It must have been hard for Pacino fans in 97 to see this. He was actually good looking in Carlitos Way, only 4 years earlier.
Here he looks short, pale and old.
Meanwhile Johnny Depp looks like a male model, totally pulling off the Italian look with slick back hair.
I guess props to Pacino for not declining the role or asking for another costar to make himself look better.
Al Pacino looked exactly right for the part, Depp did not (he didn't even look Italian).
shareIt's always hard for people to see actors they grew up with being 'The old guy' (especially if they were the same age when the film came out). It's a reflection on their/our mortality. When we're young we think we're invincible and will never age.
That said I agree Ticketsplease. Pacino did look cool and capable in Carlito's. I wonder if the deliberately aged him?
That's also because he was made up and dressed for the part, and he's such a good actor that he got the has-been loser body language to a tee.
In fact, he's such an incredible actor that no matter what kind of rat-bastard scum he plays, Pacino always manages to elicit some compassion and identification from the audience: here he plays a mass murderer (26 guys under his belt as he keeps repeating throughout the films, shoots his friend Nicky point blank in cold blood because his boss ordered him too) and at the end you still feel sad that he's walking towards his own execution as he stashes his belongings in a small drawer for his wife to find. Not that many actors can do that.