. As for his fourth child, Roman, the Carlito’s Way actor gave an update to the New York Times about how his bouncing baby boy is doing now:

It’s incredible how at one-and-a-half years old how much a baby can learn and absorb.

Al Pacino is presently promoting his new memoir “Sonny Boy,” which will be a great present to give to his son when he’s older so he can learn all about what a cool father he’s got.

The Triple Crown of Acting performer may not be getting any younger, but you’re never too old to care for another human being and to be able to tell your child your story. Al Pacino got real if he had his baby son in mind when bringing to life his memoir:

I’m crossing my fingers that Al Pacino sticks around for as long as possible. He continued to talk about how the birth of his son taught him all about there being something bigger than who we are physically. Pacino’s spirit can carry on a piece of himself through each of his children, his movies, and his new book that can make him, in a spiritual sense, immortal. Before Roman was born, the actor talked about how “special” it was to be a father at 83. Through Pacino’s children, his legacy can carry on.

There’s nothing like being a new father in your eighties to give you a whole new lease on life. With at least seven new movies lined up for Al Pacino as well as a baby boy to keep him busy, the Golden Globe winner will have a long list of new adventures ahead of him. You can currently watch his latest taut crime thriller Knox Goes Away with your Max subscription. Pacino’s new memoir “Sonny Boy” can be purchased on Amazon or your local bookstore.

This summer marked two years since Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial reached a verdict, and the actors are attempting to move forward now. Depp in particular is doing so by being the director behind one of the 2024 movies on their way to theaters (Italian theaters at least, for now). As Depp and his cast promoted Modi this week at the San Sebastian Film Festival, one of the movie’s actresses shared a blunt response to Depp’s comeback.

Antonia Desplat is part of the cast that also includes Al Pacino, Stephen Graham in Depp’s first directorial effort in nearly 30 years with Modi. While speaking about the movie at the film festival in Gipuzkoa, Spain, Desplat was asked about the actor’s comeback after his public decline in recent years as a result of his defamation trial with Amber Heard. Here was her response:

During an interview with the cast for The Hollywood Reporter, Desplat shared that she’s very much in support of audiences giving Johnny Depp a “second chance” after working with him on Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness. The movie’s star, Riccardo Scamarcio (who plays Modi), added that Depp was the “nicest, the kindest, the sweetest man I’ve ever worked with in my life.”

The movie follows Bohemian Italian artist Amedeio Modigliani as he spends 72 hours in a war-torn Paris in 1916 while on the run from the police. Desplat plays Modi’s English lover, Beatrice Hastings. Johnny Depp came across his new directing gig after he received a call from Al Pacino, who suggested he direct the movie about Modi after Pacino was going to initially direct it himself.

As Depp recently shared, “when Pacino speaks, you listen” even though he initially didn’t think it was in the cards for him to helm another movie. Since Modi premiered this week, it’s received mixed reactions from critics thus far. The Hollywood Reporter called it a “bland biopic” while Variety calls it “ostensibly free-spirited,” and Deadline says it’s “tiresome” but “not the terrible muddle of self-aggrandizement that was widely expected.”

Modi comes after Depp previously starred in his first film since his highly public trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, Jeanne du Barry, which had him playing King Louie XV. Depp greatly won the trial against Heard considering she was found guilty on three counts of defamation. However, Depp didn’t leave unscathed, considering he was found guilty on one count in her countersuit.

Following Modi’s premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival, it is expected to be released in Italian theaters on December 5. We’ll keep you updated on other upcoming Johnny Depp movies here on CinemaBlend.

Johnny Depp has a few projects on his plate at the time. One of those projects is a big gig for Depp – the historical drama Modì, which the star is both directing and producing. This marks the first directorial effort for the Pirates of the Caribbean star since he helmed 1997’s The Brave. Some may be wondering what prompted the Oscar nominee to get behind the camera again. Well, it would seem that the story behind his return to the director’s chair was set in motion by a call from collaborator Al Pacino.

Filmmakers would likely agree that it takes more than a notion to direct a movie. There’s a lot that goes into the job and, quite frankly, I’d say that not everyone is built for it (including myself). So one would think that it would take some substantial circumstances to make Johnny Depp decide to put on his proverbial director cap again. In regard to the call he ultimately received from the Scarface icon, Depp explained that there was only one way to respond to it:

Honestly, I don’t think many of us would be able to deny an appeal from someone of Al Pacino’s professional standing. At this point, though, it doesn’t seem like the Finding Neverland star regrets his decision to take the job. He actually went on to explain at the San Sebastian Film Festival (via Deadline) that his time working on Modì was an “infinitely more positive experience” compared to his work on The Brave. The multi hyphenate expanded on that with the following thoughts:

Production on Modì began in earnest around September 2023, and filming took place in Budapest and later Italy, before Johnny Depp’s film wrapped in November of that same year. The film highlights a brief pocket of time in the life of famed Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, as he seeks to evade police, decide on the future of his career and more. During this latest interview, the Dark Shadows star described himself as a “giant toddler” amid production. The cast stars Riccardo Scamarcio in the lead and features Stephen Graham and Al Pacino in supporting roles.

As much as he enjoyed the experience filming the biographical film, the Edward Scissorhands star mused that when it comes to directing he’ll “never do it again.” He quickly walked back that declaration just a bit, though, by saying that he “might” consider doing it again. Time will tell whether the seasoned performer actually decides to helm another motion picture. Still, I’d wager that if Al Pacino calls him up again to ask him to direct once more, the Rango star will, at the very least, consider it.

Right now, a North American release date has yet to be announced for Modì, so you might want to check the 2025 movie schedule in case it pops up there. You can also keep your eyes peeled for updates when it comes to Johnny Depp’s upcoming movies.

Whenever we talk about the best ‘90s movies, it doesn’t take long before the conversation turns to the most iconic actors of the final decade of the 20th century and their most beloved performances. But what are Will Smith’s, Julia Roberts’, or Keanu Reeves’ best movies for the unforgettable and transformative 10-year stretch? 

We’re being totally subjective here (Because why not?), but here are the best ‘90s movies for these 32 actors. Best Picture winners, a handful of the best action movies of all time, and other films that turned up-and-comers into overnight megastars can all be found below.

Will Smith (Independence Day)

Will Smith was already a household name by the time Independence Day was released and became the biggest movie of 1996, but this massive sci-fi flick took him to new heights. Electric, magnetic, and charismatic beyond belief, the Fresh Prince became the King of the summer blockbuster with his portrayal of Captain Steven Hiller.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic)

Is there a bigger ‘90s movie than Titanic, both in terms of financial returns and cultural prominence? Yeah, James Cameron’s story of the ill-fated ship, his special effects, and the rest of the cast made this 1997 disaster movie a must-see, but Leonardo DiCaprio, with his “King of the World” moment, made this an all-timer. 

Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire)

Picking the best ‘90s movie for Tom Cruise is no easy task, considering some of the actor’s best performances took place that decade. However, despite Magnolia and Mission: Impossible being great in their own ways, this has to go to Cruise’s dynamic portrayal of the struggling sports agent in Jerry Maguire. “Show me the money,” is a quote we keep in our repertoire nearly 30 years later. 

Sandra Bullock (Speed)

Sandra Bullock put herself on the map with her performance in Speed, one of the most iconic 1994 movies. Though she was great in Demolition Man the year before, Bullock’s take on Annie Porter made her an overnight sensation and quickly became one of her best roles to date, even outside the ‘90s.

Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)

How Morgan Freeman didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in The Shawshank Redemption is one of the biggest mysteries, and travesties, in Hollywood history. His portrayal of Ellis "Red" Redding in this spectacular Stephen King adaptation is so strong and so believable that you don’t see him as an actor playing an inmate, but more like an aging prisoner trying to “get busy living or get busy dying.”

Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)

As much as we would have loved to argue for Jurassic Park being Samuel L. Jackson’s best ‘90s movie, Ray Arnold has nothing on the bad mother [redacted] that was Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction. Easily Quentin Tarantino’s best movie, this 1994 classic is essentially a master class in dialogue and non-linear storytelling.

Meg Ryan (Sleepless In Seattle)

A few years after leading the best romantic comedy of all time with When Harry Met Sally, Meg Ryan teamed up with Nora Ephron (who was directing this time around) for Sleepless in Seattle in 1993. The chemistry between Ryan and Tom Hanks as Annie Reed and Sam Baldwin, is incredible, even if they only share a couple minutes of screentime.

Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman)

It’s hard to imagine what Julia Roberts’ career and Hollywood in general would be like if the actress didn’t play Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. Sure, Roberts already had some hits and would have gone on to land big roles, but this 1990 rom-com instantly made her one of the brightest stars on the planet and showed off her dynamic range and impeccable comedic timing.

Angela Bassett (What's Love Got To Do With It)

Angela Bassett’s best movie, What’s Love Got to Do with It saw the celebrated actress take on the role of the legendary Tina Turner in this 1993 biopic about the late singer’s life, career, and toxic relationship with husband and music partner Ike Turner. Bassett had some pretty iconic ‘90s roles throughout the decade, but this is at the tippy top of the mountain.

Keanu Reeves (The Matrix)

Picking Keanu Reeves’ best movie of the 1990s is more difficult than you’d think. Point Break, My Private Idaho, and Speed are all contenders, but none come close to the heights of The Matrix and his performance as Neo, aka, the One. Watching Reeves’ character develop throughout this great ‘90s sci-fi film never gets old.

Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting)

Robin Williams had SO many good movies in the ‘90s, but Good Will Hunting was in a league of its own, at least in terms of performances by the late comedian. The richness, range, and emotion found in his portrayal of Sean Maguire is something to behold. No wonder he took home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Bruce Willis (The Sixth Sense)

The ‘90s saw Bruce Willis play everything from his most iconic character in the second and third Die Hard movies to the leads in multiple blockbusters. However, none of those compare to his work in The Sixth Sense. There is just something so warm and refreshing about his portrayal of a child psychiatrist trying to help a young boy make sense of life and his strange gift.

Harrison Ford (The Fugitive)

Have you gone back and watched The Fugitive lately? If not, do so now. If you have, you’re all too familiar with Harrison Ford’s performance as Richard Kimble, the Chicago doctor trying to clear his name after being wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. Air Force One and Clear and Present Danger are great, but this 1993 thriller is one of Ford’s career-best.

Frances McDormand (Fargo)

Frances McDormand’s portrayal of Marge Gunderson in the Coen Brothers' Fargo earned the actress the first of her three Academy Awards, and for good reason: she’s the heart and soul of the 1996 crime comedy.  

Gary Oldman (The Fifth Element)

Gary Oldman played some of the meanest ‘90s villains in movies like Air Force One, Leon: The Professional, and The Fifth Element, the latter of which features his best work of the decade. Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg is one of those characters that you love to hate and enjoy watching as much as the 1997 sci-fi film’s hero, which is saying something.

Wesley Snipes (White Men Can't Jump)

In the years following his breakout performance in Major League, Wesley Snipes became one of the dependable faces in Hollywood thanks to unforgettable turns in New Jack City, Demolition Man, and Jungle Fever. But let’s be real, Snipes’ take on Syd Deane is one of the most iconic ‘90s characters and essentially carries this all-time great basketball movie.

Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan)

Tom Hanks dominated the ‘90s with Oscar-winning performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump as well as other decade-defining films like Toy Story and A League of Their Own. But in terms of the BEST movie, that has to go to Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg’s harrowing World War II epic about heroism, survival, and the hope of a better tomorrow.

Robert De Niro (Cape Fear)

We could have listed Goodfellas, Heat, or even A Bronx Tale as Robert De Niro’s best movie from the ‘90s, but his performance as Max Cady in Cape Fear is on a whole other level. Easily one of the Oscar winner’s most menacing characters, the psychopathic ex-con with a bone to pick is a force of pure evil here.

Al Pacino (Heat)

After playing all-time great gangsters in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Al Pacino was on the other side of the law in Michael Mann’s 1995 crime epic, Heat. Sure, Scent of a Woman earned him that elusive Oscar for Best Actor, but his take on Lieutenant Vincent Hanna is the stuff of legend. Plus, we also got to see Pacino and Robert De Niro share a scene for the first time.

Anthony Hopkins (The Silence Of The Lambs)

Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest performances of all time. That said, it should be no surprise that this great horror film gets the call here. Though there was some stiff competition.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Boogie Nights)

As much as we would love to break down all the awesome ways Philip Seymour Hoffman stole the show in Twister and My Boyfriend’s Back, the late actor really came into his own in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 drama, Boogie Nights. Hoffman’s sympathetic take on Scotty J. was nothing short of brilliant and showed what was to come.

Jodie Foster (The Silence Of The Lambs)

If you were to break down Jodie Foster’s best performances, her portrayal of Clarice Starling would be at or near the top of that list. A movie that has been quoted or referenced countless times over the years, this 1991 thriller remains one of the best ever made.

Brad Pitt (Seven)

David Fincher’s Seven is Brad Pitt’s best movie from the ‘90s for a variety of reasons: 1) the movie about a serial killer taking lives based on the seven deadly sins is violently unique, 2) it was the start of a partnership between actor and director, and 3) Pitt showed he was more than a pretty face and really had what it took.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (T2: Judgment Day)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is not only a decade-defining action movie or a landmark achievement in visual effects, it’s also Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best movie of the ‘90s and perhaps all time. James Cameron’s sequel is bigger and louder than its predecessor and epic beyond compare.

Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act)

Whoopi Goldberg won her first Academy Award for her role as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost, a film that kicked off an impressive decade for the comedian and actor. Her spiritual guide for Patrick Swayze’s ghostly Sam Wheat in this supernatural thriller helped anchor the film and turn it into the biggest movie of 1990.

Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting)

Matt Damon went from a relatively unknown actor to one of the brightest faces (and voices) in Hollywood thanks to Good Will Hunting. His tortured performance as a young math prodigy in South Boston is still captivating more than 25 years later.

Eddie Murphy (The Nutty Professor)

Eddie Murphy did a little bit of everything in the ‘90s, but The Nutty Professor shows off some of the comedian’s best work. Playing multiple characters (heroes, villains, and in between) really showed off Murphy’s dynamic range and varied comedic styles.

Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore)

Though Big Daddy proved that Adam Sandler could handle slightly more dramatic roles, there’s no denying the fact that Happy Gilmore is the former SNL star’s best ‘90s movie. His take on a failed hockey player finding new purpose (and fortune) in the world of golf was a game-changer and created one of the best sports characters of all time.

Denzel Washington (Malcolm X)

Denzel Washington is another actor who had more great roles in the ‘90s than we can count, but at the top of his “best” list is Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic, Malcolm X. The movie about the controversial civil rights icon was eye-opening, enchanting, and epic.

Joe Pesci (Goodfellas)

We could have talked about My Cousin Vinny, we could have talked about Home Alone, and we could have even made a case for Casino, but none of that is possible without Goodfellas. The movie, which introduced the world to Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito, is one of the greatest gangster movies of all time and an influential piece of cinema we still rave about 30-plus years later.

Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise)

Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, a movie featuring one of the best female friendships with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis’ titular characters, helped kickstart the decade back in 1990. Easily Sarandon’s best movie of the ‘90s, this crime drama about two friends on the run from the law is just so dang great.

Jim Carrey (Dumb & Dumber)

Jim Carrey absolutely dominated the ‘90s comedy scene, and the box office in general back in 1994. While Ace Ventura Pet Detective and The Mask both have their moments, we have to be real for a second and admit that Dumb and Dumber is some of Carrey’s best work.

Movie fans had lots to love in the '90s and these actors and their best movies of the decade will never be forgotten.

Sometimes, all it takes is one joint appearance in a movie or television show for two popular actors to become known as an acting duo, and sometimes they prove to work so well together that they go on to star in even more projects together. We’ve come up with a list of 32 acting duos who have worked together multiple times, so you can see if you’ve watched all of the times these talented stars have been on screen with each other.

Tina Fey And Amy Poehler

Obviously, this funny duo began their most famed time together while starring on Saturday Night Live, but Tina Fey and Amy Poehler didn’t let the good times end there. The women were both in Mean Girls, starred in the movies Baby Mama and Sisters, and used their talents to great effect when co-hosting the Golden Globe Awards for several years.

Robert De Niro And Al Pacino

Two legendary actors make for a legendary acting duo, and while Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are frequently mentioned in the same breath, they’ve only been featured in four films together. Two of those movies, however, are absolutely the reason people often talk about them together as they count The Godfather Part II, Heat, Righteous Kill and The Irishman as their joint efforts.

Julia Roberts And George Clooney

Now, these two actually have made quite a few movies with one another, and largely with both in on-screen roles. Of course, it’s hard to forget that George Clooney and Julia Roberts are in all three of the Ocean’s Eleven films, but they’ve also starred in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (which Clooney also directed), Money Monster and the 2022 rom-com Ticket to Paradise. The erstwhile Danny Ocean also produced August: Osage County, while Roberts starred.

Jane Fonda And Lily Tomlin

Frequently we see an acting duo together multiple times because they really are buddies in real life, and that’s true for Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. After first starring together in the 1980 hit 9 to 5 (with Dolly Parton, of course) they eventually re-teamed for the Netflix series Grace and Frankie (which ran for seven seasons), as well as the dark comedy Moving On and 80 for Brady.

Emma Stone And Ryan Gosling

This duo has produced some well-known and beloved comedies and dramas over the years, as Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling first starred together in Crazy, Stupid, Love in 2011, moving on to Gangster Squad in 2013 and the Oscar-winning musical La La Land in 2016. Stone even once said she couldn’t “imagine” her life without Gosling, so these two will probably be friends forever.

Salma Hayek And Antonio Banderas

Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas sharing the screen in Desperado caused considerable heat, along with igniting a very real friendship, so it’s no surprise that they’ve now worked together a number of times. They’ve also been in the casts of Four Rooms, Frida, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids 3: Game Over, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and both Puss in Boots animated movies. That’s a lot!

Dwayne Johnson And Kevin Hart

We’ve already born witness to a rather lengthy history of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart ripping on each other during their (apparently) laugh and roast-filled friendship, and the two megastars have, indeed, brought that chemistry to the big screen multiple times. The duo counts Central Intelligence, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its sequel, Hobbs & Shaw and DC League of Super-Pets as the titles they’ve appeared in together.

Matt Damon And Ben Affleck

If this isn’t a classic acting duo by now, there are none. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been “bizarrely close” friends since childhood, and they first joined forces to great effect by penning and starring in Good Will Hunting (after having both appeared in School Ties), which won them the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. They also worked on Dogma in the 1990s, then, after nearly 25 years, they joined forces again to write and star in The Last Duel, and since then have also worked together on Air and the upcoming RIP for Netflix.

Denzel Washington And Don Cheadle

If only these two powerhouse stars had already been in more movies together…Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle’s first pairing was as P.I. Easy Rawlins and his loyal but unpredictable friend, Mouse, in 1995’s Devil in a Blue Dress. While their work in the film garnered critical acclaim, it would be over 15 years before they teamed again for Flight.

Sanaa Lathan And Taye Diggs

We should never underestimate the power of a franchise when it comes to popular on-screen pairings. Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs appeared in The Wood together in 1999 and then went on to star in The Best Man, its sequel and the Peacock mini-series, The Best Man: The Final Chapters. The duo also played the lead couple in the rom-com, Brown Sugar in 2002.

Scarlett Johansson And Chris Evans

Co-starring in a franchise with the same people will take an acting duo far, but Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans have surpassed even the typical standard where that’s concerned. Thanks to their joint time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they’ve appeared in a whopping seven movies together (including their mid-end credits cameo in Captain Marvel), and prior to their time as blockbuster movie-making superheroes they starred in The Perfect Score and The Nanny Diaries, bringing their current total to nine.

Anthony Mackie And Chris Evans

If you did enjoy many of those MCU movies, then you know that Chris Evans rubbed elbows with Anthony Mackie quite a bit there. But, did you also know that the two have been in XX non-Marvel movies together? Playing It Cool, What’s Your Number, and Ghosted also star/feature both actors and if you add in all their shared time in tights on screen, their total is also at nine.

Emily Blunt And Dwayne Johnson

The first time was a hit, so why not join forces again, right? Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson famously delivered winning chemistry in Jungle Cruise, and are coming back together for the upcoming drama The Smashing Machine. The two are also said to be willing to return for Jungle Cruise 2, whenever that can finally get off the ground.

Chris Pine And Ben Foster

The third time has been the charm so far for Chris Pine and Ben Foster. The duo famously portrayed bank-robbing brothers in Hell or High Water, joined up for The Finest Hours, and made it a three-peat in 2022 for The Contractor.

Margot Robbie And Will Smith

If it seemed that there could have been a little something extra going on between Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Will Smith’s Deadshot when you watched 2016’s Suicide Squad, then it might have been because you picked up on the chemistry the duo first built in Focus from the year before.

Margot Robbie And Brad Pitt

This big screen coupling made quite a showing for themselves across less than a decade, as Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt have starred in The Big Short, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and Babylon. 

Margot Robbie And Leonardo DiCaprio

Just imagine, had it not been for this pairing, we might not have the megastar who is Barbie actor/producer Margot Robbie right now. Her role in Wolf of Wall Street as the second wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s corrupt fraudster propelled her career, and by the time they starred in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood together Robbie was a major star.

Halle Berry And Hugh Jackman

We, again, have a superhero franchise to thank for bringing two great talents together, as Oscar winner Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman both have four of the X-Men movies among their credits. The duo also starred in Swordfish and Movie 43.

Awkwafina And Michelle Yeoh

This duo counts two megahits in their joint credits, with Awkwafina and Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh both having starred in Crazy Rich Asians (and we’re still waiting for that rom-com sequel) and the MCU entry Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Michelle Yeoh And Jackie Chan

Michelle Yeoh has been a star for several decades, and part of that reason is because of her breakout role in the 1992’s Supercop, which also starred Jackie Chan. But, they’ve made a number of other films with each other, including Supercop 2, and Hong Kong action films Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars, Project S, and both voiced characters in Kung Fu Panda 2, along with having starred in a 1984 watch commercial together.

Angela Bassett And Laurence Fishburne

While Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne were famously nominated for Oscars for their lead roles as Tina Turner and Ike Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do with It?, the duo was actually first together on screen for Boyz n the Hood in ‘91. They then later teamed up for Akeela and the Bee in 2006.

Julia Roberts And Richard Gere

If this isn’t a famous acting duo, then none are, despite their only making two movies with each other. Of course, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere starred in the mega-hit classic rom-com Pretty Woman and teamed up again for Runaway Bride in 1999.

Jennifer Aniston And Jason Bateman

For a while there, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, who are friends in real life, were kinda on a roll. Their first joint film was The Break-Up in 2006, and since then they’ve filmed four additional movies with one another: The Switch, Horrible Bosses and its sequel, and 2016’s Office Christmas Party.

Kate Hudson And Matthew McConaughey

Who can forget the glorious chemistry created by Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days? No one, that’s who! This is why they made a second rom-com, Fool’s Gold, just five years later.

Kirsten Dunst And Jesse Plemons

It’s not unusual for an acting duo to become friends in real life, but Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons took that a few steps further after working on the TV series Fargo together. Not only have they since starred in the film The Power of the Dog (which netted each their first Oscar nomination) and the A24 drama Civil War, but they married in 2022 and have two sons.

Meg Ryan And Tom Hanks

We could hardly leave Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks off of this list, as the famed actors have co-starred in two of the biggest romantic comedies of all time. Everyone knows them for making Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail hits, but before all of that, they led one of the weirder rom-coms made with Joe Versus the Volcano, and reunited for the 2016 drama Ithaca, which Ryan directed.

Drew Barrymore And Adam Sandler

People often mention Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler as an acting duo they want to see more of and with good reason. The two have made magic in the classics The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates and Blended.

Adam Sandler And Chris Rock

This pairing goes back decades, to the time when Adam Sandler and Chris Rock starred on Saturday Night Live together in the ‘90s. Since then, the real-life buddies have appeared in seven movies together, with The Longest Yard, Grown Ups and its sequel, The Week Of and Top Five counted among that number.

George Clooney And Brad Pitt

Of course, George Clooney and Brad Pitt helped to make the Ocean’s Eleven franchise a hit, but the friends additionally teamed up for the live TV movie 8, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (which Clooney directed), Burn After Reading and the 2024 films If and Wolfs.

Keegan-Michael Key And Jordan Peele

The duo of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, who first became recognizable during their time on MadTV, eventually went on to their own acclaimed sketch comedy series, Key and Peele. But, while making names for themselves on other series and in a number of movies, they continue to work with one another on projects like Keanu, Toy Story 4 and Wendell & Wild.

Awkwafina And Simu Liu

It was the MCU that first brought Awkwafina and Simu Liu together in the hit film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and while we’re still waiting to see when that franchise will bring them back together, 2024 saw them team up again for the action comedy, Jackpot!.

Jane Fonda And Robert Redford

Dedicated film fans probably know that legends Jane Fonda and Robert Redford starred together in Barefoot in the Park and The Electric Horseman, but their joint movie appearances do go beyond that. They also starred in The Chase in ‘66 and reunited for Our Souls at Night in 2017, and both had their film debuts in 1960’s Tall Story.

As you can see, film history is packed with acting duos who’ve worked together more than once, and that will probably always be the case.

There has been a lot of talk about "nepo babies" over the last few years, and while it may seem like every actor has famous parents. That is hardly the case though, of course. Many of our favorite actors come from much more humble roots. So let's celebrate those stars with this list of actors who came from blue-collar backgrounds. 

Sarah Jessica Parker

Growing up in Ohio Sarah Jessica Parker had a huge family, with seven siblings and step-siblings. She's talked about how there were times her parents struggled to pay the bills and were even on welfare for a time. Though her mom ran a nursery and her stepdad was a truck driver, they still found a way to support Parker's show business dreams and eventually moved to New York so she could star on Broadway. 

James Dean

James Dean is one of the most tragic stories in Hollywood history, and his upbringing was pretty rough too. His father left when he was a toddler and his mother supported the two of them as a single mother during The Depression. That is until she passed away when Dean was only nine. He moved to Ohio and lived with his aunt and uncle where things stabilized for him. After graduating high school, he moved to LA and embarked on his all-too-brief career. 

Maisie Williams

Though she found fame at early age with Game of Thrones Maisie Williams' family struggled when she was younger. She was raised in a council house (public housing in the UK) until she was cast in the hit HBO show at age 12. 

Jeremy Strong

Jeremy Strong may play a scion to one of the wealthiest families on TV in Succession, but in real life, he had a much more humble upbringing. Strong grew up in the blue-collar area of Jamaica Plain in Boston and his father was a guard in juvenile jails in town. Eventually the family moved to the more upscale town of Sudbury, where he went to high school and discovered acting. 

Samuel L. Jackson

For most of his career, Samuel L. Jackson was a blue-collar actor working as much as he could. That makes with his upbringing as the son of a single mother who worked in a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Shania Twain

Shaina Twain is best known as a country singer, of course, but she's done a little acting over her impressive career as well. It's a career that has taken far away from her humble roots outside Toronto, Ontario, where the family struggled. Those struggles led to her finding gigs as a singer at a young age and the rest is history.

Samantha Morton

Samantha Morton had a rough upbringing in the UK. Nine of her formative years were spent in foster care when her parents, who were addicts, weren't able to care for her. She had a couple of scraps with the law herself but started getting acting work in her teens and it all came together. 

Dolly Parton

There is no more revered person in Hollywood (or Nashville) than the great Dolly Parton. She's often talked about her humble beginnings in rural Tennessee as one of 12 children. She has always praised how her mother kept the family together through hard times and when Parton was 18 she moved to Nashville and hit the big time pretty quickly as a songwriter and a singer. 

Adam Driver

Megalopolis star Adam Driver moved around a lot as a kid, living all over from San Diego to Indiana. His stepfather was a Baptist preacher, but he was mostly raised by his mother in Indiana. After the September 11th attacks, he joined the Marines and served, like many other actors have over the years, for a few years before being discharged for a medical reason and starting his acting career. 

Al Pacino

Al Pacino grew up mostly in the South Bronx, and anyone from New York can tell you that the South Bronx in the '40s and '50s was a tough place to live. By his own admission he got in trouble a lot, as often happens with kids with hard working parents. Even as a actor early in his career he couch-surfed with friends until he started landing gigs regularly. 

Dax Shepard

Dax Shepard's family experienced the American Dream, according to the actor and podcast host. His mom worked at GM while he was growing up near Detroit and the family struggled, but as he got older, his mom's career grew and she moved up the ranks from janitor to executive, so by the time Shepard was in high school, she was quite successful. 

Ice Cube

Any fan of N.W.A. knows about Ice Cube's roots in South Central LA as the son of a janitor and a groundskeeper. As a result of desegregation, Ice Cube had the opportunity to get bussed out of Compton and out to the suburbs, where he thrived in English class, something he would make good use of later in life as the principal lyricist for one of the most successful rap acts of all time. 

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson, who has won the famed EGOT, was raised with her two siblings by a single mother on the South Side of Chicago. She started working in local theater at a young age and famously worked on the Disney Cruise line before auditioning for American Idol in the show's third season, which was, of course, her big break. 

Mel Brooks

The legendary Mel Brooks, like so many of his generation, was the child of immigrants. He was raised very poor in Brooklyn surrounded by people who worked in the garment industry. Instead of following in their footsteps, he went into show business and the world is luckier for it. 

Joan Crawford

Screen legend Joan Crawford would die a very rich woman, but she started life as the daughter of a construction worker in Texas. After her parents split up and her mother remarried, her stepfather got in trouble in Texas and the family moved to Kansas City where Crawford attended Catholic school as a work student. 

Jim Carrey

At one point Jim Carrey was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, which is far cry from his humble beginnings in and around Toronto. For a time, Carrey has admitted, they were even homeless. Eventually his father found more stable employment and after dropping out of high school Carrey worked on his stand up routine and took shifts at a nearby factory. 

Misha Collins

Supernatural star Misha Collins grew up working class in Boston and he has said in the past that his family spent some time unhoused. He was lucky enough to gain admission to a prep school, which led him to the University of Chicago and eventually an internship at The White House during the Clinton administration before he concentrated on his acting career. 

Rosario Dawson

Rosario Dawson has been a part of two of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, Star Wars and the MCU. It wasn't always the big time for her though. Her mother was a teenager when she was born and never married Dawson's father, but did marry another man, from whom Dawson takes her last name. He was a construction worker first in New York and later in Texas. 

Jessica Chastain

Though she doesn't talk much about her upbringing, we do know that Jessica Chastain's stepfather was a firefighter and that her family life was a struggle growing up. She grew up in Sacramento with four siblings, though she lost one to suicide when she was in her early 20s. Chastain started acting as a kid and her career would eventually take off and she would become one of the most beloved and acclaimed actors of her generation. 

Daniel Kaluuya

Born of Uganda immigrants in London, Daniel Kaluuya was raised on a council estate in one of the city's most famous blue-collar areas, Camden. He didn't know his father growing up, but he excelled in school and started acting in plays while there. he started landing paying gigs in his teens and the rest is history.

Hilary Swank

Though she has humble roots as the daughter of an army soldier, Hilary Swank grew up in a stable household and even after her parents split up when she was 15, her mother moved with Swank to the LA area so she could try her hand at Hollywood. That bet paid off as Swank has been one of the best actresses around for decades. 

Charlie Chaplin

It could be argued that Charlie Chaplin was the first bonafide superstar of the silver screen. While he would eventually become Hollywood's biggest star and one of the most financially successful moviemakers of his era, his childhood was a hardscrabble upbringing in central London. His parents had no capacity to raise children and he bounced around reform schools and other group homes as a kid before finding his way, first in the theater then later in silent films. 

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez famously grew up "on the 6," meaning the 6-Train through the Bronx in New York City. Her father had a job as a computer technician and Lopez had a solid, yet definitely blue-collar upbringing. 

Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson has starred in some of the best roles in Hollywood over the last four decades, and one of them, Woody Boyd on Cheers, reflected his actual blue-collar roots in Indiana. The story of Woody Boyd and Woody Harrelson are pretty similar, as both were raised in rural Indiana. Harrelson was famously locked up in prison for most of his upbringing, and he eventually died in prison after Harrelson's career had taken off. 

Viola Davis

Viola Davis was actually born on plantation in South Carolina, if you can believe it. She was raised mostly in Rhode Island, however, but it was a hard upbringing which has described of being very financially unstable. 

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig may be famous for playing suave, debonair, and sophisticated characters, but that's nothing like his upbringing. His father was a construction worker and bar manager, though Craig does have aristocratic ancestors. 

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix (and his late brother River) had a wild upbringing. His parent were part of a cult called the Children of God and Phoenix spent much of his early life living in South America as his parents traveled as missionaries for the religious group. Eventually, the family left the cult, adopting the name "Phoenix" as a sign of their rebirth as a family in a new life.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is famously one of the richest people in Hollywood, but that's not how she started out. Her mother was a teenager in Milwaukee, but before long Winfrey found herself in Nashville living with the man she considers her father. While still a teen in Nashville, she started working in radio, which would eventually lead to her media empire. 

Bella Thorne

The whole reason Bella Thorne became a professional actor was to help support her family growing up. After her father was killed in a car wreck when she was ten, Thorne's mother was left to raise four children on her own. It was a tough upbringing, but the acting gigs started coming more and more often and got her big break on the Disney Channel's Shake It Up in 2010. 

James Caan

James Caan was in some of the best movies in Hollywood history. The list of Caan's best movies is incredible. His father was a deli meat salesman and he grew up in the blue-collar neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens, in New York City. He found acting while he briefly attended Hofstra, where he would also meet Francis Ford Coppola, who would give the role of Sonny in The Godfather years later. 

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez was raised by a single mother who had Gomez when she was just 16. Gomez has never been resentful, it seems, and credits her with raising her under such trying conditions. Gomez caught the acting bug at a pretty young age and ws soon landing shows on kids shows, leading to the insanely successful career we all know and love. 

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington had the definition of a blue-collar upbringing as the son of a beautician and an employee of the water company in his hometown of New York City. His parent worked hard to make sure he got a good education and after graduating from Fordham, he embarked on one of the most successful Hollywood careers of all time. 

The 96th Academy Awards were last night, and the show featured plenty of memorable moments worth talking about. Ryan Gosling’s giggle-worthy performance of “I’m Just Ken” brought the house down, and Da’Vine Joy Randoph’s Best Supporting Actress speech made many (including Paul Giamatti) shed a tear. Oppenheimer was the big winner among the 2024 Oscar nominees, taking home 7 awards, including Best Picture. Al Pacino was there to hand out that massive honor, and the way the acting legend announced the biggest prize of the night certainly had fans talking on social media. 

Al Pacino is one of the best actors to win Best Actor and has been nominated several times throughout his prolific acting career. Also, Pacino has improved not-so-great movies. So the movie star seemed like a natural fit to hand out Best Picture. However, the reveal didn’t go as smoothly as it normally does. The Godfather icon was seemingly surprised to be there and ultimately revealed the winner very casually. Oppenheimer was so quickly named as the winner, that many were confused, and there was a bit of hesitation from the film's team to stand up and accept the Oscar. However bizarre, it was admittedly hilarious, and fans loved the disjointed approach. One fan on X posted the video of the moment and expressed how much they loved the chaos:

The way he revealed the winner was hilarious and almost as if Oppenheimer being the Best Picture honoree was a matter of opinion instead of fact. Thankfully, his eyes did not deceive him. Check out this next response:

The touch of confusion in his voice was notable, and that seems to have become something of a pattern for that particular prize. After the Best Picture mistake with Moonlight and La La Land in 2017, one would think that maybe some adjustments should be made to who announces these awards. With that, one fan asked the following question:

Many people seemingly couldn’t get over how casual the moment was, despite it being the biggest award of the night. The actor has been attending these ceremonies for years, and one would've thought he'd announce it differently. Still, we have to remember that although Al Pacino just recently became a father again, the Heat actor is 83 years old. So it's understandable that a little clunkiness would be present. Nevertheless, a lot of people seemed to love the moment, with one fan saying the following:

Some joked that they believed this is how all the awards should be presented and that this kind of delivery was fitting for the moment. I can't deny that the situation was very funny and one of those bizarre Oscars moments viewers tune in for. As for why this was a "peak performance," one person said:

I also love how odd this all was. There's such an age diversity when it comes to the Oscar attendees, and Al Pacino’s personality represents a time capsule in many ways. The way he almost narrates the process of announcing the winner of Best Picture is hilarious and definitely adds some levity to the moment. There’s such a grandness around Best Picture, that for it to be announced in such an uncertain way is very disorienting to watch. The stiffness and pageantry around the Oscars can’t be ignored, and for Pacino to be kind of “over it” without being arrogant is admittedly refreshing. 

The strangeness of the Best Picture announcement was an outlier in an otherwise seamless night. All the awards (thankfully) went to the correct winners and it was an extremely fun show. There were hilarious presenter bits, great musical performances, and Jimmy Kimmel was a great host to tie it all together. There were a lot of new faces in the audience, but Al Pacino represented the old guard while also keeping a fun energy. Even if it was unintentional, I think many who were watching the Oscars live loved a touch of humor to conclude Hollywood’s biggest night.

Not all of the best movies from the 1980s have stood the test of time quite like other nostalgic favorites have. There are even plenty of ‘80s movies with A-list casts that just don’t get talked about much more these days. Take a look at some of our picks for ‘80s movies that deserve more love and see if we can help refresh your memory of them.

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

The first John Hughes movies that come to mind are probably The Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, while Some Kind of Wonderful — which Hughes penned and Howard Deutch directed — is more likely an afterthought. The drama stars Eric Stoltz as a young man whose date with Amanda (Lea Thompson) sparks conflict with her ex (played by Craig Sheffer) and his best friend (played by Mary Stuart Masterson).

Brewster's Millions (1985)

Richard Pryor is better known for his Gene Wilder collaborations than for Brewster’s Millions — a comedy that puts him front and center. Director Walter Hill’s adaptation of George Barr McCutcheon’s novel (the second, following a 1945 edition) stars the late comic as a man tasked with spending millions of dollars within 30 days, but without keeping a single asset, in order to inherit an enormous fortune.

Hiding Out (1987)

Arguably, the role that made Emmy-winning Two and a Half Men Star Jon Cryer a star was his supporting role in Pretty in Pink, but he also had a noteworthy leading part that is rarely (if not ever) noted today. In director Bob Giraldi’s Hiding Out, he plays a stockbroker posing as a high school student after becoming targeted by the mob.

The Legend Of Billie Jean (1985)

Helen Slater’s most famous ‘80s movie role is probably the title hero of one of the most ill-received DC movies, 1984’s Supergirl. A film the actor might prefer to be better remembered for is The Legend of Billie Jean, in which she plays a teen outlaw on the run.

Lady In White (1988)

Among the more iconic movies set on or around Halloween, Lady in White is one that deserves more attention. Set in 1962, the clever, spooky thriller stars Lukas Haas as a young boy who becomes embroiled in the mystery of a murdered girl after meeting her ghost.

My Science Project (1985)

Perhaps if the sort-of time travel comedy My Science Project had not come out in the same year as, arguably, the greatest time travel movie of all time, Back to the Future, it might have a bigger fanbase. Also starring Fisher Stevens and Dennis Hopper, Christine’s John Stockwell this film leads as a slacker senior whose desperation to pass science class leads him to find a strange device with dangerous, otherworldly abilities. 

Night Shift (1982)

Despite being one of the best Michael Keaton movies, Night Shift has become one of the actor’s more obscure films, sent to the wayside by hits like Beetlejuice and the Batman movies. However, director Ron Howard’s screwball comedy, starring Keaton and Henry Winkler as morgue attendants helping ladies of the night secure a safer work environment, should be noted as the film that first helped the Oscar nominee become a star.

The Last Starfighter (1984)

Most of the best video game movies do not simply adapt a pre-existing title, but expand on the concept of interactive media in imaginative and exciting ways, just like in The Last Starfighter. From director Nick Castle, the vastly underrated sci-fi flick stars Lance Guest as a poor teen whose high score on an arcade game leads to his recruitment in a real intergalactic war.

1969 (1988)

Today, we know 24’s Kiefer Sutherland and the MCU’s Robert Downey Jr. best as action stars, which is a far cry from their roles in 1969. Winona Ryder and Bruce Dern also star in this much-forgotten anti-violence parable set around the Vietnam War.

After Hours (1985)

One might not expect to see a riotous, comedic romp anywhere on Martin Scorsese’s resume, but such a film does exist. To be fair, the plot of After Hours — involving a mild-mannered word processor (played by Griffin Dunne) embroiled in a series of increasingly dangerous circumstances over one night in New York — does seem like a Scorsese film on paper.

Innerspace (1987)

One of director Joe Dante’s most underrated and inventive films is Innerspace, which stars Dennis Quaid as a pilot testing a top-secret miniaturization technology who is accidentally injected into the body of a hypochondriac. Said man is played by Martin Short, who delivers some of his most hilarious manic energy in his dazzling sci-fi adventure which also stars Meg Ryan.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

People do not express much nostalgia these days for Francis Ford Coppola’s fantasy teen comedy, Peggy Sue Got Married. Perhaps that is because the bulk of the story takes place in the 1960s, which Kathleen Turner’s title character is magically transported back to after fainting at her high school reunion.

Near Dark (1987)

How Near Dark — which fuses traditional vampire lore with an old-school Western tone in a modern setting — is not a more beloved horror classic just does not make sense. At least director Kathryn Bigelow went on to receive better recognition as the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker.

River's Edge (1986)

One of the darkest films from the early years of both Keanu Reeves and Crispin Glover’s careers is River’s Edge. Dennis Hopper and Daniel Roebuck also star in this unsettling crime thriller about the life-changing effect that a murder has on the teenage killer and his friends.

Repo Man (1984)

Repo Man may be a sci-fi flick with more than 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it gets less attention these days than, say, 2008’s Repo! The Genetic Opera or Repo Men from 2010. Alex Cox’s cult thriller stars Emilio Estevez as a middle-class punk and Harry Dean Stanton as his mentor who chases after a Chevy Malibu carrying something not of this Earth.

One Crazy Summer (1986)

John Cusack stars in many of the most timelessly popular romantic, coming-of-age comedies of the 1980s, and was also in One Crazy Summer. Also starring Demi Moore and Bobcat Goldthwait, this funny summer comedy about the amusing adventures a young cartoonist embarks on when crossing paths with an aspiring singer is not quite the classic it could have been.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)

For years, the Wayans Brothers brought us some of the sharpest movie spoofs around and one of the earliest examples is I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. Writer, director, and star Keenen Ivory Wayans sends up the Blaxploitation genre with this action-packed, laugh-a-minute comedy that has not quite stood the test of time like Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood or the original Scary Movie.

Just One Of The Guys (1985)

Before there was She’s the Man, there was Just One of the Guys. However, the 2006 Amanda Bynes-led rom-com is the more well-known film about a young woman posing as a male than this one starring Valley Girl’s Joyce Hyser.

The Hidden (1987)

Why is it that unique fusions of disparate genres like detective noir and sci-fi horror rarely get the attention they deserve? A prime example of this is the unjustly overlooked The Hidden, which stars Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri as a detective and an FBI agent pursuing an alien parasite committing various crimes as the human hosts it possesses.

Knightriders (1981)

To those who only know George A. Romero for his many classic zombie movies, we point you in the direction of Knightriders. The filmmaker writes and directs this grounded drama following a group of motorcycle-riding medieval reenactment performers and without a single reanimated corpse in sight.

Enemy Mine (1985)

One of the most heartwarming instances of enemies becoming friends in the ‘80s occurs in Wolfgang Peterson’s Enemy Mine. The futuristic sci-fi thriller stars Dennis Quaid as a human and Louis Gossett Jr. as an alien who are forced to put their respective species’ war with one another behind them when they become stranded on a deserted planet together.

My Bodyguard (1980)

Chris Makepeace’s Clifford lives every bullied teen’s dream to have someone bigger and stronger on their side in My Bodyguard. Despite its modern-day obscurity, the coming-of-age dramedy marked the film debut of several well-known stars — including Adam Baldwin, Joan Cusack, and Jennifer Beals.

Real Genius (1985)

Later, more serious roles in movies like Top Gun, The Doors, and Batman Forever have caused many to forget just how comedically talented Val Kilmer is. He gives one of his funniest performances in Real Genius as a fun-loving engineering student who discovers he and his younger roommate (played by Gabriel Jarret) have unwittingly been tasked to build a military-grade weapon. 

The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)

One of the more underrated ‘80s time travel movies is The Philadelphia Experiment, which is inspired by the alleged disappearance of a destroyer escort ship in the early 1940s. The film — which also spawned a 1993 sequel — follows two WWII-era sailors accidentally transported decades forward.

The Dream Team (1989)

The same year when Michael Keaton made his debut as Batman, he led a funny crime thriller called The Dream Team. He, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, and Stephen Furst play four psychiatric patients on a day trip to New York City when their chaperone is targeted for murder.

The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988)

Arguably director Wes Craven’s most underrated film is The Serpent and the Rainbow, which is inspired by real-life anthropological researcher Wade Davis’ book of the same name. What also makes the Bill Pullman-led horror flick one of the more comparatively realistic zombie movies is its depiction of voodoo, which the original definition of the word “zombie” derives from.

Return To Oz (1985)

People who still have nightmares about Margaret Hamilton's performance as The Wicked Witch of the West in 1937's The Wizard of Oz might not have the courage to watch Disney's follow-up. A 10-year-old Fairuza Balk (of later The Craft fame) plays Dorothy in Return to Oz, which is noted by those who do remember it as one of the most visually traumatizing "kids movies" of the '80s or any decade.

Author! Author! (1982)

With how few family dramedies there are on Al Pacino’s resume, it is a shame he does not get more love for Author! Author! The Academy Award-winning legend stars as a playwright trying to balance the opening of his latest Broadway show with raising his stepchildren.

Miracle Mile (1988)

Following his scene-stealing role as Goose in Top Gun and years before he starred in ER, Anthony Edwards played the lead of Miracle Mile. Writer and director Steve De Jarnatt’s overlooked action flick follows a young man on a race against time after he becomes aware of an impending nuclear attack. 

The Night Before (1988)

Not to be confused with a raunchy holiday comedy movie from 2015 starring Seth Rogen, The Night Before is a coming-of-age rom-com with a dark mystery twist that predates The Hangover by a couple of decades. It stars Keanu Reeves as a teen whose struggle to find his missing date (played by Lori Loughlin) in L.A. is worsened by his inability to remember what happened on the way to prom.

Johnny Be Good (1988)

One of the lesser-known collaborations of Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. (including their shared one-season SNL stint) is Johnny Be Good, which also stars Paul Gleason and a young Uma Thurman. Hall plays the title role of this high school comedy about a football player struggling to decide which of the many college offers he receives would be best for him.

Haunted Honeymoon (1986)

Before her untimely death, SNL legend Gilda Radner starred in several films with her real-life husband, Gene Wilder. One of the last and most unfortunately overlooked is a fun horror-comedy called Haunted Honeymoon, in which the couple play newlyweds trying to cure the husband’s fears by staying in a creepy estate.

You may think you know ‘80s cinema, but your expertise will not be complete until you give these flick a try, or even revisit them for the first time in too long.

Whether it's doing stunts or just freak accidents, even the biggest Hollywood stars aren't immune to getting injured on set. While we mostly think of stars chilling in their posh trailers while their stunt people take the biggest risks, sometimes it's the celebrities themselves who get the worst of things. Here is our list of big stars who have been injured while filming, and what happened after. 

Daniel Craig 

You can't just pick one of the James Bond movies that Daniel Craig was injured during the filming of, because the truth is, he's been injured a lot. In No Time To Die, it was his ankle, which required surgery and he was off-set for a couple of weeks recovering. In Casino Royale, he knocked out two teeth filming a fight scene. In Quantum of Solace, he injured his shoulder, and in Spectre, it was his knee. It's easy to see why Craig has retired from the role, filming James Bond movies can be dangerous. 

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise famously does many of his most intense and dangerous stunts himself. It's become his brand, but it doesn't mean he doesn't get hurt. In fact, while filming Mission: Impossible – Fallout, it was one of his more innocent stunts, jumping from building to building, that caused an injury when Cruise broke his leg landing the jump. Filming halted for a few months while Cruise recovered, but the footage was included in the movie. 

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford has a long history of getting injured on movie sets. Maybe the most high-profile time was when a door fell on his leg while shooting Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He broke his leg and director JJ Abrams injured his back helping pull the door off the Han Solo actor. 

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone is one of the premiere action stars of the last 50 years, and as such, he's been injured a few times on set doing stunts. The worst, according to Stallone, came while filming the boxing match with Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Rocky IV. Lundgren hit him so hard in the chest at one point that it caused his heart to swell and he ended up in intensive care for eight days. 

Isla Fisher 

One of the best scenes in Now You See Me is when Isla Fisher's character performs the underwater escape trick. It wasn't so great for the actress though, as she nearly drowned during the filming. Luckily a stuntman was there to flip the safety switch and save her. 

Leonardo DiCaprio

One of the most intense scenes in Django Unchained is Leonardo DiCaprio's speech after dinner. He bangs his hand on the table and slices his hand on a glass. DiCaprio, ever the pro, kept going without missing a beat. It's so good, director Quentin Tarantino left that take in the final cut. 

Kristin Chenoweth

TV stars aren't safe either. Kristin Chenoweth was almost killed on the set of The Good Wife when part of the lighting rig fell on her. According to the actress, she had a "skull fracture and a rib issue and a hip issue" as a result. 

Bruce Willis

Like a lot of action stars, Bruce Willis has had his fair share of injuries in stunts gone wrong. In Live Free or Die Hard, the Hollywood legend suffered a serious cut above his eye that required stitches, after Maggie Q's stunt doubled kick him with high heels on. 

Mariska Hargitay

Sometimes, the extent of the injury isn't immediately understood, as was the case with Mariska Hargitay after a fall on the set of Law & Order: SVU. Hargitay performed a stunt that required her to land on some pads, but, in her words, something went wrong. She shook off the injury at first, but a few months later, she felt a sharp stabbing pain and ended up in the hospital with a collapsed lung. She recovered after surgery, though a second surgery was needed later. 

Charlize Theron

Æon Flux is not one of Charlize Theron's best movies, and it did almost leave her paralyzed. The actor fell on her neck performing a stunt and had she not been lucky and fallen just a centimeter differently, according to her, it could have been very bad. 

Malcolm McDowell

One of the more terrifying scenes in A Clockwork Orange is when Malcolm McDowell's character is "rehabilitated" by being forced to watch violent videos while his eyes are held open. For McDowell, it was even worse, as the setup caused his corneas to be scratched and he was blinded temporarily as a result. 

Brad Pitt

In the weirdest of coincidences, there is Brad Pitt in Troy. In the film, Pitt plays the Greek hero Achilles. Achilles is famous for one thing, his armor not covering that one tendon in a person's heel... Well, it just so happens that while filming Troy, Pitt tore his Achilles Tendon. 

Uma Thurman

During the filming of the Kill Bill movies, Uma Thurman crashed a car she was driving into a palm tree in Mexico and suffered injuries to her knees and a concussion. Years later she exposed what she claimed was a cover-up by the film's producers in an Instagram post. 

Orson Welles

The great Orson Welles really gave everything he had to make Citizen Kane. That includes chipping a bone in his ankle that forced him to use a wheelchair on set for two weeks while he directed. The injury occurred when he fell down some stairs while filming, and the scene made it into the final cut. 

Linda Blair

During the iconic scene in The Exorcist when Linda Blair's character, Regan, thrashes around as the bed levitates, the scream queen injured her back due to a mechanical default. The injury caused scoliosis, which still causes her problems today, though she's found ways to make it less painful. 

Jim Caviezel

The list of injuries that Jim Caviezel suffered while filming The Passion of the Christ has become the stuff of internet legend. Some injuries are hard to verify, but others aren't, the most notable of which is that as Caviezel prepared for the Sermon on the Mount scene, he was actually struck by lightning. That's got to be some sign, right?

George Clooney

The head injuries George Clooney sustained while filming the torture scene in Syriana were so debilitating that the actor says he even contemplated suicide. Eventually, doctors were able to alleviate the headaches after surgery, but in the meantime, Clooney called it "the most unbearable pain I've ever been through."

Orlando Bloom

There were a few injuries on the set of the Lord of the Rings movies, and one notable one was Orlando Bloom. Bloom broke some ribs when he fell from a horse while filming LOTR: The Two Towers. His fellow cast members gave Bloom a little...uh... ribbing in a behind-the-scenes video as well. 

Martin Sheen

There may be no more infamous Hollywood production than Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. No one had it worse than the film's star, Martin Sheen. As told in the documentary about the filming, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, Sheen not only suffered a near-fatal heart attack during production, but he also suffered a nasty cut on his hand. In the famous opening scene, Sheen punched a mirror and sliced his hand open and it bled badly. If you've seen the movie, you know what it looked like, because Sheen continued the scene and all the blood is very real.  

Michelle Yeoh

As an actor known for doing her own stunts, it's no surprise that Michelle Yeoh has been injured a few times on set. The most notable came when Yeoh tore her ACL during the production of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She was flown from China to Baltimore where surgery was performed to fix the injury at Johns Hopkins. 

Tom Hanks

Sometimes the most innocent-sounding injuries can be the worst. Such is the case for Tom Hanks, who cut his leg filming Cast Away. While a cut doesn't seem all that serious, it caused sepsis and landed Hanks in the hospital, who almost died as a result of the blood poisoning. 

Buddy Ebsen

The Beverly Hillbillies star Buddy Ebsen could claim one of the weirder injuries on this list. Ebsen was the original actor cast to play the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz and as part of the role, he was painted silver. The aluminum powder in the paint caused a reaction that landed Ebsen in the hospital due to breathing problems and he was recast by actor Jack Haley in the role. 

Winona Ryder

Accidents happen, even on movie sets of comedies, not action movies. Such was the case for Winona Ryder while filming Mr. Deeds with Adam Sandler. While filming the scene on the bike in Central Park, Ryder took a tumble off it and broke her arm in three different places. Ouch. 

Matt LeBlanc

Injuries even happen on sitcoms. Even the biggest ones. While filming a scene for Friends, Matt LeBlanc fell into a chair and dislocated his shoulder. Production was delayed briefly, but the evidence is still on the screen, as LeBlanc was seen wearing a sling for a couple of episodes as his shoulder healed. 

Michael J. Fox

One of the scariest injuries didn't happen during a proper stunt. In Back To The Future III, Michael J. Fox almost died in the scene where his character, Marty McFly, is hanged. A mishap meant that he was actually getting choked and at first no one noticed. He passed out before he was lowered to the ground. 

Ed Harris

Ed Harris was almost killed while filming The Abyss. In one of the many underwater scenes in the movie, Harris ran out of oxygen and no one else on set realized he'd signaled that he did. He passed out from a lack of oxygen, but luckily someone finally noticed and they got him some air. 

Vincent D'Onofrio

Marine boot camp is intense, even for actors just playing Marines. Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket, injured his knee so badly during filming one of the training scenes that he ended up needing surgery to fix it. 

Melanie Griffith

One of the most notoriously dangerous movies ever shot is Roar by director Noel Marshall. In the 1970s, Marshall was married to Tippi Hedren, which also made him Melanie Griffith's stepfather. The movie filmed Hedren and Griffith (who was a kid at the time) living with lions. Real lions. According to legend, at least 70 people were injured by the big cats, including Griffith, who was "mauled near the eye" and needed plastic surgery to fix it. 

Jackie Chan

One actor you won't be surprised to see on this list is Jackie Chan. The martial artist and stuntman has pulled off some of the most insane stunts in film history, so it's no surprised he's been injured along the way. One notable time was while shooting Police Story. In one scene, Chan slides down a metal pole, which he did so quickly he suffered third degree burns on his hands. The shot was used in the movie. 

Al Pacino

Injuries can occur when actors don't quite make the best decisions. Take, for example the great Al Pacino. While filming a scene in Scarface, Pacino grabbed the business end of a gun that had just been fired and severely burned his hands. According to Brian De Palma, the actor was off for the next two weeks. 

Matthew Fox

Every now and then, one actor will injure another one, as is the case with Terry O'Quinn and Matthew Fox on the set of Lost. In a fight scene, O'Quinn stabbed Fox with a knife, which O'Quinn thought, incorrectly, was a prop knife, but it was very real. Thankfully, Fox was wearing a protective Kevlar vest that saved him from actually being stabbed. 

Dylan O'Brien

Dylan O'Brien was almost killed while shooting The Maze Runner: The Death Cure. While shooting a scene, the star of the movie was struck by a car. According to Vulture, O'Brien had a "concussion, facial fracture, and brain trauma among his injuries." Production on the movie was halted as he recovered, which, according to O'Brien, was one of the worst periods in his life. 

Dominic Purcell

Even without stunts and other action, injuries happen. Prison Break star Dominic Purcell broke his nose and had other facial injuries while filming for the show in Morocco. It was a freak accident as a lighting truss fell from the set and hit him. It could've been very scary, as those kinds of accidents have killed people, but luckily for Purcell, his injuries healed quickly and production on the show wasn't impacted.

Most of the time, when actors are injured on set, the injuries are minor, thankfully. Of course, that isn't always the case, and though deaths on movie sets are rare, they happen, so anytime someone is injured seriously, production is usually halted. Just looking through this list, you can see just how close some of these big names came to serious injury, and in a way, they're lucky (and we're lucky) that they are still around.   

How many times have you watched an incredible acting performance and looked up to see how many awards it won only to find out that the Oscar went to someone else that year? It’s shocking how many times this has happened over the years for some of the greatest actors and actresses of all time. Here are 32 times an incredible performance didn’t win an Academy Award for one reason or another.

Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)

Though he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson’s name wasn’t called at the 67th Academy Awards. This is nothing against Martin Landau’s performance from Ed Wood, but Jackson’s foul-mouthed and righteous hitman is an all-time great character that should have been recognized.

Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver)

Robert De Niro received an Oscar nomination for his career-defining portrayal of Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese’s 1977 psychological thriller, Taxi Driver, but the unhinged and memorable performance wasn’t enough to win Best Actor. It’s hard to be mad, as Peter Finch’s Academy Award-winning turn in Network is the stuff of legend.

Harrison Ford (Witness)

One of the best actors without an Oscar, Harrison Ford has only one Academy Award nomination to his name, the 1985 crime thriller, Witness. Though not Ford’s most iconic character, his take on Philadelphia detective John Book as he goes to great lengths to protect a young boy is nothing short of amazing.

Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)

Morgan Freeman gave the performance of a lifetime as Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding in The Shawshank Redemption. If the movie would have come out any other time besides 1994, a year dominated by Forrest Gump, there’s a good chance the aging prisoner and accomplished smuggler would have earned Freeman an Oscar.

Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)

Bill Murray’s portrayal of cynical, washed-up actor Bob Harris in Lost in Translation will forever be one of the comedian’s most beloved roles. While Sean Penn’s performance in Mystic River is more than deserving of an Oscar, it’s a shame the iconic comedian didn’t get properly recognized for a once-in-a-decade showing.

Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)

Whoopi Goldberg showed off a more dramatic side with her lauded portrayal of Celie Harris-Johnson in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of The Color Purple. It’s absurd that the emotional, dynamic, and powerful performance didn’t win Goldberg a much-deserved Oscar, which went to Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful, instead.

Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List)

Schindler’s List features one of the best Ralph Fiennes performances with his portrayal of Nazi work camp commandant Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s 1993-defining film. And while the movie won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Fiennes’ unforgettable turn was not among them. Instead, he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones from The Fugitive.

Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie)

If you’re looking for one of the best New York City movies, Tootsie has you covered. If you’re looking for a movie featuring an acting performance that should have won an Oscar but didn’t, Sydney Pollack’s 1982 comedy has you covered there as well. Seriously, how Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Michael Dorsey wasn't awarded is something we just don’t get.

Denzel Washington (Malcolm X)

Denzel Washington eventually won a Best Actor Oscar for his unforgettable turn in Training Day, but the actor was robbed nearly a decade earlier after not winning the big prize for his take on the titular Civil Rights leader in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X.

Florence Pugh (Little Women)

Florence Pugh was already a rising star at the time of Little Women’s release, but her portrayal of Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age drama took her to new heights. Though she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, Pugh lost out to Laura Dern from Marriage Story.

Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained)

Here’s something wild to think about – Jamie Foxx not only didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in Django Unchained, he wasn’t even nominated for Best Actor. Admittedly, it was a stacked list of actors – Daniel Day-Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Denzel Washington – but not even being named is just something.

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

The Wrestler felt like Mickey Rourke’s big redemption arc, more so than the character he portrayed in Darren Aronofsky’s great wrestling movie. Despite pushing himself to the breaking point from both a physical and emotional standpoint, Rourke lost out to Sean Penn’s take on Harvey Milk in Milk.

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Michael Keaton gave the performance of a lifetime in the 2014 mind-bending drama film, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), one that seemed to channel the actor’s past in such a way it felt like an autobiography. However, stealing the show as Riggan Thomson, a.k.a., Birdman, wasn’t enough, as the prize went to The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne instead.

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Saoirse Ronan has been nominated for an Oscar on four separate occasions, but not a single win, which is something. One of the performances that deserved an Academy Award the most was that of Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. The portrayal of a confused high school senior on the verge of entering the next stage in her life lost out to Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Tim Curry (Clue)

Tim Curry’s portrayal of Wadsworth in Clue, a butler or undercover FBI agent depending on which ending you watch, is a role that is beloved by fans of the classic murder mystery comedy. However, it wasn’t recognized at the Academy Awards or other ceremonies, which is the real crime.

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Rosamund Pike’s take on Amy Elliott-Dunne earned the sole Academy Award nomination for David Fincher’s Gone Girl, a nod that was more than deserved. However, the incredibly nuanced and dynamic performance failed to win the Best Actress Oscar, which went to Still Alice’s Julianne Moore instead.

Jimmy Stewart (Rear Window)

Jimmy Stewart is one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors of all time and his portrayal of L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is one of the his top-tier performances. However, his take on an injured photographer who uncovers a murder mystery didn’t even get a nod at the Academy Awards.

Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)

Kate Winslet gave one of her most powerful and unique performances in the 2004 sci-fi dramedy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her take on Clementine Kruczynski, a woman who had all memories of her ex-boyfriend wiped from her brain, was rich, beautiful, and iconic, but just wasn’t enough to win Best Actress.

Al Pacino (The Godfather)

Al Pacino put himself on the map with his portrayal of reluctant crime boss Michael Corleone in The Godfather. The gradual evolution of the character over the course of the film’s three-hour runtime should have been enough for an Oscar, but like co-stars James Caan and Robert Duvall, who were also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, he didn’t get the win.

Gloria Swanson (Sunset Boulevard)

Gloria Swanson’s "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." line from Sunset Boulevard is one of the most iconic quotes in all of Hollywood and part of an Oscar-worthy performance. While Swanson was nominated for her take on aging film star Norma Desmond, she didn’t take home the top prize.

Jack Nicholson (The Shining)

Though considered one of Jack Nicholson’s best roles, his portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining didn’t result in an Oscar win. In fact, Nicholson wasn’t even nominated for the unforgettable performance. 

John Cazale (The Godfather Part II)

John Cazale’s Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part II is one of cinema’s great tragic figures as well as one of the late actor’s best characters. What’s even more of a travesty is the fact that the late actor didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Tragically, Cazale would never receive an Academy Award nomination prior to his shocking death in 1978.

Angela Bassett (What's Love Got To Do With It?)

Angela Bassett received her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Go to Do with It?, but the miraculous turn as one of American music’s most famous and influential figures didn’t earn her a Best Actress win. 

Edward Norton (American History X)

Reformed neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard is one of Edward Norton’s most controversial and complex characters of his career, and the American History X performance earned him a Best Actor nod at the 71st Academy Awards. However, Roberto Benigni from Life Is Beautiful ran away with the top acting prize.

Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca)

Somehow, Ingrid Bergman, who was astonishing as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca, not only didn’t win Best Actress at the 16th Academy Awards, she wasn’t even nominated for her iconic portrayal of a woman caught between two men and two different lives in the 1943 black-and-white classic.

Paul Giamatti (Sideways)

In a perfect world, Paul Giamatti would have won the Oscar for Best Actor in Alexander Payne’s Sideways, but alas, that is not the reality in which we live. Miles Raymond is one of Giamiatti’s best characters and carried the movie about two friends on a wine trip they’ll never forget.

Henry Fonda (12 Angry Men)

An amazing courtroom drama, 12 Angry Men is still arguably one of the best movies of all time. While its star, Henry Fonda, received a Best Picture nomination as a producer, his dynamic and rich portrayal of a juror who insisted on getting things right didn’t earn him an acting nod, which is a real miscarriage of justice.

John Goodman (The Big Lebowski)

You can add John Goodman to the list of great actors who have never received an Oscar nomination, which just doesn’t make sense. It’s especially maddening when you consider his legendary portrayal of Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, a character loosely based on John Milius, per Far Out Magazine.

Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line)

Joaquin Phoenix has since won an Oscar, but his portrayal of Johnny Cash in James Mangold’s 2005 biographical drama, Walk the Line, was more than deserving of the top acting prize at the Academy Awards. What’s interesting is the fact that Phoenix was beat by his future The Master co-star, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won for his take on Truman Capote in Bennett Miller’s Capote.

Ellen Burstyn (Requiem For A Dream)

A little more 25 years after winning an Academy Award for Best Actress thanks to her outstanding performance in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Ellen Burstyn had another shot at capturing an Oscar with her turn as Sara Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream. Her take on a woman battling unchecked depression, anxiety, and a diet of weight loss pills gave audiences one of the most incredible and sympathetic characters of the early 21st century. Unfortunately, this also happened to be the same year Erin Brockovich was released. 

Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood)

There Will Be Blood is remembered more than a half-decade after its release because of the Academy Award-winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, but one of the three-time Oscar winner’s castmates was also deserving of recognition. Paul Dano’s Eli Sunday (he also played the smaller part of Eli’s twin brother, Paul) is one of the more fascinating characters of modern cinema, and he should have received an Oscar for his troubles. Dynamic is an understatement for this overzealous, petty, and temperamental preacher.

Robert Shaw (Jaws)

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 summer blockbuster, Jaws, won three Academy Awards – Best Filming Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound – but Robert Shaw, who acted his tail off as the boat captain, Quint, wasn’t recognized. This shameful act by the Academy, especially after watching the USS Indianapolis monologue, still stings nearly 50 years after the fact. That scene alone deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination and win.

Many of these actors won an Academy Award either before or after these movies and performances we just covered, but it’s just wild to think about how some of these roles didn’t take home the big prize at the Oscars.

Johnny Depp has been steadily reclaiming his place in Hollywood in the past year. More recently, the iconic Pirates of the Caribbean actor has just concluded his directorial venture, Modì, which featuring Hollywood legend Al Pacino. It was previously reported that Depp and Pacino's film began production in September and just wrapped this month. The 21 Jump Street veteran took a moment to honor his film family and celebrated the Budapest shoot's conclusion with a heartfelt social media post that captured the essence of their collective effort.

The Edward Scissorhands star expressed gratitude to the crew working tirelessly to bring Modì to life. In a candid snapshot shared on Instagram, the actor can be seen clapping, surrounded by the dedicated team contributing to the film's production. The 60-year-old actor's caption accompanying the photo offers a glimpse into his genuine appreciation for the collaborative spirit that fueled the project. He wrote:

Modì marks the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cast alum’s second time in the director's chair since his 1997 directorial debut, The Brave, in which he starred alongside Marlon Brando in one of his final performances. Based on the post he's incredibly proud of the work he and his team did, and you can see his expression of joy in the post below:

Set to dive into the tumultuous life of Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, Modì unfolds over a crucial 48-hour period set against the backdrop of war-torn Paris in 1916. The narrative paints a vivid picture of Modigliani's existence, as he navigates the chaotic streets, evading the pursuit of the police. Drawing inspiration from Dennis McIntyre's 1980 play, Modigliani: A Play in Three Acts, the film encapsulates the essence of the artist's journey, capturing the intensity of his experiences during a pivotal moment in history.

Johnny Depp's journey with the biopic is not just about his return to directing; it's a deeply personal exploration of the life of Modigliani, a story he describes as one of great hardship and eventual triumph. In a previous statement, the Ed Wood actor expressed his honor and humility in bringing Mr. Modigliani's saga to the screen, recognizing it as a universally human narrative that resonates with viewers profoundly.

The upcoming movie signifies the Oscar nominee's return to the director's chair as well as marking his second major film project following the conclusion of his defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard in June 2022.

The Sweeney Todd performer’s re-entry into the spotlight was evident in May when he graced the Cannes Film Festival with his presence. His French movie, Jeanne Du Barry, took center stage with a fancy premiere as the festival opener, showcasing Johnny Depp's enduring influence in the industry despite the post-trial film's interesting critical reaction. 

As the actor concludes filming in Budapest, his journey as an actor-director comes full circle. For those eager to witness his latest acting endeavors, Jeanne du Barry is anticipated to join Netflix's movie schedule soon. However, if you're anticipating the reunion with his Donnie Brasco collaborator Al Pacino in Modì, know that the release date is currently unknown. Keep your eyes peeled for updates to find out of the production will join the 2024 movie release schedule.

For now, why not revisit Johnny Depp's legendary role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series? You can catch all the swashbuckling adventures by streaming them with a Disney+ subscription.

When you look at the landscape of Hollywood A-List actors, it’s hard to believe how many haven’t been nominated for an Oscar. Even crazier is looking back on previous nominees like Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman’s careers and seeing where their first brush with golden glory came from. That’s what we’re gathered together to do today, as we look back on a who’s who of acting talent, and those first projects that put them on The Academy’s map! 

Meryl Streep - The Deer Hunter

Where does one begin when talking about Meryl Streep’s own personal golden dynasty? Well, if you want to start at the beginning, you’d take it all the way back to 1978. That’s when Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter put Ms. Streep on the Academy’s radar for the first time. At the time of publication, Streep is the most nominated person at the Academy Awards, thanks to a whopping 21 nods.

Daniel Day-Lewis - My Left Foot

The year 1990 marked an important moment for iconic actor, and three-time Academy Award winner, Daniel Day-Lewis. The now-retired thespian found himself winning on his first time out, with his nomination for the role of Irish writer and painter Christy Brown in My Left Foot. His portrayal of Brown, who created art while living with Cerebral Palsy, was only the beginning of a legacy involving method acting, which led to several more nominations and wins in the process.

Amy Adams - Junebug

Let’s put aside the fact that Amy Adams and Arrival were failed by awards boards in the 2016- 2017 season. Outside of that grudge that some still hold dear, Adams has a total of six Oscar nominations to her credit. That’s pretty amazing, with the first nod coming from her performance in 2005’s Junebug. With that noted, we can go back to grousing about how she deserves to be at seven nods, thanks to Denis Villeneuve’s brain-breaking masterpiece.

Leonardo DiCaprio - What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

While Leonardo DiCaprio could finally call himself a winner as part of 2016’s Academy Award nominees, the path to that victory for The Revenant kicked off in 1994. A hot young talent, DiCaprio’s first nomination was for his role alongside Johnny Depp in the drama What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Turns out, when it was winning time for Leo, the answer to that question was, “A bear.”

Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side

One of America’s sweethearts, Sandra Bullock can be counted as a member of the First Timer's Club. Her first nomination was also the one that won her the trophy, as the 2010 Academy Awards yielded a golden win for her role in The Blind Side. Despite the recent controversies and lawsuit from Michael Oher that have hit that film’s story about the football player and the Tuohys, this is a hard-earned win, and the first of two nominations so far for Ms. Bullock. 

Tom Hanks - Big

We all know that Tom Hanks is Academy Award-winning royalty, as America’s Dad has six nominations and two wins under his belt. Looking back at the fact that his first competition for Oscar glory came from 1988’s Big, it’s an impressive feat for happening so early in Hanks’ career as an actor. It’s even more stunning when you take into account that it was for a comedy performance, which isn’t as prevalent at the Oscars as one would hope.

Viola Davis - Doubt

Despite the title of the film she was first nominated for, there was absolutely no Doubt when it came to Viola Davis’ status as an Oscar contender. Her first round came in 2008, through that very film mentioned; and she would eventually be nominated three more times, at the time of this publication. Her first win came in 2016 after she starred with fellow Oscar titan Denzel Washington in the film adaptation of Fences. (It's also worth mentioning that this actress is also in the elite club of EGOT winners.)

Peter O’Toole - Lawrence Of Arabia

Tied with Glenn Close for the most Oscar nominations without a win, the late great Peter O’Toole banked his first Academy Awards nod with the movie you’d most expect. Thanks to the director David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, O’Toole began a dance with Academy voters that only saw him net a 2002 Honorary Academy Award. 

Jodie Foster - Taxi Driver

In the world of Disney actors turned Academy Award contenders, Jodie Foster will always be one of the most notable in that field. At the age of 15, Foster saw her first nomination through her only Best Supporting Actress nod to date. The eventual victor for films like The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs, Jodie first competed for Oscar glory through the role of child prostitute Iris Steensma in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. 

Morgan Freeman - Street Smart

Even movies with Oscar buzz can become buried in the sands of time. Just ask Morgan Freeman, who first saw himself nominated at the Academy Awards in 1987 for Street Smart. A crime drama starring Christopher Reeve as an ambitious reporter profiling Freeman’s pimp character Leo “Fast Black” Smalls Jr., it’s a movie that most wouldn’t remember; especially when compared to the other films the prestigious actor would be nominated for.

Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth

Playing royalty almost feels like a shortcut to winning big-time gold. However, Cate Blanchett is one of those exceptions that sets the rules. While she would later win trophies for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, Blanchett’s first bid for an Academy Award came in 1999, thanks to the titular role in director Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth. 

Anthony Hopkins - The Silence Of The Lambs

Horror is one of those genres that doesn’t seem to get much love on the awards circuit. However, when the results are something as chilling as director Jonathan Demme’s adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, containing Anthony Hopkins’ equally unsettling performance as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, it’s hard not to take notice. Score another First Timer’s Club victory, as Hopkins took home the gold his first time up.

Charlize Theron - Monster

Portraying the criminal mind provides such an allure for actors and auteurs alike. A case proving that point was Charlize Theron’s portrayal of convicted killer Aileen Wuornos in Patty Jenkins’ film Monster, her first nomination out of three at the time of this writing. Theron won the Best Actress trophy on the first try in 2004, all thanks to this tale of true crime. 

Christian Bale - The Fighter

Able to disappear completely in any character he plays, Academy Award winner Christian Bale has four nominations to his name. Equally split between Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor accolades, his first roll of the dice in 2011 landed him a win in the former category; thanks to David O. Russell’s The Fighter. 

Kate Winslet - Sense And Sensibility

The works of Jane Austen are another one of those sources that seem to periodically score nominations at the Oscars. Kate Winslet’s first is part of the proof, as the first of her current total of seven Academy Award nominations (and one win) came from 1995’s Sense and Sensibility. Ms. Winslet’s heart would go on to win Best Actress…in 2009, for Stephen Daldry’s The Reader.

Denzel Washington - Cry Freedom

Let’s see if King Kong knows this piece of movie trivia. Actor Denzel Washington has had 10 Oscar nominations, with two wins coming from that pool. While most would be tempted to cite his win for Glory as the first time he was nominated, that is incorrect. Washington’s first Academy Awards ceremony happened two years earlier in 1988, for his part in the film Cry Freedom. 

Kathy Bates - Misery

Frightening characters can make for the most golden of dreams, as was proven with 1991’s Academy Awards. Kathy Bates took home her first award on her first nomination, through the role of Anne Wilkes in Rob Reiner’s Misery. A “brilliant” adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, this fan favorite is one of many that’s seen the famed horror author’s work turning in some of the most well-regarded films and performances of all time.

George Clooney - Good Night, And Good Luck/Syriana

Here’s a wild story: George Clooney’s first Oscar nominations came from not one, but two films he was involved with. 2006’s Academy Awards saw the ER veteran land and win Best Supporting Actor for his role in Syriana, while one of CinemaBlend’s 100 best movies of the 2000s, Good Night, And Good Luck., netted him a Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nod in that same contest.

Helen Mirren - The Madness Of King George

Did you know that half of Helen Mirren’s four Oscar nominations came from playing royalty? Surely most know of Mirren’s win in 2007 as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. But, dear readers, another queen marked the start of Dame Helen’s Academy Awards history. Her Best Supporting Actress nod in 1995 for The Madness of King George would be her initial foray into this circuit, playing Queen Charlotte to Nigel Hawthorne’s titular monarch.

Judi Dench - Mrs. Brown

Dame Judi Dench is another regal figure that practically screams “Oscar” when you see her. Another member of the club of actors winning as royalty, Dench would win in 1999 for her as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. That was only on her second try, because in 1998 Dame Judi received her first nomination, playing Queen Victoria in the film Mrs. Brown.

Dustin Hoffman - The Graduate

And here’s to you, Mr. Hoffman; Oscar came a’calling very young. At 30 years old, Dustin Hoffman saw his first Academy Award nomination through starring in 1967’s The Graduate. What may be more surprising than the actual 6-year age gap between himself and co-star Anne Bancroft is that his first Oscar win would take place 12 years later, with 1980’s Kramer vs. Kramer.

Susan Sarandon - Atlantic City

Five nominations and one win are actor Susan Sarandon’s Academy Award legacy, at the time of this writing. But her first nomination was from an Oscar-buzzed title that most folks may not remember: 1981’s Atlantic City. With nominations in “The Big Five” categories, Sarandon and the film at large walked away empty-handed that year.

Russell Crowe - The Insider

Before his name was Maximus Decimus Meridius, Russell Crowe found himself heading to the Oscars under a different moniker: Jeffrey Wigand. Nominated for the first time in 2000, Crowe’s role in Michael Mann’s whistleblower drama The Insider gave the Australian actor his first golden thrill ride. One that he’d repeat in 2001, and win for through the strength and honor of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.

Angela Bassett - What’s Love Got To Do With It

Surprisingly, Angela Bassett only received her second nomination as part of 2023's Academy Awards, thanks to Marvel Studio’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Bassett’s first nomination came from playing royalty of a different type, as her lead role in the Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It saw her walking the Oscar red carpet in 1994.

Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Count this as another shocker in Oscar nominations history: Gary Oldman only received his first Academy Awards nomination in 2012. You’d think the Bram Stoker’s Dracula actor would have had more than the three nods and one win he currently holds. However, his dreams of golden splendor only started after he played George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. 

Julia Roberts - Steel Magnolias

With three nominations and one win, Julia Roberts’ odds of firing you up or making you cry with her Academy Award-nominated projects are officially even. Her first time in the race came in 1990, in the dramedy classic Steel Magnolias. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, we’ll leave it to you to find out which bucket this particular nom falls into on your own time.

Al Pacino - The Godfather

Some roles are such an indelible part of an actor’s career, they just had to land an Oscar nomination for it. Al Pacino is certainly one of those cases, as he would turn his first Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Godfather into a Best Actor nod in The Godfather Part II. Both stem from his portrayal of Michael Corleone, the favorite son who descended into darkness and power.

Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married

“It came true.” Those three words marked the end of Anne Hathaway’s journey to Oscar gold, with her second nomination and first win for Best Supporting Actress in Les Miserables. But the beginning of Ms. Hathaway’s Academy Awards journey was in 2009, when she was nominated for Best Actress in Rachel Getting Married. 

Matt Damon - Good Will Hunting

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both won their first Oscars for Best Original Screenplay, thanks to 1998’s Good Will Hunting. But much like other members of the First Timers Club in this list, Damon’s first victory was also his first time at the dance. How ‘bout dem apples indeed.

Jennifer Lawrence - Winter’s Bone

The second time was the charm for Jennifer Lawrence, as her role in Silver Linings Playbook made her a winner in 2013. That wasn’t too long after her initial foray into Oscar victory, which came in 2011 thanks to her lead role in the neo-noir gem Winter’s Bone. Who’d expect any less from the eventual "girl on fire" that would lead The Hunger Games to box office domination?

Ben Affleck - Good Will Hunting

Sailing on the same current as his writing partner and longtime buddy Matt Damon, Ben Affleck’s first Oscar nomination came from his co-authoring of Good Will Hunting. And to think, if Damon and Affleck’s hijinks involving the script hadn’t worked, we may never have seen either contributor go on to the storied careers they enjoy today.

Samuel L. Jackson - Pulp Fiction

Fans of Samuel L. Jackson are about to engage in some harsh language, as the current MCU star only has one Academy Award nomination. While it’s rightful for his Best Supporting Actor-worthy role in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, the man’s gone on to deliver several other powerhouse performances worth at least a nod or two. This is something that not even the tastiest beverage could wash away.

As an actor, you never know where that first win or nomination is going to come from. And when you're an A-lister as iconic as the people we've just discussed, those initial impressions are all the more interesting to look at as time goes on. Who knows where these blockbuster draws will find their next brush with golden glory, and how it will compare to these humble beginnings? 

As Johnny Depp continues to return to work in the world of entertainment, his directing gig Modi is about to kick off the next chapter. With the film starting production in Budapest, and the cast including Al Pacino among others, it’s Depp’s long awaited return to the director’s chair. While there’s certainly a level of anticipation to this project, one has to wonder when the Pirates of the Caribbean star will film another Hollywood movie? 

In his post-divorce era, past the long legal battle he saw with ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny seems to be rebuilding his professional life in European based projects. Modi’s announced movement into production, which came from Variety, is just one signal of the actor/director’s comfort abroad. 

This is after Mr. Depp’s first post-trial picture Jeanne Du Barry garnered an interesting critical reaction after debuting at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. As that project has already been released in Europe, there's no indication as to when it will be released by domestic distributor Vertical Entertainment. So maybe those making the decisions feel that Johnny plays broader internationally, but needs a finer touch when being sold in the US.

Another factor that might play a part in any such decisions is, quite honestly, the subject of loyalty. You only need to read Johnny Depp’s praise of Dior as they “stuck by [him] through every second,” and it could possibly inform why the frequent Tim Burton collaborator hasn’t signed his next blockbuster franchise just yet. Especially when his last big ticket gig in the Fantastic Beasts saga saw Depp asked to bow out in a rather public fashion. 

A creative animal on all fronts, Depp and his recent resurrection in the European entertainment circuit is probably where the musician turned actor finds himself most at home. That is, when Johnny isn’t pursuing his passions of artwork and touring for his music career; both of which have also seen quite a healthy engagement in recent times. 

While it’s uncertain if any huge offers have come in from major Hollywood studios in this post-trial period, those are the sorts of things that Johnny Depp would probably look at long and hard before accepting. Even then, if it wasn’t a project he was sincerely fired up about, one could infer that he’d gladly let that option walk the plank in the name of something more in his current wheelhouse. 

So answering the question of when, or if, Johnny will ever make another Hollywood movie is something that has no easy solution. However, it's still an intriguing subject to follow, for the reasons mentioned above. No one knows where Johnny Depp's next move is going to come from, and knowing what we've seen from the man throughout his career, that's probably right where he wants us.

While Johnny Depp may seem at home in the world of art house films abroad, the man still has a blockbuster legacy that fans can still enjoy. Case in point: you can enjoy all six Pirates of the Caribbean movies, with the aid of a Disney+ subscription. 

One trend that has been emerging at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival has been the directorial debuts of very famous actors, be it Anna Kendrick exploring traumatic gender dynamics in the framework of a serial killer thriller, or Chris Pine playing a poolman with OCD who stumbles into a Chinatown-level mystery. The results have been exciting, watching performers we’ve seen evolve on screen embrace their storytelling instincts as directors. And to that pile, we add Batman and Birdman icon Michael Keaton, who directs and stars in a crime thriller with a gimmick that’s executed seamlessly and carried to a shocking but satisfying finish. 

Gregory Poirier wrote Knox Goes Away, which follows a paid assassin John Knox (Keaton) at a time when he likely has to cash out and hang up his firearms. He’ll only tell his partner (Ray McKinnon) that the reasons are personal, but the audience learns the truth: Knox has been diagnosed with a rapid form of Alzheimer’s, and his doctor gives him weeks – not months – to get his affairs in order before his mind gives up on him. 

The memory loss gimmick easily could be mishandled, but Keaton subtly weaves the effects into his story and doesn’t exploit it for short-term gain. Right from the opening shot, the concept of Knox forgetting things is established, and then small gestures made by the character keep reminding us that it’s an issue that has to be dealt with. It made me think of Christopher Nolan’s Memento, one of the director’s best, which saddled its main character with a memory issue. But Knox Goes Away uses the plot device to different effect, and knows when to employ it to generate the most suspense. 

The main story grows more personal with the introduction of John Knox’s family, and here, Keaton wisely surrounds himself with heavy hitters in supporting roles. James Marsden appears as Knox’s estranged son, who comes to his father with a very serious problem. Marcia Gay Harden anchors her few scenes as Knox’s ex-wife, who wants nothing to do with him (but can’t fully hide the fact that she still cares deeply for him). And Heat legend Al Pacino holds a significant part in Keaton’s drama, which I’ll leave for you to discover. 

At the heart of it all is a rock-solid Michael Keaton performance. Like his direction, he’s economical, unfussy, sturdy, but lacking flash. Knox Goes Away has no frills, and is utilitarian like the problem-solver that Keaton plays, a man who needs enough time to clean up his messes, if his mind will allow him. And for the most part, it holds you in its palm. There’s a plot turn halfway through the third act that makes us think we’ve misread everything that has been happening, and that Knox might not be the man Keaton was putting forward. But the script rights itself, and the threat of Knox Goes Away falling flat on its face… well, goes away. We’re left with a showcase for Keaton, the actor, that announces him as a competent if unremarkable director with a nose for solid material. 

More from the 2023 Toronto Film Festival:

Ava DuVernay’s Origin is a deeply emotional drama.

Dream Scenario features one of Nicolas Cage’s best performances.

Maddie Ziegler takes a big risk in the bold sex comedy Fitting In.

Academy Award winner Al Pacino is known for a number of the roles he’s played during his decades-long acting career, but it was his real-life role as a new dad that caught the public’s attention back in June, when Noor Alfallah, 29, gave birth to a baby boy, her first child with 83-year-old Pacino. Now, however, just 3 months after their son was born, the couple has sparked split rumors, and the Scent of a Woman star is now in court to figure out a custody arrangement and financial support.

Al Pacino and his partner began dating in April 2022, and the couple announced a little over a year later that Noor Alfallah was eight months pregnant. Whether or not they are still romantically involved is in question, but TMZ reports that Alfallah has filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior court asking for full custody of 3-month-old Roman Alfallah Pacino. The actor, according to the documents, should have joint legal custody, reasonable visitation and have a say in his son’s education, medical needs and other major decisions. 

Despite the new mom's move to secure custody, Page Six reports that Al Pacino and Noor Alfallah are "still together."

Child support was not addressed in this filing, but Al Pacino’s partner has requested that he pay her attorney fees and other legal expenses. Noor Alfallah also provided a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage to prove that they are Roman’s biological parents.

The pregnancy, which came less than a year after they started dating, was apparently a surprise to the couple, and Al Pacino was reportedly “shocked,” citing “medical issues” that would have “commonly prevented” a man from impregnating a woman. The Dog Day Afternoon actor reportedly demanded that a paternity test be taken, which concluded that he was, in fact, the father.

Despite the unexpected nature of the pregnancy, Al Pacino was excited for the new addition’s arrival, telling a photographer at the time that it was “very special.” The births of all of his children had been special, he said, but “this is really special coming at this time.” Coincidentally, Pacino’s latest child was born just weeks after fellow acting icon Robert De Niro welcomed his own new addition at 79 years old.

Roman Alfallah Pacino is the octogenarian’s fourth child. He shares 22-year-old twins with Beverly D’Angelo and 33-year-old Julie Marie Pacino with Jan Tarrant. Despite the initial reports that Al Pacino questioned the paternity — and amidst some being critical of his and Noor Alfallah's 54-year age gap — sources reportedly close to the couple said earlier this year that their love was “unwavering,” and they were reportedly “ecstatic” about their new bundle of joy when seen out at a celebratory dinner in June.

We’ll have to see if more details emerge as to what prompted the custody filing, if Al Pacino and Noor Alfallah are, in fact, still in a relationship. Hopefully whatever they are going through is handled easily and in the best interest of all involved — especially baby Roman.

Al Pacino’s Vincent Hanna is certainly animated during the events of Heat, some of that could be attributed to the stress of trying to apprehend Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley and his crew, as well as his… unique personality. However, years back, it was revealed that the reason Pacino’s acting is so over the top in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie is because he played Hanna as a cokehead. Now Mann has shared that Heat nearly included a wild scene of Pacino’s character snorting cocaine off an unusual surface.

Despite it never being explicitly stated in Heat that Vincent Hanna indulges in this vice, while being interviewed by Variety, Mann mentioned that a scene was shot where the LAPD detective was snorting coke off the back of a dagger he carried in the small of his back. The filmmaker decided to cut this scene because he thought it was “too strong a message.” Still, at least now Heat fans have an even better idea of how intense Hanna is with his blow addiction.

Michael Mann divulged this information while talking about the day that he shot Al Pacino’s “She’s got a great ass!” scene, which sees Vincent Hanna interrogating Alan Marciano about his affair with Ashley Judd’s Charlene Shiherlis, the wife of Val Kilmer’s Chris Shiherlis. According to Mann, Pacino’s “best takes are always five, six or seven,” but even after getting a good one, he’d often ask the writer/director if he could do a “wild one,” which often resulted in hilarious results. 

That’s how the amazingly ridiculous line delivery Pacino directed at Azaria came to be, with The Simpsons actor having a look of “shock and amazement” on his face as his costar was “going completely off the script into something totally wild.” You can see the results for yourself below.

Heat ended up being a critical and commercial success, boasting an 88% Rotten Tomatoes and pulling in over $187 million worldwide, and is considered one of the best '90s movies. Al Pacino’s performance choices certainly play a big role in why it’s still fondly remembered nearly three decades after its release, and it also ranks as one of Robert De Niro’s best movies. Along with the aforementioned actors, Heat’s cast included Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Natalie Portman, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert and William Fichtner, among others.

In 2022, Michael Mann revisited this corner of his filmography with Heat 2, which he co-wrote with Mag Gardiner and serves as both a prequel and sequel to the original movie. In April, it was reported that a film adaptation of Heat 2 is in the works, with Adam Driver being eyed to play a younger Neil McCauley. While we wait for more updates on that project, learn what movies are on the horizon with our 2023 release schedule and 2024 release schedule.

The Dark Knight, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Aliens are just a few examples of sequels that have managed to surpass their predecessors, a feat that remains rare in cinema. Among this exclusive group of superior follow-ups, The Godfather Part II stands tall, hailed by many as a movie that excels in every aspect compared to its iconic predecessor and the best in the franchise. But Al Pacino, the film's star, holds a different opinion. In an interview, the actor behind the stoic Michael Corleone sheds light on why he believes the first Godfather installment has the edge over its sequel.

THR reported on a recent candid interview where the iconic actor Al Pacino sat down with David Rubenstein as part of the 92nd Street Y, New York’s “People Who Inspire Us” series to discuss his illustrious career. When the host inquired about his thoughts on whether The Godfather Part II outshone the original, Pacino was swift to express his disagreement, sharing his perspective on the matter. According to the legendary actor:

The Dog Day Afternoon star makes some great points. The Godfather, directed by the visionary Francis Ford Coppola and released in 1972, has secured its place as one of cinema's greatest achievements. Al Pacino's captivating performance as the complex Michael Corleone earned him widespread acclaim and established him as one of Hollywood's most talented actors. The film's engaging narrative, meticulously crafted action sequences, masterful storytelling, and one of the best opening scenes have left an indelible mark on the history of cinema.

During the hour-long talk, the Serpico star revealed he is working on a memoir. Having acted in nearly 50 films, he says he has four more movies lined up and expressed his desire to work on an adaptation of King Lear in the coming year. When questioned by Rubenstein about retirement, the actor playfully quipped:

Just like his iconic character said in the far less talked about Godfather Part III: Just when he thought he was out, they pull him right back in. Huh, Al?

Al Pacino's insightful comments serve as a poignant reminder of the sheer brilliance of The Godfather,  a film that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with a spectacular 4K release, solidifying its lasting impact on cinema. While both movies are consistently praised as masterpieces, gaining the star's perspective on why the original holds a place as a genuinely unparalleled cinematic experience remains fascinating.

Are you still unsure about which classic Mafia film reigns supreme? If you find yourself undecided, why not take a trip down memory lane and revisit the timeless Coppola trilogy to decide for yourself? All three films are now available for streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, offering a perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in the epic world of The Godfather saga and ultimately determine your personal favorite.

Al Pacino is officially a father again. The 83-year-old actor and his girlfriend Noor Alfallah, 29, reportedly welcomed their little one into the world, as sources close to the couple revealed that the baby was born.

Following the baby's birth, which was reported by TMZ, the couple was spotted out and about, and they were both ecstatic about their child officially being in the world, according to the site. While they were out and about, a photo was taken of the pair in the car together, and it was explained that it looked like a car seat was in the back of their vehicle.  

Pacino and Alfallah were linked back in April 2022, and the baby is the actor's fourth child. Recently, the Serpico star spoke about how excited he was for the baby, saying: 

News broke about Pacino and Alfallah expecting a newborn last month, and at the time she was eight months pregnant. So, having the baby now follows that timeline well. 

While Al Pacino did speak about how excited he was about the baby’s birth, earlier rumors had spread that he had allegedly demanded a paternity test after learning about Alfallah’s pregnancy. The report claimed that he was “shocked” by the news, and apparently, he had “medical issues” that would have “commonly prevented” a pregnancy. It was also reported that his partner took the test, and it was confirmed that he is the father. 

At this time we don’t know what the baby’s name or gender is. However, the newborn is the fourth child of Pacino who has three other grown kids. The Scarface star shares 22-year-old twins Anton and Olivia Pacino with his ex Beverly D’Angelo, who had left her husband to be with the actor. Also, he shares Julie Marie Pacino, who is 33, with Jan Tarrant. 

Al Pacino and Noor Alfallah definitely have their hands full with their little one. However, the Academy Award winner is also staying busy professionally. He currently has six projects in the works, including a film directed by Johnny Depp called Modi. Along with his upcoming projects, he’s also popped up in movies like House of Gucci and The Irishman in recent years. Also, he’s in the show Hunters, which dropped its second season earlier on the 2023 TV schedule. 

Overall, it seems like everything is going well for Noor Alfallah, Al Pacino and their newborn. As more news about the couple and their child comes out we’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, you can check out the 2023 movie schedule to plan your next trip to the theater. 

Al Pacino, the Hollywood icon renowned for his memorable performances in films like The Godfather and Scarface, has finally opened up about his latest life-changing news. The 83-year-old actor broke his silence about expecting a baby with his 29-year-old girlfriend, Noor Alfallah. During a leisurely stroll in Los Angeles, the legendary actor dispelled drama rumors and expressed his sheer delight.

In an exclusive video obtained by DailyMail.com, the House of Gucci star directly addressed the swirling rumors surrounding the pregnancy, particularly those suggesting his lack of enthusiasm. A trusted source close to the actor categorically dismissed such claims as “complete and utter bullshit.” The Serpico star affirmed his excitement about the impending arrival, firmly putting an end to the speculations. Al can be heard saying to the photographer in the video:

With this upcoming child, Pacino will become a father for the fourth time. He already shares 22-year-old twins Olivia Pacino and Anton James Pacino with his ex-partner, Beverly D’Angelo, and a 33-year-old daughter named Julie Pacino with Jan Tarrant. Noor Alfallah, who is allegedly eight months along in her pregnancy, will be the mother of his newest addition.

TMZ previously reported The Dog Day Afternoon actor’s initial doubts about the child’s paternity due to his medical concerns. Rumors circulated that he insisted on a prenatal DNA test to confirm his biological connection. However, close sources vehemently rebuffed these claims, affirming that despite the surprise, the long-time silver screen performer is overjoyed about the baby and still deeply in love with Noor. Furthermore, they dismissed any notions of Noor as a “gold digger,” highlighting her wealth and successful endeavors.

Despite the critical scrutiny surrounding their significant age gap of 54 years, an anonymous source close to the Dick Tracy star and Noor’s relationship asserts the unwavering strength of their love. The insider revealed Noor’s long-standing desire to have a child, and Al couldn’t be happier to fulfill that wish. They assured everyone that the pregnancy occurred naturally and emphasized that Pacino is “still very able.” The couple was last spotted together in May, relishing a romantic dinner at the upscale Los Angeles eatery E Baldi.

Al is not alone in joining the ranks of older actors embracing fatherhood. We are seemingly witnessing a resurgence of beloved veteran actors starting families later in life. Fans were undoubtedly surprised when Pacino’s Heat co-star, Robert De Niro, recently made headlines for welcoming his seventh child at the age of 79. While, according to Scorsese, The Irishman actors have very different approaches to filming, it seems they’re far more aligned regarding parenting. 

In recent years, Al Pacino has made notable appearances in film and television. He showcased his talent on the big screen in movies like American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally and House of Gucci (see why we thought it was “unforgettable”). Before that, he made a lasting impression with performances in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Irishman, exclusively available to anyone with a Netflix subscription. Looking ahead, the Hollywood A-Lister is set to star alongside Charlie Heaton and Diana Silvers in the upcoming film Billy Knight. Furthermore, he will reunite with Johnny Depp for Depp’s directorial project Modi, following their collaboration on the acclaimed movie Donnie Brasco.

As Al Pacino prepares to embrace this exciting new chapter of fatherhood, the team at CinemaBlend extends our warm wishes for a safe delivery to Al and Noor Alfallah’s child. Rest assured that we’ll keep you informed if there are any significant updates regarding this joyful occasion. In the meantime, make sure to check out our 2023 movie release schedule to stay updated on the exciting cinematic offerings still to come this year.

What do actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have in common? Well, actually quite a bit considering they’ve been in movies together like The Godfather Part II and The Irishman, but they’re also two Hollywood icons becoming fathers again pretty late in life. The 79-year-old De Niro revealed in May that he’d welcomed his seventh child, and we learned earlier this week that the 83-year-old Pacino has a baby on the way. However, the latter actor was reportedly insistent that a paternity test be carried out to prove that the baby is his.

Pacino will soon have his fourth child, this one coming from his current girlfriend, 29-year-old Noor Alfallah. However, according to TMZ, he was “shocked” by the pregnancy and skeptical that he was the father. The Scarface actor apparently has “medical issues” that would have “commonly prevented” a man from impregnating a woman, so he demanded that Alfallah get a paternity test. She obliged, and it showed that the baby is indeed Pacino’s. It was also mentioned in the report that Pacino didn’t learn that Alfallah, who is eight months pregnant, would be having a baby until two months ago.

Al Pacino’s first child, daughter Julie Marie, was born in 1989 from his relationship with acting coach Jan Tarrant. Then during his relationship with actress Beverly D’Angelo, twins Anton James and Olivia Rose were born in 2001. Now at over 80 years old, the actor finds himself a father once more, except this wasn’t something he’d planned, but the paternity test showed that it’s his father than coming from another man. The baby will likely arrive in either late June or in early July.

As far as his professional life goes, Pacino was last seen on the big screen in the movies American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally and House of Gucci. Two years prior, he appeared Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Irishman, the latter of which is an exclusive offering to Netflix subscribers. Pacino also starred in the TV series Hunters, which wrapped up its two-season run in January and can be streamed with an Amazon Prime Video subscription. Along with acting opposite Charlie Heaton and Diana Silvers in the upcoming movie Billy Knight, Pacino is set to be directed by Johnny Depp in Modi, with the two having previously worked together on Donnie Brasco.

We here at CinemaBlend wish a safe delivery for Al Pacino and Noor Alfallah’s child, and should their be any major developments on that front, we’ll let you know. Until then, use our 2023 movie release schedule to keep track of the cinematic entertainment left to arrive this year.

It seems that we’re having a bit of a renaissance when it comes to older beloved actors having children. A lot of people were shocked when Robert De Niro revealed that he just had his seventh child at the age of 79, but not to be outdone, Al Pacino is apparently just a month away from having his fourth child, at the age of 83.

TMZ has confirmed a report that the 82-year-old Scent of a Woman actor is about to have his fourth child. His girlfriend, 29-year-old Noor Alfallah is eight months pregnant, so the new baby will likely be here by the end of June or early July. Pacino has three other kids currently, a daughter born to acting coach Jan Tarrant in 1989, and twins, a son, and a daughter, with actress Beverly D’Angelo born in 2001.

The new baby news for Al Pacino follows the news just a few weeks ago that Robert De Niro also has a new baby. This little detail wasn’t revealed until after the new baby had already been born. The actor had to correct an interviewer who made reference to his six kids because now there are actually seven. It wasn’t even clear at the outset who the mother was, though it has since been confirmed, by De Niro pal Billy Crystal, among others, it is De Niro’s girlfriend Tiffany Chen who he has been romantically linked for the last few years.

De Niro and Pacino have been two actors linked together for their entire careers. Due to the fact that they are so close in age, they were coming into their prime at around the same time. The two actors first appeared in a movie together in the all-time classic The Godfather Part II, the best movie in the franchise, The two actors never appear on screen together, though they did win Oscars together. Later, they would appear together in Michael Mann’s Heat which includes one of the best scenes ever filmed thanks to the two Hollywood icons. 

Most recently, Pacino and De Niro would appear in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, which would earn Pacino another Oscar nomination. Pacino will also win the award of the oldest dad between the two of them. Maybe the two friends can go visit the park together with their kids in a few years. 

While seeing new fathers n their 70s or 80s isn’t entirely unheard of, it is certainly rare, which makes hearing about these two famous actors both having kids within a few months of each other. As a father myself, I can’t imagine having to deal with the demands of a new baby at that age, but if this works for these couples, more power to them. 

The opportunity to grace the stage at Studio 8H as a headliner for NBC’s premier sketch comedy series is a surefire sign that a celebrity has truly made it. However, the 32 A-listers we have named below stand out as an exception to the rule, having never hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live before.

Beyoncé

The pop superstar (an understatement here, really) has proven herself as a worthy actor and even showed solid comedic chops in her two SNL cameos, but Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has never headlined an episode before. Maybe, if and when she returns for her fifth musical guest appearance, she could do double-duty as host – for which an appearance alongside her frequent impersonator, Maya Rudolph, would be a necessity.

Angela Bassett

Thanks to her stint as a frequent American Horror Story cast member and her Academy Award nomination for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Angela Bassett is bigger than ever these days. Therefore, it would certainly be about time for the showbiz vet to finally grace the stage at studio 8H.

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp is one of the most recognizable and critically acclaimed celebrities of his time, if not all time. Considering that and his decades in the industry – including the Pirates of the Caribbean movies – it’s surprising that he hasn’t ever hosted the long-running sketch comedy series. 

Angelina Jolie

Some might swear that they have seen Angelina Jolie on SNL before, but that could have been Abby Elliot’s pretty convincing impersonation. The Academy Award winner – last seen in Marvel’s Eternals cast – has never hosted the show, nor made any brief appearances.

James Marsden

With his charming wit and a successful career that includes blockbusters like the X-Men movies and the iconic romance drama, The Notebook, you would think James Marsden would have been on SNL by now, but not yet. Maybe his funny, self-effacive performance on the reality prank show, Jury Duty, will convince Lorne and co. he could lead a good show.

Zendaya

With her dual Emmy wins for leading HBO’s Euphoria cast and major roles in blockbusters like the Spider-Man movies and the Denis Villeneuve's Dune films, Zendaya is on top of the world and an established resident of it for sometime now. Maybe she has just been too busy to make time for an SNL hosting gig or her invitation got lost in the shuffle of her many other invitations to special events or casting calls.

Mark Hamill

Even though he was the top-billed star of one of the biggest movie franchises in the world, Mark Hamill's only appearance on SNL so far is a cameo in a sketch about a Star Wars-themed home shopping network program. The Luke Skywalker actor recently told Esquire that he suspects he has never been asked to host because he agreed to host an episode of rival sketch comedy series, Friday, in 1981.

Christian Bale

One of the few great live-action Batman actors to never host a Saturday Night Live episode is Christian Bale, who has worked with former series writer Adam McKay on acclaimed satirical films The Big Short and Vice, however. Intriguingly, the Academy Award winner was once impersonated on the show by his future American Hustle co-star, Bradley Cooper.

Sandra Bullock

Oscar winner Sandra Bullock has brought her killer acting skills and sharp sense of humor to many of her best movies, such as Miss Congeniality, or, more recently, The Lost City. However, she still has yet to utilize her comedic talents on an SNL episode, but did make headlines when former cast member Pete Davidson crashed a party of hers with her Bird Box co-star, Colson “Machine Gun Kelly” Baker, as the actor and musician revealed on The Tonight Show in 2022.

Carol Burnett

Few people are more beloved and influential in the world of sketch comedy as Carol Burnett, which is why it is shocking that none of the many great performances she has given in her long career include an SNL gig. That is, until you learn that the prospect of hosting the show she is said to have paved the way for does not interest her, as she told Fox News in April 2023.

Tom Cruise

As the lead of monster hits like the Mission: Impossible movies, among others, Tom Cruise is practically synonymous with the term “movie star,” but has never lit up Studio 8H. The closest we may ever get to seeing him in such a light is his bombastic performance as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder alongside SNL vets Bill Hader and Ben Stiller — the latter of which also impersonated the Top Gun: Maverick star in a funny Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch in 1998.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Perhaps the reason behind Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio’s lack of hosting gigs is due to a lack of comedy for much of his career, unless you count The Wolf of Wall Street or Don’t Look Up. However, when his co-star from both of those films, Jonah Hill, hosted in 2017, DiCaprio made one of the most surprising SNL cameos in the monologue, in which they recreated a famous scene from Titanic.

Vin Diesel

Many Fast and Furious actors — including Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot — have hosted Saturday Night Live, but the franchise’s leading star, Vin Diesel, is not one of them. Yet, he has been impersonated on the show to hilarious effect a number of times, such as by Taran Killam in one of the most popular videos on SNL’s YouTube channel, which reimagines Bambi as an action movie.

Chris Evans

Out of the many actors who have poked fun at their own Marvel movies in great superhero sketches when hosting SNL — such as Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth — Chris Evans is not one of them. This is particularly surprising since the MCU’s former Captain America has proven his comedic chops plenty of times, such as in the underrated Not Another Teen Movie and, more recently, Apple TV+’s action-packed rom-com, Ghosted.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman appeared on a 2010 edition of “What Up With That?” as himself, being interrupted by Diondre Cole (Kenan Thompson) as he dishes on what modern education is lacking. That marks the renowned Academy Award winner’s sole SNL appearance so far, having never been on the show as a host.

Harrison Ford

Saturday Night Live might really benefit from having someone known for such remarkable, dry wit as Harrison Ford on as a host. However, the closest we have seen to the star of the Indiana Jones movies and Star Wars’ original Han Solo actor making an appearance was an impersonation by Fred Armisen in a fake movie trailer.

Al Pacino

One of cinema’s all-time greatest living legends, Al Pacino, has been impersonated several times on SNL and by multiple actors — including Bill Hader and Alec Baldwin. Yet, the Academy Award-winning star of The Godfather and Heat has never hosted the show, let alone made an appearance of his own.

Jordan Peele

Keegan-Michael Key hosted a great SNL episode in 2021, but fellow sketch comedy performer Jordan Peele — whom he met as part of the MADtv cast before starting their own hit series together — cannot say the same. However, according to THR, the Academy Award-winning horror movie maestro could have been a cast member if MADtv had relieved him of his contract and allowed him the opportunity.

Michelle Pfeiffer

Kate McKinnon dressed in Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman suit alongside Zoë Kravitz when The Batman’s Selena Kyle actor hosted Saturday Night Live in 2022. However, the real star of Batman Returns and countless other classics throughout the decades has never set foot on Studio 8H's stage.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt has appeared in two SNL cold opens: first in 1998 as David Spade’s therapist when the former cast member came back to host, and secondly as Dr. Anthony Fauci in a pre-taped, Covid-era show. The Oscar-winning star of Fight Club and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood even introduced that latter episode’s musical performance by Miley Cyrus, but that still does not count as an official hosting gig.

Keanu Reeves

I think it would be hilarious to see Keanu Reeves cameo as himself going John Wick on the SNL cast out of revenge for the show’s many unflattering impersonations of him over the years. That would make up for the fact that we have never seen the beloved action movie star host an episode.

Julia Roberts

In an interview with Mario Lopez for Extra, Julia Roberts revealed that she once turned down the chance to host SNL out of fear that she would “blow it.” However, she later told Jess Cagle that she would do it if Alec Baldwin was involved.

Mark Ruffalo

Idris Elba once starred in an SNL sketch called “The Impossible Hulk,” in which his anger transforms him into an entitled white lady. How much funnier might that sketch have been if it was the MCU’s Bruce Banner himself, Mark Ruffalo, in the role? Hopefully, the Oscar nominee gets the chance to poke fun at his own superhero character as a host one day.

Zoe Saldaña

We know that Zoe Saldaña is funny from her roles in comedies like Guess Who and 2010’s Death at a Funeral, but hosting SNL would be the ultimate chance to prove her chops to the world. At least she can say that she is one of the top 10 highest grossing actors of all time with blockbuster credits like the Avatar movies and several MCU titles.

Susan Sarandon

Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon has been a movie star for as long as Saturday Night Live has been around, having made her breakthrough in 1975 with the musical horror comedy movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. However, her only contribution to the series so far is starring in Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake’s follow-up to “Dick in a Box,” called “Motherlover.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

After years of being imitated and idolized by Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey as Hans and Franz, Arnold Schwarzenegger would appear alongside the fictional Austrian bodybuilders in a couple of iconic SNL cameos. That is the extent of appearances by the Terminator movies star for now. 

Will Smith

It is surprising that a performer of such radiant fame as Will Smith has never hosted SNL, nor made a cameo appearance a single time during his remarkable, versatile career, but it looks like he will never get the chance. According to RadarOnline, the Men in Black star was reportedly banned from the show after slapping series veteran Chris Rock for a joke he made at the Oscars on the same night Smith won his Academy Award for King Richard.

Meryl Streep

For someone like me, it is a real “Sophie’s Choice” to decide which is the greater honor in pop culture: winning an Oscar or hosting Saturday Night Live. Well, at the moment, Meryl Streep has three of the former (for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, and The Iron Lady), but zero of the latter.

Stanley Tucci

In 2018, SNL paid tribute to Stanley Tucci with a rap parody called “Tucci Gang,” performed by Pete Davidson and featuring host Sam Rockwell impersonating the actor, whom he worked with in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, while the Oscar nominee and restaurateur also made a brief cameo in the video himself, it remains his only appearance on the show to date.

Mark Wahlberg

Two weeks after Andy Samberg played Mark Wahlberg in a sketch called “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals,” the actor himself appeared on the show in a cameo-heavy episode pretending to be very unamused by the imitation. Because of this, I would love to see the one-time rapper and Oscar nominee host an SNL episode of his own.

Denzel Washington

Former SNL cast member Jay Pharaoh does an impression of Denzel Washington so spot-on that you might be easily convinced that you have seen him on the show before. In reality, the Oscar-winning star of Glory and Training Day has never even made a cameo, let alone appeared as a host.

Michelle Yeoh

Only a handful of Asian actors have hosted SNL (such as Jackie Chan, Awkwafina, and Simu Liu, for instance), but it is hard to believe that Michelle Yeoh is not included in that bunch, given her exceptional action star reputation over the last few decades. Perhaps her recent boost in popularity following her historic Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All At Once could change that.

I wonder if we will ever see any of these celebs finally get the call from Lorne Michaels (or agree to it) and, perhaps, go on to earn a spot among the greatest SNL hosts of all time or join the Five-Timers Club, even. I mean, considering all the non-actors who have made great hosts on Saturday Night Live, these high-profile performers could absolutely rock 30 Rock to its core.  

Along with the first Johnny Depp movie in three years, Jeanne du Barry, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival next week, the actor also just made major moves regarding a film he’ll direct. Depp is currently putting together the cast for Modi, a biopic of the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, and reportedly Al Pacino is among the actors on board. 

Al Pacino and Johnny Depp previously worked together on 1997’s Donnie Brasco along with sharing credits on the 2011 Adam Sandler comedy Jack And Jill. Per Deadline, Pacino has been cast in Depp’s first feature directorial effort since co-writing, starring and helming The Brave in the ‘90s, which co-starred Marlon Brando in one of his final performances. Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio and French actor Pierre Niney are also among the Modi cast.

Modi will chronicle the life of Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani across 48 hours of his life where he is on the run from the police on the streets of a war-torn Paris circa 1916. The movie is based on Dennis McIntyre’s 1980 play Modigliani: A Play in Three Acts. 

The report shares that the production is expected to begin filming in Budapest this fall. Depp is still in the process of casting the film. While the film's director is at Cannes Film Festival, for the fancy premiere of Jeanne du Barry while also making another big festival appearance during Cannes, Modi will look to be sold as well. Perhaps the buzz from Depp’s performance in Jeanne du Barry, where he’ll portray King Louis XV, will carry into interest for Modi, especially in terms of audiences wanting to see Depp move to the director’s chair in a feature film. 

It also definitely doesn’t hurt that the legendary Al Pacino is attached. The actor’s recent movies have been the likes of Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. 

While Depp’s ex Amber Heard reportedly has ‘quit Hollywood’ and moved to Spain to raise her daughter away from the noise, following their high-profile trial, Johnny Depp is getting back to business in the movie industry. This became all the more clear when he started shooting Jeanne du Barry less than two months after a verdict was announced for the Depp vs. Heard defamation trial and the court ruled greatly in favor of Depp.

Jeanne du Barry is expected to land among the Netflix movie schedule after its premiere at Cannes on May 16. Look out for the reactions to Johnny Depp’s first movie role in years next week. As we learn more about the casting for Modi and its production schedule, we’ll also update you here on CinemaBlend. Depp is certainly entering a new era of his career following a ton of controversy surrounding the trial, and we’re curious to see how his upcoming projects will shake out. 

Beverly D'Angelo has long been known for her starring turns in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies. In them, she played the role of Ellen Griswold -- the matriarch of a pretty typical nuclear family that constantly finds itself on vacation misadventures. However, the actress’ real life couldn’t have been more different. D’Angelo was married to Italian duke Don Lorenzo Salviati for nearly 15 years before breaking things off for Al Pacino. Now, the veteran actress is reflecting on how that breakup went down and how her husband reacted when he got the news.

When Beverly D’Angelo fell in love with the Scarface actor in the ‘90s, she was married to Salviati but reportedly had an open marriage. While speaking to People, the Vacation actress explained that she’d had other relationships outside her marriage before linking up with Pacino, who she thought liked the arrangement due to their being no responsibility. However, when Pacino heard about her "understanding" within her marriage, his response differed from what the actress assumed. Here’s how D’Angelo broke the news to her then husband, in her words: 

It sounds like Beverly D’Angelo’s ex-husband had a fair amount of respect for Al Pacino. Ultimately, she and duke Don Lorenzo Salviati would amicably divorce in 1995. Though as the actress explained, that development came with a bit of familial irony:

Beverly D’Angelo and Al Pacino would go on to have twins together, Anton and Olivia, in 2001 through in vitro fertilization when she was 49. The two stars would eventually split up in 2003. During the interview, D’Angelo also shared that the “greatest gift” Pacino gave her was making her a mother. All these years later, she still considers the Italian duke her soulmate despite the pair remaining apart for over 20 years. In her words, it's a “great love match.” 

More recently, 71-year-old actress is part of the 2022 Christmas movie schedule, as she's a part of the Violent Night cast. That casting makes for a great holiday movie reference since she starred in one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  

Beverly D’Angelo has never strayed too far from the acting realm over the years and even reunited with her longtime co-star Chevy Chase in 2015. In Chevy, they played two retired and selfish Baby Boomers who have to deal with their grandchildren suddenly moving in with them. That same year, the two would also reprise their roles as the Griswolds in Vacation. It's great to see D'Angelo staying busy and getting candid about the partners she's had over the years. You really can't help but love that there's still respect between her and Don Lorenzo Salviati as well as Al Pacino.

Violent Night is currently playing in theaters, and you can stream National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation this holiday season using an HBO Max subscription.

Lindsay Lohan has been a part of Hollywood's fabric for nearly 30 years now (so nearly her whole life), and with that has seen her share of glamorous moments over the years. The actress got her start as the twins in Disney’s The Parent Trap remake and quickly soared to teen fame after that. Ahead of starring in her first major leading role in years with Falling For Christmas next week, the actress shared a hilarious story about rubbing elbows with her actor peers. 

While conversing about the new Netflix release and holiday romantic comedy, Lindsay Lohan was asked about if she’s been starstruck lately. It resulted in her telling this incredible story, as follows: 

That's right... Al. Pacino. The best part of this anecdote, which Lohan told Cosmopolitan, is that Lindsay Lohan had technically already met The Godfather actor before. They apparently connected back in 2014 when his friend David Mamet wrote the play Speed-the-Plow. When she was in the production, Pacino offered her advice regarding his pre and post show rituals. Regarding the paparazzi moment, Lindsay Lohan continued: 

When it comes to the advice she received from Al Pacino, Lindsay Lohan said he told her to always “focus on your craft,” and she felt it was important to remember not to let “outside things blur your vision.” Growing up around the amount of paparazzi Lohan did, it might have been rather easy for a thing like that to happen, but these days the actress seems like she’s absolutely thriving. 

The actress did open up about the pitfalls of paparazzi lately too, sharing that she’s actually “jealous” of young stars coming up today because they have social media to control their narrative. Lohan grew up in front of the world, but these days she gets to live privately, residing in Dubai, where the paparazzi are illegal. 

Falling For Christmas is among many exciting holiday movies on the 2022 Christmas movie schedule. The movie is about a newly engaged heiress (Lohan) who gets in a skiing accident and is subsequently stricken with amnesia. When she finds herself in the care of a lodge owner (played by Glee’s Chord Overstreet) and his daughter, sparks fly among the magical winter snow. 

Following Falling For Christmas, which will be available to stream with a Netflix subscription, the actress is also set to star in another rom-com on the platform called Irish Wish. In that movie, she’ll play a bridesmaid in an Irish wedding after being previously heartbroken by the groom. Falling For Christmas will be released on November 10. 

Following his highly publicized defamation case with Amber Heard, Johnny Depp is seemingly sliding back into professional engagements. Depp has lined up multiple projects, many of which are acting jobs. However, the star has now landed a pretty massive gig that’ll give him a title he hasn’t held in over two decades. Not only that, but said production also involves legendary actor Al Pacino.

Johnny Depp is set to serve as director on Modigliani, a film centered around Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Al Pacino will serve as a producer on the movie alongside Barry Navidi. Production is reportedly set to kick off in Europe in the spring of 2023. This will mark the first time in 25 years that Depp has directed a feature. In a statement, the Oscar nominee expressed his excitement about the project while sharing thoughts on Modigliani’s extensive legacy: 

The Pirates of the Caribbean star’s first foray into directing occurred when he helmed 1997’s The Brave, during which he directed himself and the late, great Marlon Brando. The drama told the story of a Native American man who grapples with a terminal diagnosis while starring in a snuff film to provide for his family. Modigliani is based on a play by Dennis McIntyre and is being adapted for the screen by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski. Set in early 1900s Paris, the film is seemingly set to do a deep dive into the life of the famous painter.

Al Pacino, for his part, has served as a producer on a few occasions over the years. In terms of scripted features, he’s worked on 1990’s The Local Stigmatic and 2014’s The Humbling. He also worked as a producer on the 1996 documentary Looking for Richard, through which he performed a deep dive into the work of William Shakespeare.

Johnny Depp has certainly been raking up jobs over the past several months and has also seen the streaming release of his period movie Minnamata. Depp’s first role following that and Fantastic Beasts will be that of King Louis XV in the French film La Favorite, directed by Maïwenn. The star has also teamed up with guitarist Jeff Beck, a longtime friend of his, on an album as of late. In addition, Depp lined up another music-related project, as he’s set for a Hollywood Vampires tour with Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen, which will happen next summer. 

Johnny Depp received a favorable verdict in the defamation case, one that requires ex-wife Amber Heard to pay him millions of dollars. On top of that, Depp inked a seven-figure deal to stay on as the face of Dior’s Sauvage fragrance. However, one business move Depp hasn’t made is a deal for a Pirates of the Caribbean return, as of right now. But one would think that Modigliani is going to keep him, Al Pacino and their collaborators quite busy for the foreseeable future.

Earlier today, the world was saddened by the announcement that iconic actor James Caan had died at the age of 82. Fans almost immediately started posting tributes on social media to the man known for, among many projects, The Godfather and Misery. Adam Sandler and more reacted to the news, there are stories attesting to Caan’s generosity as a performer and as a human being.

Having worked with the actor on both 1998’s Bulletproof and 2012’s That’s My Boy, Adam Sandler shared his memories on Twitter. Paying tribute to his co-star, Sandler posted a sweet message along with a vintage photo of James Caan: 

James Caan’s legacy wasn’t only limited to his performances, as he was apparently quite the raconteur. Chucky star Jennifer Tilly shared a story she’d heard from her Jericho Mansions co-star about a bit of prank he’d pulled on The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola. Tilly’s Tweet says:

Even in a voice role like Tim Lockwood in the animated comedy/streaming favorite Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, there was room for James Caan to give his collaborators a story they’d remember forever. Co-writer/director Chris Miller Tweeted about that experience by way of sharing this memory of Caan as an acting talent:

Another one of James Caan’s most memorable roles comes from the legendary film adaptation of Misery, the Stephen King novel. Collaborating with co-star Kathy Bates and director Rob Reiner on that thriller masterpiece, both took to Twitter to remember their friend with the following messages:

Kathy Bates: I’m heartbroken to hear of Jimmy’s passing. Shocked. No words. Thank you, Jimmy. Love you, your ‘Kat’

Rob Reiner: So sorry to hear the news. I loved working with him. And the only Jew I knew who could calf rope with the best of them. Love to the family.

A legend in his own right, action superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger Tweeted his own remembrance as well. Working with James Caan in Eraser, a project that could be counted among Schwarzenegger’s best movies, Arnold even highlighted Caan’s prowess at the gym in his tribute:

In director Michael Mann’s feature debut Thief, James Caan’s role as safe cracker Frank helped cement the Miami Vice creator as a film legend. It would further inform his experience making Heat, which is still regarded as the best movie about bank robbing. That experience was a valuable one for Mann, and in a statement he issued personally, he reflected on the results:

Wrapping the tributes to James Caan are the remarks of the friends and co-stars he made during his work on The Godfather. As Francis Ford Coppola issued a statement through Deadline, co-stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro did so as well through that same publication. Their remarks are combined below, in a fitting nod to Caan's work on this American classic: 

Francis Ford Coppola: Jimmy was someone who stretched through my life longer and closer than any motion picture figure I’ve ever known. From those earlier times working together on The Rain People, and throughout all the milestones of my life, his films and the many great roles he played will never be forgotten. He will always be my old friend from Sunnyside, my collaborator and one of the funniest people I’ve ever known.

Al Pacino: Jimmy was my fictional brother and my lifelong friend. It’s hard to believe that he won’t be in the world anymore because he was so alive and daring. A great actor, a brilliant director and my dear friend. I’m gonna miss him.

Robert De Niro: I’m very very sad to hear about Jimmy’s passing.

This is only a sampling of how James Caan's legacy is being remembered today, through the words of his peers and his fans. As time goes on, only more will be available to peruse, further highlighting his contribution to cinema. Our sincerest condolences go out to Caan's friends and family, in this emotional time.

Ellen Pompeo has been acting for over two decades now, and in that time she’s had the opportunity to cross paths with some of Hollywood’s elite. Behind having picked the brains of her A-list co-stars on Grey’s Anatomy — including Debbie Allen, Patrick Dempsey and even guest stars you may have forgotten were on the show, like Leslie Odom Jr. — the Meredith Grey actress has also sought out advise and wisdom from those outside the hospital’s walls as well. To that end, her podcast Tell Me's latest ep features a story about some encouraging words she received from nine-time Academy Award nominee Al Pacino. And apparently none of them were "hoo-ah."

After Grey’s Anatomy wraps its 18th season, Ellen Pompeo is signed on to star as Meredith Grey for at least one more year. The actress and executive producer has long voiced her opinion that they should end the show, and questions are already circulating about whether Season 19 will be its last. Amid such speculation, Pompeo spoke with Nikki Toscano on Tell Me about the latter's work on The Offer, the Paramount+ series about the making of The Godfather. At which point Pompeo shared that she once met Al Pacino, who gave a breakthrough performance in the mob classic, and his encouraging words still resonate with her:

That really brings a whole new perspective to Ellen Pompeo having played Meredith Grey for so many years, and it’s definitely an appropriate story to recall at this time in her career. The podcast host recalled the iconic actor’s “gentleness” in pointing out that he’s been tethered to his own career roles for as long as he's had them. Pompeo’s playing one character for 18 years is not a bad thing in any respect, especially considering how long that’s been a tradition in the theater. 

However, when you feel like you’ve been doing something for too long, how do you know when to let go? Ellen Pompeo recently spoke about the possibility of Grey’s Anatomy continuing without Meredith, assumedly at some point after Season 19. And while she's not saying exactly how the show would continue on, she believes in the idea.

On the show, her character was guilted into remaining at Grey Sloan Memorial after she attempted to accept a job in Minnesota, leading her to rant about why she wasn’t allowed to move on when so many others had. If any part of that scene was rooted in Pompeo’s truth, isn’t it just better to let her go?

No decisions are likely to be made anytime soon, as Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 19 is still months away. The two-hour Season 18 finale, meanwhile, will air at 8 p.m. ET May 26 on ABC. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what new and returning shows will be hitting your televisions soon.

Biopics are always a touchy subject, especially when it comes to those that lived through the events being depicted. The heirs to the Gucci fashion empire have certainly made their feelings known when it comes to Ridley Scott’s latest film, House of Gucci. They protested throughout the production, and now the release of the Lady Gaga/Adam Driver led ensemble piece, the Guccis haven’t minced words when it comes to their disapproval of the finished product. Frankly, neither has the director, as Ridley Scott dropped an F-bomb after the Gucci family complained about this recent picture.  

During a Q&A with Total Film, via GamesRadar, Scott went hard when it came to some of the numerous criticisms that have been lobbed at his awards hopeful. Weighing in on the ever present debate of physical resemblance versus performance, Sir Ridley exhibited his trademark candor, and chose his swearing carefully when defending the choice of Al Pacino as Aldo Gucci. Here’s what he had to say: 

Casting actors like Pacino and Jared Leto in House of Gucci is always going to be a hot button issue. That much was true from the beginning, as Patrizia Gucci made the family’s displeasure known quite early in the press cycle for the recent box office hit. Based on the details that Sir Scott has provided in his statement above, it sounds like this correspondence took place around the time of Ms. Gucci’s comments, if not before.

While his defense of Al Pacino is pretty standard, Sir Ridley Scott went on to defend two more points of order in the same conversation. The comedic tone that’s present in portions of the film, as well as the casting of Jared Leto as Paulo Gucci, both overlapped into a special sort of storm for The Last Duel director to elaborate upon. Mr. Scott tackled those twin subjects with these expletive free words:

If you’re making a movie about the lives of people who are still living, there’s always going to be a controversy. House of Gucci is only the latest case study in such bone picking, and even fashion designer Tom Ford, as well as convicted murderer Patrizia Reggiano have been vocal about their own displeasure. No matter what, the film is out in the open, and it’s gotten critics and audiences talking about what they like, and what they don’t. So all of this controversy just might make the finished product even more of a can’t miss social event. 

House of Gucci is currently showing in theaters, just in time for awards season buzz to potentially carry it throughout the rest of the year’s calendar. Other movies could see that same sort of attention, as we’re not over 2021’s release schedule just yet. If you want to dive deeper into the process that went into this very picture, Sir Scott was a recent guest on our in-house podcast ReelBlend, and there’s also a series of interviews with the cast that may be of interest.

Ah, the fall season. It’s often the best time of the year for movies as studios roll out award contenders and the heavy-hitters bring in audiences during their time off with family and friends. It’s also common to see our share of “based on a true story” movies during this season, one of which is Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. The movie stars Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani and Adam Driver as her husband Maurizio Gucci, and it explores the events that led to his murder. With the Gucci family front and center, it’s not surprising they’re speaking out about the film’s depiction of them. 

House of Gucci is based on the book of the same name written by Sara Gay Forden and directed by Blade Runner’s Ridley Scott. Following the movie’s successful first weekend in theaters and audience buzz, the Gucci family released a statement, which has been translated from Italian. In part, the Guccis said: 

These comments were first reported on Italian news agency ANSA (via Variety) and show some distaste for the depiction of the Gucci family in House of Gucci. As the family shared, the Ridley Scott film chose not to reach out to them before the likes of Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Jared Leto and Adam Driver took on the roles of the fashion family. The statement also said the following: 

This is a response that has become common among dramas based on the real events for the real people they are based on to speak out, especially when they are shown in a negative light. Mark Zuckerberg did so for The Social Network, and recently, the real woman who was portrayed by Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers attempted to sue the movie’s studio for telling her story without her permission. 

The Guccis are not currently taking legal action against the production company behind the movie, and as it goes with movies such as this, it’s a story in the public domain and up to filmmakers’ own interpretation. Movies are under no obligation to consult the subjects of movies, including House of Gucci, and get their approval prior to using their names to tell a story. 

Outside Of The Gucci Family, Designer Tom Ford Also Didn’t Love The Movie

Aside from the Gucci family, fashion designer Tom Ford, who is portrayed by Reeve Carney in House of Gucci, has also spoken out about his distaste with the movie's choices. In his words in Airmail:  

There is something to be said about how the subjects of the film react to parts of their own reality being depicted on screen. Perhaps, House of Gucci is a “hurricane” when placed next to history, or maybe they are too close to the subject? House of Gucci is now playing in theaters. 

In my opinion, many of the best Ridley Scott movies are his historical biopics, such as 2007’s Black Hawk Down or American Gangster.  That is only one reason why I have been anticipating House of Gucci - based on the book by Sara Gay Forden about Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and her conspiratorial crusade to take control of the fashion dynasty from her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). 

The other main reason why this is one of my most anticipated 2021 movies is the Oscar darlings in the House of Gucci cast (also including Jared Leto), whose greatest accomplishments in the acting world and beyond we will summarize for you below.

Lady Gaga (Patrizia Reggiani)

Playing Patrizia “The Black Widow” Reggiani - whose marriage into the Gucci family would end in blood - in House of Gucci is Lady Gaga, whose talents outside of singing would be revealed only a matter of time after the extremely theatrical pop star broke into the mainstream in the late 2000s. 

After making her feature-film debut in in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills in 2013, the actress (born Stefani Germanotta) reunited with the filmmaker for a small role in 2014’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and played herself in Muppets Most Wanted the same year. In 2016, her performance as the vampiric Countess on American Horror Story: Hotel earned her a Golden Globe and, in 2019, she received two Academy Award nominations for A Star is Born, and won for co-writing “Shallow.”

Adam Driver (Maurizio Gucci) 

After The Last Duel, House of Gucci is Ridley Scott’s second fact-based film released in 2021 to star Adam Driver, who plays Maurizio Gucci - who was killed in 1995 by a hitman hired by his ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani. 

The former Marine and former Girls cast member has worked with many other great filmmakers including Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Joel and Ethan Coen (Inside Llewyn Davis), and Martin Scorsese (Silence), to name a few. Driver has been nominated for acting Oscars twice (first in 2019 for BlacKkKlansman, and then for Netflix’s Marriage Story the following year), but he is most famous, of course, for playing Kylo Ren in the Star Wars movies. 

Jared Leto (Paolo Gucci)

Also known for making chart-topping hits with his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, and starring in a few blockbusters (notably Suicide Squad as The Joker and the upcoming Morbius in the title role) is Jared Leto, who looks completely unrecognizable as Maurizio Gucci’s cousin, Paolo, in House of Gucci. 

The actor (who has actually done a few Gucci ads) experienced his first breakthrough on the coming-of-age dramedy, My So-Called Life, years before scoring small but memorable parts in movies like Fight Club or American Psycho, leading to roles in surreal favorites like Requiem for a Dream or Mr. Nobody. Arguably, Leto’s best work might be his other stunning supporting performances in Blade Runner 2049 in 2017, and 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club, for which he earned his Academy Award.

Jeremy Irons (Rodolfo Gucci)

Also known for starring in DC movies (as Alfred Pennyworth to Ben Affleck’s Batman) and even DC TV shows (Adrian Veidt in HBO’s Watchmen cast) is fellow Oscar-winner (for Reversal of Fortune) Jeremy Irons, who plays Maurizio’s father, Rodolfo Gucci. 

Arguably, his best work is when he is playing a villain, such as Scar in Disney’s original animated The Lion King in 1994, or as Hans Gruber’s brother, Simon, in Die Hard with a Vengeance the following year. Next on Irons’ agenda is a horror movie called Cello, and another biopic called Frankel about Sir Henry Cecil and his titular horse.

Al Pacino (Aldo Gucci)

Only known for one comic book movie (Dick Tracy), and a favorite at the Oscars despite only one win (for 1992’s Scent of a Woman) is Al Pacino - whose House of Gucci role, Aldo Gucci, was the eldest son of the company’s founder, Guccio Gucci, and its chairman from 1953 to 1986. 

In addition to starring in other films about infamous family dynasties (The Godfather movies) and historical biopics (Martin Scorsese’s Netflix original The Irishman, most recently), the living legend’s filmography is chock full of iconic crime thrillers (such as Michael Mann’s heist classic Heat) and even a few comedies (such as Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). Pacino will next be seen in another crime drama called Sniff, and is starring in Michael Radford’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear as the title character.

Salma Hayek (Giuseppina Auriemma)

Making her comic book movie debut in 2021 with Eternals was Academy Award nominee Salma Hayek, who is actually married to François-Henri Pinault - the son of the founder of Gucci’s parent company (now called Kering) - and plays Patrizia Reggiani’s alleged co-conspirator, Giuseppina Auriemma, in House of Gucci. 

Like her co-star, Lady Gaga, the Latinx has also worked with Robert Rodriguez several times (such as in From Dusk Till Dawn) and appeared as herself in Muppets Most Wanted, as well as a few biopics (like Frida, for which she earned her Oscar nod), crime thrillers (such as Oliver Stone’s Savages), and comedies (including the animated Sausage Party in 2016). Also in 2021, she reprised her role as Sonia Kincaid in Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, and starred opposite Owen Wilson in the the Amazon Original sci-fi movie Bliss.

Jack Huston (Domenico De Sole)

Before playing former Gucci America president and current Tom Ford International chairman, Domenico De Sole, in House of Gucci, Jack Huston had already starred in a few dramatizations of infamous historical tragedies.  

He played Gerard Malanga (an associate of Andy Warhol) in 2005’s Factory Girl, author Jack Kerouac in 2013’s Kill Your Darlings, and starred as Robert Kennedy (around the time of his assassination) in The Irishman. The former Boardwalk Empire cast member also appeared in American Hustle, played the title hero of the 2016 Ben-Hur remake, and is working on a crime thriller with Robert De Niro called Wash Me in the River. 

Camille Cottin (Paola Franchi)

Former Italian model Paola Franchi - who was dating Maurizio Gucci at the time of his assassination - is played in House of Gucci by Camille Cottin. The French actress and comedian made her English-language debut in 2018 with another historical film called Allied, also starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, and would later star opposite Matt Damon in Stillwater in 2021. She is currently filming a biopic about “Iron Lady of Israel” Golda Meir with Helen Mirren.

Reeve Carney (Tom Ford)

Playing fashion mogul turned award-winning filmmaker Tom Ford in House of Gucci, we have Reeve Carney, who made his debut on the sitcom Dave's World in 1994, years before appearing in films like The Tempest from director Julie Taymor, whom he also worked with on Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark in the title role.

After playing Dorian Gray on Showtime's Penny Dreadful, Carney played Riff Raff in Fox's remake, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again in 2016 and acted alongside Zoë Kravitz in Gemini the following year. Next, he will star in the biopic Everybody Here Wants You as late musician Jeff Buckley - a role the Grammy-winning musician and former lead singer of the band Carney is an ideal choice for.

Clearly it would take acting royalty to portray a group of people considered royalty in the fashion industry and it looks like that is exactly what we are in for with the cast of House of Gucci, which hits theaters Wednesday, November 24, 2021.

House of Gucci is one of the most anticipated awards-hopefuls of this season. Lady Gaga’s turn as Patricia Reggiani has been widely expected to put her in the thick of the Best Actress conversation. It’s a 2 1/2 hour long biopic with star power, a prestigious director, and more box office potential than the vast majority of contenders can hope for this year. What could go wrong?

Well, the reviews have been somewhat underwhelming. A 67% Rotten Tomatoes grade is not ideal if you want a Best Picture nomination. Since 2010 we’ve had only three films nominated with that score or lower (Vice, Bohemian Rhapsody, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). But let’s say audiences disagree and find it highly entertaining and fun. Typically, Best Picture nominees are either culturally significant, stylistically significant, or emotionally engaging. “Fun” doesn’t always cut it for the Academy. Though it’s not out of the question, I am doubtful Gucci cracks the Best Picture lineup. But what other categories might it show up in?

Certainly, a Makeup & Hairstyling nomination, perhaps even a win, is in the cards. As unnecessary as Jared Leto's casting is, he is unrecognizable under all those prosthetics (even Pacino didn't recognize him on set). As a bonus, Gaga and Driver’s wig games are on point. We’ve seen prosthetics transforming well-known actors lead to make-up wins for Bombshell, Vice, Darkest Hour, and The Grand Budapest Hotel recently. Gucci will be a strong competitor with The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Dune for the win here.

Speaking of Leto, his cartoonish, goofy, SNL-style Italian impression is the sort of swing-for-the-fences type performance that is difficult to ignore. While some feel his performance is out-of-place, voters tend to embrace all caps performances like this. With the Supporting Actor race totally up in the air, Leto could couple with the make-up nomination (Hillbilly Elegy style) and remain in the conversation, even if the film sinks.

Gaga delivers the best, most deeply committed performance in the film, though lackluster direction, writing, and editing do her no favors. Best Actress this year is packed, and Lady Gaga may not be a priority here if her film is weak overall. However, this is a very showy role, and if the film’s reputation with the public is better than it is with critics, she certainly has a shot at a nomination (but not a win, sorry fans).

Gaga’s best chances at retaining her buzz are in snagging nominations at major precursors. The Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes proved themselves to be Little Monsters when they awarded her for A Star is Born and American Horror Story, respectively. But her moment of truth will likely come at the SAG awards, as they’re more likely to embrace a populist pick. If she misses this nomination, expect pundits to be crossing her off.

Though the costuming is a major narrative focus, that category is a bloodbath, with contenders like Cruella, Dune, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Cyrano, and West Side Story. I’m not sure House of Gucci will take priority. And don’t expect Driver, Pacino, or Hayek to crack the race either. They’re solid, but none of them give career-best work. I anticipate the film will be far too weak to crack Adapted Screenplay, Director, or Editing. 

Though only makeup feels totally secure, I’m currently feeling 3 nominations for House of Gucci (Makeup, Supporting Actor, Actress). This would be similar to Bombshell’s nomination trio in 2020. Let’s see if audiences show up for Lady Gaga in a substantial way this Thanksgiving weekend. Check back here at CinemaBlend for more awards profiles in the coming weeks.

It’s barely been over a month since director Ridley Scott’s last movie, The Last Duel, premiered in theaters, but now the filmmaker has another cinematic offering to deliver for the Thanksgiving holiday. House of Gucci delves into Patrizia Reggiani’s marriage to Maurizio Gucci and navigating the Gucci fashion empire, with its heavy-hitting cast includes Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino and Salma Hayek. We got our first taste of what early viewers thought about Scott’s new movie a couple weeks ago, but now the fully-written reviews are pouring in. So what do critics have to say about House of Gucci?

Starting off, CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell awarded House of Gucci 4 out of 5 stars in his review, describing it as The Godfather for fashion and complimenting both its story and performances. However, Sean acknowledged that the movie is by no means “subtle,” and that people should watch the movie knowing that this will be a larger-than-life affair.

Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly also leaned positively on House of Gucci, stamping it with a B grade. Leah felt that this kind of story might have been better if it “fully committed to the high camp” and ditched some of the more serious moments, but there’s still enough to enjoy in the final product, particularly when it comes to what the actors bring to the table.

But there are also a fair amount of critics who weren’t impressed with House of Gucci. Take Den of Geek’s David Crow. who gave the movie a 2.5 out of 5 score. David felt that while The Last Duel handled its sensitive subject matter “with intelligence and delicacy,” House of Gucci’s exploration of “potentially gaudy material” failed to “shape it into much of anything.” He described the movie as a whole as “bare and distant.”

Tara Bennett from IGN rated House of Gucci a 6 out of 10 in her review, saying how the movie started with “such promise” through the performances, but it becomes problematic when Ridley Scott starts focusing more on the fall of the Gucci company rather than the implosion of Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci’s relationship.

Finally, to end on a more positive note, USA Today’s Brian Truitt thought House of Gucci deserved 3 out of 4 stars. Truitt commended Ridley Scott for creating “an extremely stylish world of runways, ostentatious estates and stunning costumes for his various characters,” and was also impressed with the performances, although Lady Gaga was the clear standout in his mind.

These are just some of the House of Gucci reviews that have been published, but overall, it sounds like while this is hardly one of the lesser entries on Ridley Scott’s filmography, it also won’t go down as one of his best. At the very least, those who decided to see House of Gucci are in for some wild work from its actors, although it’s a coin toss whether you’ll appreciate said work.

You can judge House of Gucci for yourself when it arrives on Wednesday, November 24. Don’t forget to look through our 2021 release schedule to plan your trips to the theater for the rest of the year accordingly.