Al Pacino: I was frightened of fame

Al Pacino was so afraid he “couldn’t even walk” when he was first recognised by a female fan.

The Hollywood icon can vividly recall the first time he realised he was famous. He was out running some errands when a young woman caught his eye. She referred to him as Michael, thanks to his role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather series.

“I couldn’t close! I couldn’t even walk. I was just standing by the [street] light,” he remembered. “I sort of left myself there. Isn’t that something?”

The incident occurred after Al noticed a pretty lady standing next to him while he was waiting to cross the street. He decided to flirt with her, explaining that was the kind of thing he did in his younger years.

“I do remember the first time… I’m on a street corner, and I’m a young guy, out and about. I’m walking and next to me is this red-headed girl who is attractive and was standing there by a light,” he told Access Hollywood at a recent junket for new movie Jack and Jill.

“I look over at her, as if to say, ‘Will this light ever change?’ I thought I was witty then. ‘What’s going to happen to us if this light doesn’t change?’”

The 71-year-old recalls smiling to himself as he felt he’d impressed the unknown female. However, when she replied by calling him “Michael”, he had no idea how to respond.

“It all left me, all the spirit I had, all the need to talk to her. Everything just said, ‘Whoa! What’s this? This is new. She knows who I am? Are you kidding? I’m out of here,’” he laughed.

Jack and Jill follows family man Jack, whose twin sister Jill visits for Thanksgiving but then decides that she wants to stay on.

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