Al Pacino's Real Name: Alfredo James Pacino

Quick answer: Al Pacino's full name is Alfredo James Pacino. He was born on April 25, 1940, in New York City, and works under Al Pacino—the familiar short form of Alfredo.

Real name and early life

Biography.com and Britannica identify Alfredo James Pacino, born April 25, 1940, in New York City (Biography.com; Britannica Kids). Pacino is the family surname; Alfredo and James are given and middle names. He was the only child of Sicilian American parents Rose (née Gerardi) and Salvatore Pacino. After his parents separated when he was a toddler, he was raised in the South Bronx by his mother and maternal grandparents. He attended the High School of Performing Arts, left school at 17, worked odd jobs, then studied at HB Studio and the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg.

Career highlights

Pacino won a Tony Award for the Broadway play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? (1969) before Francis Ford Coppola cast him as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and its sequels. Landmark 1970s roles followed in Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Godfather Part II. He played Tony Montana in Scarface (1983), won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Scent of a Woman (1992), and later appeared in Heat, The Insider, Angels in America (Emmy), You Don’t Know Jack (Emmy), The Irishman, and many stage revivals. He holds the Triple Crown of Acting (Oscar, Tony, Emmy) and received the AFI Life Achievement Award and Kennedy Center Honors. Later credits include the series Hunters and continued stage work, underscoring a career that never left live theater behind. Screen and stage billing stayed Al Pacino; the documented full name is Alfredo James Pacino.

Name notes for searchers

“Al” is a standard diminutive of Alfredo (or Alfred), not a invented stage surname. Some older credits list Alfred James Pacino; Biography.com and major film references prefer Alfredo James Pacino. Prefer Biography.com and Britannica over unsourced databases.