With three Godfather films, Serpico, Scarface, and Carlito's Way already on his résumé, Al Pacino's decision to star in yet another Mafia-related film seemed a little odd. But the outstanding critical and commercial response to Donnie Brasco, which opened Friday, provides plenty of validation for his choice. The Mike Newell-directed film is the based-on-fact story of F.B.I. undercover agent Joe Pistone, a.k.a. Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp), who infiltrated the New York Mafia in the 1970s. Pacino stars as Lefty Ruggiero, an aging Brooklyn enforcer who befriends Brasco and indoctrinates him in Mob circles. The fifty-six-year-old actor met with the press recently and discussed Donnie Brasco and his fascination with the Mafia.
Pacino on the decision to do yet another Mob film:
Of course, when you enter this genre, you're having to say, "This has been done. We've been around this territory, I've been around this territory myself." So, why would I want to embark on this kind of thing again? It took some time. I remember passing it over at one point years ago. What happened is, as time went on, the relevance of the piece became a little bit more in the distance. The fact that it was in 1979, I sort of appreciated that aspect. That made it a little more interesting for me and that's why I did it.
On finding something new in his Donnie Brasco character:
I've been involved in that genre before, but I saw something [in Brasco] that was different. [Ruggiero] had some different interests. I've played different cops and different lawyers and they were different. He was as different as that. I think the guy from Serpico and the guy from Sea of Love are in the same sort of world, but they're different. I think that was sort of the difference between the character I played in Donnie Brasco and the other characters I've played, say Michael Corleone.
I think there are things in this guy's struggle that, hopefully, people who are civilians outside of the underworld will relate to. There's aspects of this human being, that when we pay attention to it, are in ourselves. They are not violent aspects, but his needs, his frustrations. I think that's the kind of character that we tried to express and draw.
On working with director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral), a Mob-film rookie:
Mike Newell was from another world, really, in terms of this environment of the film. But he educated me, actually. He did a lot of research, a lot of work with the people. He was very well versed with all the aspects of this world. He was quite involved with these people, in a way. He knew what he wanted and he went after it that way.
On the movies and actors that influenced him, and the origins of his fascination with the Mob:
The movies that my mother took me to when I was young were very diverse. The memory I've had was of Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and then on to Marlon Brando and James Dean. Which were more or less characters who played all kinds of roles. I remember hearing about a movie that Paul Muni made called Scarface. The only time I ever saw Scarface, I was doing this Bertolt Brecht play on tour. Bertolt Brecht was enamored with the gangster movies of the thirties. I think there were many of these films in the thirties, Little Caesar and Public Enemy and James Cagney. And that was a period that was interesting. Brecht wrote this play called "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" which was a parallel of the rise of Hitler and the rise of a Chicago gangster in the thirties. When I was working on the play, I remember hearing about Scarface and saw that later on in life. When I saw it, because of Paul Muni's performance, I wanted to copy it. I put the idea forth to someone about making it. . . . I don't know why we're talking about Scarface. What happened to Donnie Brasco? Sorry, I went off. Someone has to control me.
On Hollywood's tendency to depict Italian-Americans as cold-blooded killers:
I, as an Italian-American, think about [this issue]. I want to avoid it. I think that we are used to that kind of thing, in a way. It's one of the tentacles in our culture that we have come to know and have feelings about. I don't know what the solution to that is.
To me, I go to the material. I go to the story and the entertainment value of something and say, "This film doesn't seem to me to be pushed by violence." It doesn't seem to be saying that as much as it's talking about a relationship, with this certain kind of character that has his dreams, and his aspirations. I think if [Donnie Brasco] communicates anything, it will communicate the relationship. This character I play becomes a prototype for other people who are in the same sort of predicament.
On working with Johnny Depp:
Johnny Depp was Mike Newell and [producer] Mark Johnson's choice for the part. I met with Johnny because I hadn't known him before. We had a cup of coffee and then they took him on. I think I've rarely enjoyed working with anyone as much as Johnny. We've become friends. I really, truly found working with him a joy. He made me laugh all the time. I don't know how his image is projected, but he's really fun to be around.
On why he never does TV projects:
I'm sure television scripts are wonderful. But I never really get any. I don't know why--I'm going to talk to my agent.
On winning an Academy Award for Scent of a Woman:
Winning an Oscar was a great experience. It's wonderful. The experience of it was unusual, because I didn't expect that I would feel the way I did after receiving an Oscar. As I said, it's not about deserving it. It just was sort of my turn. It's my turn. The feeling afterwards is hard to describe. Because you go around and you live and people are aware you won an Oscar. And they come up to you and congratulate you. Which keeps it afloat. That went on for a couple of weeks. I've never experienced that. It was like winning something at the Olympics. You feel as though you're in a race somehow, that kind of feeling. It's more akin to a sporting event for me. I never won anything at a sporting event
