Al Pacino discusses his film career at forum in Fowler
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 9, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 ANGIE LEVINE Al Pacino spoke before 300
people in Fowler Hall Monday about Shakespeare and his experiences
as an actor.
By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Reporter
Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino spoke before an audience of 300 at
Fowler Hall Monday night, leading to nearly three hours of open
discussion about acting, Shakespeare and the Godfather himself.
Pacino, who is notorious for not giving interviews, fielded
questions in what he called a “very informal, casual”
atmosphere.
“Most of the time I don’t have the answers, but I
definitely enjoy the questions,” Pacino said.
“It made me think … about how we are in a certain place
right now in society, and I think we need to go to informality
““Â a kind of reaching out in society,” Pacino
said.
Larry Grobel, an English professor and friend of Pacino,
organized the event and had the actor surprise his “Art of
Interviewing” class earlier that day.
“My students had no idea that Al was coming and then when
he walked into my class I said, “˜OK, here’s
Al,'” Grobel said.
Grobel and Pacino formed a friendship when Grobel, who
freelanced for Playboy, was asked by his editor to interview Pacino
after an article he had written on actor Marlon Brando. Grobel
recounted how his editor explained to him: “Pacino says he
only wants to do it with the guy who did Brando.”
Upon entering the hall Monday night, the New York native,
dressed in all black, sat down on a stool and asked, “As a
Sicilian actor from the South Bronx, what do you think I am going
to play?”
Though typecast as a gangster in his early years as an actor,
Pacino said his profound success provided him the opportunity to
participate in a variety of theatrical performances and films.
Most commonly recognized for his best supporting actor-nominated
role of Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” in 1972,
the 1992 Oscar winner expressed his passion for Shakespeare.
Many of the nearly 300 in attendance were film and English
students.
“Al Pacino is an unbelievable actor, but in person it
becomes clear that it’s his character within and his ability
to communicate that makes him the powerhouse,” said Adam
Dimmerman, a second-year graduate student in the producer’s
program.
The night began with a viewing of the first act of the
documentary “Looking for Richard,” a film Pacino
directed based on Shakespeare’s “Richard III.”
The film alternates between scenes of the actual play and the
making of the play.
Frequently, Pacino will be in the middle of one of his lines in
the film, then it will switch to a scene of him rehearsing the same
lines in a New York church.
“When you actually show what I did in making the
documentary ““Â seeing the pieces ““ it makes the
film more interesting,” Pacino said.
In other scenes, Pacino and the producer walked through the
streets of New York and asked people what they knew about Richard
III.
Pacino, who met with students at Harvard, Yale, Rutgers and
Brown in similar settings 20 years ago, said he feels most
comfortable in a relaxed atmosphere because of “the adventure
of not knowing what will happen next.”
Pacino also showed a five-minute clip from another small film he
directed, “Chinese Coffee,” and spoke about a third
unreleased film, “Local Stigmatic.”
Comedian David Spade, who was in attendance, cited
Pacino’s work as inspiring.
“Al Pacino is a living legend … forget about “˜The
Godfather;’ he’s got so many great films to choose from
when most actors only have one or two,” he said.
