Al Pacino Reveals Surprising Reason He Never Takes Souvenirs from the Sets of His Movies (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Al Pacino on March 10.Photo:Arturo Holmes/Getty

Arturo Holmes/Getty

In his memoirSonny Boy,Al Pacinomakes clear he’s no rat. Turns out, he’s no pack rat either.

Despite starring in some of the most acclaimed and iconic films of the past several decades —The Godfather,ScarfaceandDog Day Afternoon, to name a few — Pacino tells PEOPLE he’s not one to take souvenirs from a set.

Not even Tony Montana’s whiteScarfacesuit oranythingfrom theGodfatherfranchise? Nope.

“I’ll probably lose them,” Pacino admits, explaining his thinking. “For a long while, I used to bop from one place to another. I always was a bit of a gypsy.” Pacino has long divided his time between New York and California.

Al Pacino’s memoir ‘Sonny Boy.'.Penguin Press

Penguin Press

Pacino was performing in a production of David Mamet’sAmerican Buffaloin San Francisco, and a group of fans came to see him following a matinee.

“It was just around the time the awards were coming out, the Oscars were coming out and I didn’t get nominated,” recalls Pacino. “So the fans out there, they used to wait for me when a show was over. They all got together and gave me this huge Oscar. I thought, ‘My God.’ I still have it at my house.”

Al Pacino in ‘Scarface.'.Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

By the timeScarfacecame out, Pacino had been nominated for five Academy Awards but never won. He took home the trophy for Best Actor for his performance in 1992’sScent of a Woman,bestingClint Eastwood(Unforgiven),Robert Downey Jr.(Chaplin),Denzel Washington(Malcolm X) and Stephen Rea (The Crying Game).

Pacino also writes about that moment inSonny Boy,one of many personal, behind-the-scenes stories he shares from his storied, six-decade career.

The actor tells PEOPLE he never thought he’d write a memoir but had been approached several times over the past decade and finally decided to put pen to page so his loved ones would know his history.

When he started to think about his past, stories “just started coming out,” he says, “and it went every which way it went.”

Says Pacino, “At least according to me, I’ve had quite a big life.”

Sonny Boyis out Oct. 15 from Penguin Press and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com