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Al Pacino has opened up about his reasons for writing his memoir – one of which is for his 16-month-old son to know who he is.
The Godfather star, 84, recently published his memoir, Sonny Boy, and talked about how becoming a father for the fourth time last year motivated him to revisit his life.
“I want to be around for this child. And I hope I am,” Pacino told the BBC in a new interview.
“I hope I stay healthy, and he knows who his dad is, of course.”
Last year in June, Pacino became a father for the fourth time to son Roman, with producer Noor Alfallah, 30. The two are not together anymore, and legal documents obtained by TMZ in November 2023 confirmed that Pacino has visitation rights over Roman while Alfallah has primary custody.
Pacino also has three other children, including 23-year-old twins, Anton and Olivia, with actor Beverly D’Angelo, and a 34-year-old daughter Julie with Jan Tarrant.
On how much involvement he has in Roman’s life, Pacino said their communication is mostly online.
“He does text me from time to time,” Pacino said about Roman. “Everything he does is real. Everything he does is interesting to me. So, we talk. I play the harmonica with him on the other video thing, and we have made this kind of contact. So, it’s fun.”
The actor recently spoke about fatherhood and how it continues to motivate him through his life.
“It changed me for life,” he told People. “The idea that you’re throwing your focus on other humans who happen to be your children … there’s the love.”
He also shared that when writing his new memoir, Sonny Boy, titled after a nickname his mother gave him, he wanted it to be something for his loved ones, including his children.
“At least according to me, I’ve had quite a big life,” he said.
In Sonny Boy, Pacino has also revealed the early struggles he had while on the set of The Godfather, talking about how he almost got “fired” from the production amid doubts over his performance, even though it was a performance that drew rave reviews and ultimately earned an Oscar nomination.
“The rumour had got out around the set that I was going to be let go from the picture,” he said. “You could feel that loss of momentum when we shot. There was discomfort among people, even the crew, when I was working. I was very conscious of that.
“The word was that I was going to be fired, and, likely, so was the director. Not that Francis wasn’t cutting it – I wasn’t. But he was the one responsible for me being in the film.”
