From the Calgary Sun, October 11, 1997

PACINO PLAYS THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

By Louis B. Hobson

NEW YORK -- It's a devil of a chore getting Al Pacino to do interviews.

He's excited about his new horror fantasy The Devil's Advocate, opening Friday, but by his own admission, Pacino is chronically shy.

"My first language was shy. It's only by having been thrust into the limelight that I have learned to cope with my shyness," admits the 57-year-old Oscar winner.

Pacino had only ever considered himself a New York stage actor, but all that changed in 1971 when he starred as a junkie in the low-budget drama Panic in Needle Park.

His riveting performance caught the attention of Francis Ford Coppola, who cast him the following year as Michael Corleone in The Godfather.

It was the first of seven Academy Award nominations Pacino would receive before winning his Oscar in 1992 for Scent of a Woman.

"Over the years, I've become far more interested in film. That's why I've been doing so many movies back-to-back.

"Also, to give a year to doing a play at my age is a very big commitment."

Looking back at his three decades as a film star, Pacino admits he was "far too selective at the beginning of my film career. An actor acts, and I wasn't acting because I was waiting to be inspired by the material.

"As you get older, you realize your time is running out, so you take the best of what is offered to you and do everything in your power to make it work."

In The Devil's Advocate, Pacino plays Satan, who has set up an earthly kingdom in New York. He has positioned himself as the head of a powerful law firm that controls interests around the world.

Things really begin to heat up when the devil brings in a new hot-shot lawyer, played by Keanu Reeves.

"This is a script that kept coming back to me in its various incarnations. I finally got excited when (director) Taylor Hackford brought me this version.

"He had this idea for a really contemporary devil, and the idea of putting him in a law firm really resonated with me."

Pacino was also intrigued with the idea that he "could do almost anything with the role. How are you going to be judged? Anything goes when you're playing the devil."

Pacino says he's finally learning to cope with the celebrity that makes people consider him a legend.

"I can't pretend it's ever been easy, but celebrity has been a part of my life for so long now it's beginning to seem natural."

He has learned that if he chooses to attend a public event, he has to expect a certain level of attention.

"What hurts is when you're in an exotic place for a holiday and the paparazzi stalks you. I love Paris, but I just don't go there any more because things have gotten so out of hand. I've tried going out in Paris in disguise, but that always backfires and, when the photos appear in print, you look so ridiculous.

"But let's face it, the perks outweigh the woes."

Pacino admits he has one real career regret.

"No one ever asked me to play Hamlet. I don't think I'm right for the part, but it would have been nice to be asked."