Al Pacino’s scariest fan interaction

Al Pacino is a prolific actor with a high net worth whose countless iconic film roles have won many die-hard fans. Something film fans may not know about Pacino, however, is in his 2024 memoir “Sonny Boy.” In the memoir, Pacino talks about a terrifying moment when a woman took her fanaticism way too far and tried to kill the beloved actor kidnap.

Advertising

Shortly after starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 gangster epic The Godfather, Pacino was quickly thrust into a life of fame, which proved to be a difficult adjustment for the New York City-born actor. “(…) I felt like a veil had suddenly been lifted and all eyes were on me,” Pacino explained to the New York Times in 2022. “Of course they were directed at others in the film. But “The Godfather gave me a new identity that I found difficult to deal with.”

This new spotlight that Pacino found directed at him likely led to the frightening fan interaction. In “Sonny Boy,” released on October 8, 2024, the “Scarface” star wrote a harrowing account of an evening he spent with Richard Hackman, the brother of fellow actor Gene Hackman (via E! News). Pacino described how, while partaking in his lavish lifestyle that evening, he became extremely drunk and ultimately was unable to return to his overnight destination, leading to the horrific encounter that apparently left a lasting impression on him.

Advertising

In his memoir “Sonny Boy,” Al Pacino wrote about how a seemingly friendly woman approached him and offered him a ride while he was too drunk to find his own way home. Pacino continued (via People) and wrote that he decided to get into the stranger’s car because he thought to himself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” The worst happened because of the woman’s kind behavior soon turned sour when Pacino began to question the route she was taking and she revealed the terrible truth to him. “But as we drove, despite my daze, I could tell that she wasn’t going to take me back to where I was,” Pacino explained. “I said to her, ‘What’s going on here?’ And she said straight away: ‘I’m kidnapping you.'”

Advertising

As the excerpt continues in Pacino’s book, the “Heat” star explains how he ultimately managed to escape the clutches of the nefarious fan, citing the street smarts he gained from his childhood in New York City. “I’m from the South Bronx. When I see a crazy person trying to harm me, I know how to escape,” Pacino wrote.

Pacino noted that he told the perpetrator he would get out of the car, but she refused. This prompted the prolific actor to attempt to jump out of the car while driving, a ploy that resulted in the woman changing her mind and driving him home, ending Pacino’s night of terror.