Al Pacino turned to therapy to deal with early fame

Al Pacino had to enroll himself in daily therapy sessions as his career took off in the 1970s to help him process his sudden fame.

The veteran actor scored his breakthrough role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's iconic movie The Godfather in 1972, but Pacino struggled to adjust to his newfound celebrity.

"It is a big thing to get used to," he reflected on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast.

"I remember (acting coach) Lee Strasberg saying to me, 'Darling, you simply have to adjust.' And you simply do. But it's not so simple."

Pacino ended up turning to a medical professional for support, and he continued to seek counselling for decades.
"I went through some stuff," he shared. "I had therapy five days a week for 25 years."

The pressures of fame led the star to retreat from the public eye in the 1980s and cut back on his workload - until his dwindling finances dictated otherwise.

"I just wanted to move away from the pace of the whole thing, and it was good for me. I enjoyed it," he said. "But then, as happens, the money runs out."

Pacino eventually found a way to balance his fame with his personal life, and is now enjoying a new career high thanks to his critically-acclaimed turn in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, which has so far earned him top nominations for the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Critics Choice Awards.