Al Pacino names Big Boy Caprice and Tony Montana as his most fun roles (2025)

With a career now easily over five decades, Al Pacino has given us some of the most iconic roles on the silver screen. If you look at his run in the ‘70s – The Godfather movies, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, …And Justice For All – you’re looking at some iconic performances. But for Pacino, it’s never been all about dramas like those. Yes, he fell into some self-parody later on, but the guy could chew a scene like a pack of gum. And it’s those sorts of performances that Pacino considers his most fun.

Appearing at the American Cinematheque last month for a special 50th anniversary screening of Dog Day Afternoon, Al Pacino fielded questions from attendees, one of whom wanted to know what his most fun roles were. The number one choice for Pacino was Dick Tracy, in which he played colorful crime boss Big Boy Caprice, which would have been great to see him reprise had a sequel ever been made.

But the one that takes a chainsaw to the rest has to be Tony Montana, which Al Pacino puts at the top of his most fun roles he has ever taken on. “Straight out, I just say nothing touches Scarface. And really the reason I feel that way is, I remember passing a movie house in Los Angeles…they played (the 1931 version of) Scarface. I saw it with my friends and I went in because I’d heard about Howard Hawks’ Scarface, Paul Muni, who was in his time one of the greatest actors alive. I said, ‘I gotta do this film, this performance is inspiring me so much.’ So I called (his frequent producer, Martin Bregman) and I said, ‘I think we’ve got a shot with Scarface.’ ‘Scarface?’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen it.’ I said, ‘Take a look.’ So, probably that’s why: I feel responsible for it, you know? I felt personally that I caught that one.”

At the event, Pacino also joked that it’s like every year will bring another 50th anniversary screening for him…which means 1977’s Bobby Deerfield is up next (but he can probably skip that one). Scarface is also right around the corner in 2034, when Pacino will be 94.

What do you consider Al Pacino’s most fun role? Drop your picks in the comments section below!