Al Pacino in The Godfather
Al Pacino has enjoyed a career that has spanned over forty years, and brought him a string of iconic roles, including Scarface and The Godfather.
Despite being the greatest actor of his generation and producing a string of great performances it's hard to believe that he has only won one Oscar, for Scent of A Woman.
Pacino kicked off his career on the stage, something that he has returned to throughout his career, before heading for the big screen.
He made that big screen debut back in 1967 with a very quick appearance in Me, Natalie before going on to appear in The Panic In the Park.
However it was Francis Ford Coppola's movie The Godfather and the role of Michael Corleone that was his major breakthrough performance in 1972.
Pacino beat off the likes of Robert Redford and Warren Beatty for the role of Michael, proving to be a very shrewd move by the filmmaker as he uncovered a star.
The Godfather tells an epic tale of Mafia life in America during the 1940s and 1950s. Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is the family patriarch balancing a love of his family with an ambitious criminal instinct.
As we all know The Godfather is one of the greatest movies to ever grace the big screen and Pacino's performance earnt his a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.
Twelve months later and it was a Best Actor nomination for his performance in Serpico, which was based on the true story of New York City policeman Frank Serpico, who went undercover to expose the corruption of his fellow officers.
The seventies continued to be a fruitful decade for the actor as he reprised the role of Michael Corelone in The Godfather Part II, which many argue is better than the original.
There was another Oscar nomination for his performance but once again he missed out - this time to Art Carney for Harry and Tonto.
And the 1975 Oscars wouldn't have been complete without a nomination for Pacino, which he picked up for Dog Day Afternoon.
Pacino starred as Sonny Wortzik in the film, a man who robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.
It was another critical success for Pacino as the movie and his performance were highly praised. The Godfather, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon have all gone on to be movie classics.
In terms of iconic roles they continued throughout the eighties as he took on the role of Tony Montana in Brian De Palma's Scarface.
Twenty seven years after it's release it's still regarded as one of the best gangster movies of all time - however he wasn't even nominated at the Oscars for his performance.
In 1990 he returned to the Godfather for the third movie before moving onto Frankie & Johnny and Glengarry Glen Ross.
But it was 1992 and his role as Frank Slade that finally saw him get his hands on a Best Actor Oscar, and it wasn't before time.
He continued to work throughout the nineties with movies such as Carlito's Way, Donnie Brasco and The Devil's Advocate under his belt.
1995 also brought us Heat, one of the greatest cop movies of all time, which saw Pacino come face to face, all be it for one scene only, with Al Pacino.
The noughties haven't brought him the same success but he has starred in the likes of Insomnia, which was directed by Christopher Nolan, The Recruit and Ocean's Thirteen.
But he has enjoyed success on the small screen as he starred in Angels in America, which brought him an Emmy, golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.
He returned to TV this year with You Don't Know Jack.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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