I'm an actor, not a star. Stars are people who live in Hollywood and have heart-shaped swimming pools.
Interpretation
Al Pacino emphasizes the distinction between being a true artist and a celebrity, suggesting that genuine talent is more important than fame.
In this quote, Al Pacino expresses a critical view of celebrity culture by highlighting his identity as an actor rather than a star. He implies that the term 'star' is often associated with superficiality, wealth, and the glamorous lifestyle of Hollywood, represented by 'heart-shaped swimming pools,' while true artistry is grounded in the craft of acting itself, focusing on skill and authenticity rather than fame or public adoration.
In practice
During an interview discussing the nature of fame in Hollywood.
I don’t understand the hatred and fear of gays and bisexuals and lesbians… it’s a concept I honestly cannot grasp. To me, it’s not who you love… a man, a woman, what have you… it’s the fact that you love. That is all that truly matters.
We start to realize that there are anodynes in life that help us through the day. I don't care if it's a walk in the park, a look out the window, a good bubble bath - whatever. Even a meal you like, or a friend you want to call. That helps us solve all this stuff in our head.
On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is -- can you win or lose like a man?
There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
You need some insecurity if you're an actor. It keeps the pot boiling. I haven't yet started to think about retiring. I was shocked when I heard about Paul Newman retiring at age 82. Most actors just fade away like old soldiers.
I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.
Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought, as it is forced in most arts and especially in the art of words.
The pleasure of writing fiction is that you are always spotting some new approach, an alternative way of telling a story and manipulating characters; the novel is such a wonderfully flexible form.
I can't help other people's frustrations. I don't owe people anything. If people would like to come to my concerts, I'd love them to come. And if they like the music that I make, I love that, too. But I do not make music for other people. I make it to please myself.
It is my dream to create an art which is filled with balance, purity and calmness, freed from a subject matter that is disconcerting or too attention-seeking. In my paintings, I wish to create a spiritual remedy, similar to a comfortable armchair which provides rest from physical expectation for the spiritually working, the businessman as well as the artist.
When I write in Italian - this is just the metaphor that came to me immediately, and I really think this is what it is - I feel like I'm writing with my left hand. Because of that weakness, there is this enormous freedom that comes with it.
To win applause one must write stuff so simple that a coachman might sing it.
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