Hollywood veteran Al Pacino to release ‘literary dynamite’ memoir

By Ellie Iorizzo, PA Los Angeles Correspondent

Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino is set to release a memoir titled Sonny Boy.

Veteran film star Pacino, 83, made his name as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia trilogy The Godfather, alongside stars including Marlon Brando, James Caan and Diane Keaton.

The book, set for release on October 8th, is billed as the “memoir of a man who has nothing left to fear and nothing left to hide”, a statement from publisher Penguin Random House UK said.

“I wrote Sonny Boy to express what I’ve seen and been through in my life,” Pacino said.

“It has been an incredibly personal and revealing experience to reflect on this journey and what acting has allowed me to do and the worlds it has opened up.

“My whole life has been a moonshot, and I’ve been a pretty lucky guy so far.”

The book announcement comes the day after Pacino took to the Oscars stage to present the best picture prize, the final trophy of the night.

The actor, who won an Oscar for best actor in 1993 for his role in Scent Of A Woman, announced the winner in an unconventional manner without the customary fanfare.

After landing a role in 1971’s Panic In Needle Park, Pacino was Oscar-nominated for his roles in The Godfather and its first sequel, as well as Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon – in which he played a bank robber named Sonny Wortzik.

The memoir encompasses “all the great roles, the essential collaborations, and the important relationships” in his life, which “are given their full due, as is the vexed marriage between creativity and commerce at the highest levels”, the publisher said.

It is also about the “spirit of love and purpose”, while the publishing director of Century, Ben Brusey, described it as “literary dynamite”.

“Al Pacino’s iconic performances have defined cinema for over five decades,” Brusey said.

“From The Godfather films to Scarface, Heat to The Irishman, audiences and critics alike have been mesmerised by his generational talent.

“Now, with the long-awaited publication of his memoir, Sonny Boy, Al Pacino reveals himself to be a master storyteller.

“Hard-fought, hard-lived and at times hard to believe, Al Pacino’s astonishing journey from poverty in the South Bronx to Oscar-winning success is every bit as dramatic, as intense and as heartfelt, as his greatest performances.”

Pacino grew up in New York City before studying acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio.

He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards, his first nomination being for The Godfather in 1973 and his most recent in 2020, for his role as union boss Jimmy Hoffa in The Irishman.

He has also been nominated for 19 Golden Globe awards, taking home four gongs.