"DESIRE Can Sometimes Trump TALENT!" | Al Pacino | Top 10 Rules

You look for that thing that moves you. At that point, I thought, this is what I do with my life. And nothing mattered. Being famous, being rich, nothing. Only doing this. Desire can sometimes trump talent. He's an American actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter. He's had an acting career spanning 50 years and along that way has received numerous awards and accolades. His performance as Michael Corleone in The Godfather is widely regarded as one of the greatest performances in film history. He's Al Pacino, and here's my take on his top 10 rules for success. Rule number 2 is my personal favorite, and make sure to stick around all the way to the end for some special bonus clips. Also, as Al is talking, if he says something really meaningful to you, please leave it in the comments below and put quotes around it so others can be inspired as well. You look for that thing that, that moves you. I don't know what it is. I like repetition. There's a saying goes, repetition Repetition keeps me green. I love that saying. Repetition keeps me green. Keeps me green, fresh. Because the idea that we do performances over and over again, you'd say, well, doesn't that get boring or stale? But no, it's in the repetition that the creation comes, that the expression comes. Because I'll give you an example. I was doing Richard once, not particularly well, and this show is going on, and we couldn't get this court scene with a lot of people in it. I didn't understand what I was doing in the scene. So we would call rehearsals. I would— we would rehearse it and stuff. And we would talk about it, think about it, you know, like all this kind of work where people together are trying to figure out something. And the 85th performance of Richard, I had done it. On my 85th entrance, I knew the court scene. I understood it. I was there. I could play it. But not in '84. Not in '84. I might have been getting closer, didn't realize it. I gave up the ghost, I guess. I just gave it up and said, oh, screw it, it's not going to happen, and I'll just keep going on. And I found it. All train compartments smell vaguely of shit. It gets so you don't mind it. That's the worst thing that I can confess. You know how long it took me to get there? A long time. When you die, you're gonna regret the things you don't do. You think you're queer? I'm gonna tell you something. We're all queer. You think you're a thief? So what? You get befuddled by a middle-class morality? Get shut of it. Shut it out. You cheat on your wife? You did it. Live with it. Fuck little girls? So be it. There's an absolute morality? Maybe. And then what? If you think there is, go ahead, be that thing. Bad people go to hell? I don't think so. You think that? Act that way. Hell exists on earth? Yes. I won't live in it. I would like to be someone who takes chances. I think part of the adventure of it is to, is to go into something and not be afraid to screw up, because then you're reaching for something. Come on! Why are you doing this, Roy? No, I mean it. Say it. Say, Roy Cohn, you are a homosexual. And I will proceed systematically to destroy your reputation and your practice. In your career? I think what happens is you learn to forgive yourself, uh, because it's— you see in the scheme of things how it is, and you say, well, gee, you know, I tried. The worst thing, as they say, is, is not to go for it. But if you go for it and it goes, you know, it's out of your hands. And, and, uh, it's like that old saying, what any— what anyone ever says about me is really none of my business. So, you know, you sort of, you go and you hope for the best. And then you see that a lot of the times, you know, things happen and you have no control over them. All right, let's get a message to Joe's house. I respect what he's done. The new overthrows the old. It's natural. How can you do business with this guy? I'm a businessman first and foremost. I want no further conflict with him. You tell him from me that he can live or he can die. Vincent, will you shut up? State Police and the FBI have cordoned off the building. That's it. Joey's outside. We can't be doing this alone. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. If you're going to make a movie, right, the whole idea is that you, you make a movie about something. And to be able to make a movie about something you know, something that's sort of in your wheelhouse, so to speak, it's something that you relate to, it's important because making a movie is so hard. It's very difficult to, to put a— get a movie together. And oh man, you know, You've heard it many times. But to have something you feel you understand, that's why I had a lot of fun doing a movie I made called Looking for Richard. It was sort of about actors trying to figure out how to do Shakespeare, then people and everything else. So it had a very visceral connection to it. Well, a movie, a book about an actor going downhill and losing it, and getting older and falling apart seemed very appropriate for me, you know, and I thought, this is, uh, this is gonna work. The one thing that bothered me, the one thing that stayed in my mind and I couldn't get rid of it, that haunted me, was why. Why would she lie? What was her motive for lying? If my client is innocent, she's lying. Why? Was it blackmail? No. Was it jealousy? No. Yesterday I found out why. She doesn't have a motive. You know why? Because she's not lying. And ladies and gentlemen of the jury, The prosecution is not gonna get that man today. No, because I'm gonna get him. All right, that's enough! I want them dead, both of them! I want this no-face dead, and I want Tracy dead! What's the matter, you bums forgot how to kill people? Doesn't your work mean anything to you anymore? Have you no sense of pride in what you do? No sense of duty? No sense of destiny? I'm looking for generals! What do I got? Foot soldiers! I want Tracy dead! I often say to people who talk to me about Shakespeare who are not actors or directors, who haven't ever played it or done it, the actor learns Shakespeare in another way because he learns it having to do it, having to spend months with it. So he approaches it in that way and understands it in that way, and the familiarity with the words and the phrases and what the content is, what it's saying becomes a part of you. And the revelations keep coming long after you've closed in a play. You know, you learn things and you hear things in a way that you could never if you saw the play or if you read the play. No. That's why actors in a way are lucky that they get an opportunity to— that's why some of the great ones that had the repertoire plays he did, so wanted to do it because it had so much in it. It's almost like I can come close to say, say you were a cello, you played the cello or something, and you were playing Bach on the cello. I mean, wow, imagine that, you know. So that manifestation of spirit which comes out of it changes you. It lifts your life. that it does. It gives you so much. And once that, that appealed to me when I was very young, actually. I was a very young guy when I started to do Strindberg and, and things like that. Was very affected by that because I thought, here it is with this material, it's like playing the cello, because I can kind of just express things in myself. And it made me me sort of universal. It gave me a more universal sense of things in myself because I was doing things that happened years, years ago. I was out of the South Bronx. I was out of the life I come from into another world that was giving me all this stuff. It was a gift. And I knew from that point on, age 21, I knew at that point— I've been acting since I was this big. But at that point, I thought, this is what I do with my life. And nothing mattered— being famous, being rich, nothing. Only doing this. Now, at 21, that's easy to say, you know. I mean, there's just you and pizza, so you're fine. But it is true, though. That did happen to me. How many Ferraris you sold this month, though? It's not relevant to this discussion, Freddie. The '80s are over. Are you trying to tell me these things are just walking out of the store? This is a Ferrari, sir. This is the finest piece of machinery made in the automobile industry. Well, if you like it that much, why don't you sleep with it? Why are you selling it? Listen, I'd love to accommodate you, but— If this car performs the way I expect it to, you will get a certified check of $101,000 and change when you come in here tomorrow morning. It's $109,000 plus $950 plus tax. Freddy, for you. $107, all in, plus a case of champagne. Go with your leftover turkey. What do you say? Don't worry about the boy. He drives so smooth, you can boil an egg on the engine. When we bring the car back, I'll peel the egg for you. Desire can sometimes trump talent. Think about that. So that you may not have as much talent as you think you have, but if you have the desire, your talent will find you. I never fucked anybody over in my life. Didn't have it coming to me. You got that? All I have in this world is my balls and my word. And I don't break them for no one. Do you understand? That piece of shit up there, I never like him. I never trusted him. For all I know, he had me set up and had my friend Angel Fernandez killed. But that's history. Right here, he's not. Do you want to go on with me? You say it. If you don't, then you make a move. Because I make little films myself. Nobody sees them, of course. But I make them on my own. I made them in the old days. When I had it, I used to make them with my own money. And that was kind of strange. I was accused of being crazy for doing that. And I was. But it was important for me to learn film that way. So I'm used to— I like it. I like to mix it up. That plane goes to Miami. All right. That's where I want it met. Mike, that's impossible. They'll turn him over directly to the Internal Revenue half the FBI. It's not impossible. Nothing's impossible. It would be like trying to kill the president. There's no way we can get to him. Tom, you know, you surprise me. If anything in this life is certain, if history's taught us anything, it says you can kill anyone. I suggest reading— of course, it's too late now— It's tough reading books these days, but you should. I really believe in it. I think it's because, you know, the Russians saved my life when I was very young, like your age, and doing plays, if you can, if you're actors, because the plays are what— roles that are asked challenge you and stuff. It's very good for you, because also you're doing plays sometimes that ask of you a lot of stuff. I mean, they ask you to do more than some of these roles we get cast for that don't ask that much of us, really. I mean, naturalism, we do it, you know, you do this, but the roles that ask a lot of you is what, where you develop, where you broaden your horizons, your imagination, and what you learn from this great literature. I mean, if you're a cellist, right, you're gonna wanna play Bach, no? I mean, why wouldn't you? You're a cellist, Bach wrote for you, and eventually you wanna play it, you play anything on it, but finally that's what you wanna play because that's gonna get you the kind of joy, the kind of excitement that is gonna change your life, really. Changed my life, a lot of the parts I played as a youngster was— made me broaden my, my scope and my understanding of things. It's, it's, it's really important to open yourself up to that. City cop, right? Robbing a bank's a federal offense. They got me on kidnapping, armed robbery. They're going to bury me, man. I don't want to talk to somebody who's trying to calm me. Get somebody in charge here. I am in charge. I don't want to talk to some flunky pig trying to calm You don't have to be quiet. What you doing? And when you get back there, man, get back there. What you doing? Look at him. Get over there. Go on back there, man. Get over there. He wants to kill me so bad he can taste it. I'm gonna always gonna kill you. My instincts, I always felt, were better earlier in my life than they are now. It seems as though sometimes I'm a little bit blinded by the attention, so I don't make correct assessments. I'm a little bit influenced by the fact that I'm not, I'm not on the outside looking in. I was fortunate enough to have certain things happen in my life. I mean, it's luck. It's really luck. And persisting in a thing, you know. What is that? He who persists in his folly will one day be wise, you know. I haven't gotten wise wise yet, but I keep persisting. Mr. Sims doesn't want it. He doesn't need to be labeled still worthy of being a bad man. What the hell is that? What is your motto here? Boys Inform on your classmates, save your hide. Anything short of that, we're gonna burn you at the stake. Well, gentlemen, when the shit hits the fan, some guys run and some guys stay. Here's Charlie facing the fire, and there's George hiding in Big Daddy's pocket. And what are you doing? You're gonna reward George and destroy Charlie. Are you finished, Mr. Slade? No, I'm just getting warmed up. I don't know who went to this place— William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryan, William Tell, whoever— their spirit is dead, if they ever had one. It's gone. You're building a rat ship here, a vessel for seagoing snitches. And if you think you're preparing these minnows for manhood, you better think again. Because I say you are killing the very spirit this institution proclaims it instills. What a sham. What kind of a show are you guys putting on here today? I mean, the only class in this act is sitting next to me, and I'm here to tell you this boy's soul is intact. It's non-negotiable. You know how I know? Someone here, and I'm not going to say who, offered to buy it. Only Charlie here wasn't selling. Sir, you're out of order. I show you out of order! You don't know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I'd show you, but I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too fucking blind. If I were the man I was 5 years ago, I'd take a flamethrower to this place! Out of order? Who the hell do you think you're talking to? I've been around, you know. There was a time I could see, and I have seen boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot soldier back home to Argonne with his tail between his legs, but I say you are executing his soul. And why? Because he's not a bad man. Bad men, you hurt this boy, you're gonna be bad bums, the lot of you. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, fuck you too! Stand down, Mr. Slade. I'm not finished. As I came in here, I heard those words, cradle of leadership. Well, when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and it has fallen here. It has fallen. Makers of men, creators of leaders. Be careful what kind of leaders you're producing here. I don't know if Charlie's silence here today is right or wrong. I'm not a judge or jury, but I can tell you this: he won't sell anybody out to buy his future. And that, my friends, is called integrity. That's called courage. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of. Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew, but I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Now here's Charlie. He's come to the crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey. You hold this boy's future in your hands, committee. It's a valuable future, believe me. Don't destroy it. Protect it. Embrace it. It's gonna make you proud one day, I promise you. I don't know what to say, really. 3 minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives. All comes down to today. Either we heal as a team, we're gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time. Now, I can't do it for you. I'm too old. I look around, I see these young faces, and I think, I mean, I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who's ever loved me, and lately I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know, when you get old in life, things get taken from you. I mean, that's, that's, that's That's part of life. But you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life's this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half-second too slow, too fast, you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces. For that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing, between living and dying. I'll tell you this, in any fight, it's the guy Who's willing to die, who's going to win that inch. And I know if I'm going to have any life anymore, it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch. Because that's what living is. There's 6 inches in front of your face. Now, I can't make you do it. You got to look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes. Now, I think you're going to see You're gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. Hell yeah! You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it, you're gonna do the same for him. That's a team, gentlemen. Hell yeah! And either we heal now as a team, or we will die. As individuals, as football guys. That's all it is. Now, what are you gonna do? Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Dorian Wright asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know which of Al's top 10 rules had the biggest impact on you and why. Leave in the comments and I will join in the discussion. Finally, I want to give a quick shout out to Jason J. Rice Fonseca from riseonline.com. Jason bought another copy of the book, so I'm giving a quick shout out. Thank you so much, Jason. Means a lot to me. For those of you guys watching, if you want your chance at a shout out in a future video, make sure to buy a copy of the book and email in your receipt so we can keep track. Thank you guys so much for watching. Continue to believe, or whatever your one word is, and I'll see you soon. I had this ability to mimic. I would mimic the movies. I would mimic any of the current singers, whether it was Al Jolson or Sinatra or whoever it was. And I then learned how to mimic situations and people just for the fun of it. Well, where am I gonna go? You hear me, son of a bitch? Stay away from me! Where am I gonna go? A lot of us who are actors have that sort of performer in us. She got a great ass, and you got your head all the way up it. Robin Williams would be the example of someone who really lets you see it. You know, most of us have it, but we don't have his gifts to be able to express it. But the needs are there. If you're a shy person, sometimes you hide behind an image that you think somebody has it. It's almost a pose that you can let your guard down or commit to anything, and it's a way you can get into the habit of doing that. I did for a while. Is it true? Don't ask me about my business. No, because in a way, once you start getting parts, your learning process is going to get less and less anyway, because you're going to be given roles that you are so-called "write for," quote unquote, which is typecasting, which is a lot of baloney. And you're gonna get into that kind of thing, and you're not gonna get a chance to grow and stretch yourself. I used to use auditions as a way of practicing. What are you gonna do about it? Usually they'd have a script they wanted me to read. I'd say, oh, okay, I prepared a little something, you know. What are you gonna do about it? Asshole. And it was an opportunity to do something that I had been working on, and you would work it out without ever thinking about getting the role. I'm a journalist. Think. Use your head. How do I operate as a journalist? By screwing the people who could provide me with information before they provided me with it. I used to dream about John a lot, of course, when it first happened. And he was always alive and in jail. Dreaming. See, it's always there, you know, 30 years. I was doing a play called "The Basic Training of Pablo Hummel" on Broadway. And it was a really great role. And I had done things with it. And I had gotten a Tony Award. And I was really— I remember John was coming to see it. And I don't like to know when anyone's in the house. But I knew John was in the house, right? And every single thing I did, every scene I did, was trying to impress John. And I knew I'm doing this. I'm saying this. I'm not doing this. I'm trying to impress John. And it was over. And I was really unhappy because I knew I hadn't done— and John came back. And he said, "It's very impressive, Al. Very impressive." I thought, "Yes, John." I said, "You know what?" I said, "He was so graceful though. He was so gracious about it all." But I said, "You know, I knew you were there and I was trying to, I was doing everything twice as much as I had to do it, you know." He says, "It was good, Al. It was good." It was good. You don't know, you don't realize that, you know, you've been doing it. But I knew I had. So I was very— you know, he was like one of my idols, so that when he was coming to see me, it was— you give all out. And that's the worst thing you can do, is try to impress your friends who you love. What's the best direction you've ever received on a set? The best direction? Well, one of the best things comes to my mind now is this AD, Burt Harris, on Dog Day Afternoon. Well, he came up to me. I was in the— first of all, he'd get me sober every morning. He'd hit me with those tomato juices and stuff. I'd come in. Some girl the other night was describing knowing me in Godfather II, how I'd come in with a crazy hat and scarves and stuff, and then I would have to turn into Michael. Yeah, right. Slowly it was just going, yeah, I'd become this. But anyway, uh, Burt Harris came up to me, smart kid, smart man, and I was in the middle of stuff and he just came up, he whispered in my ear because we were in dark, they were out there with all the, uh— I recommend the movie on a big screen if you could ever see it, to see what Lumet does with a crowd and with the street and to put you in it in such a way, it just is kinetic. You can feel the energy. It was a turning point in films and in the way he did it. But anyway, this guy, Bert Harris, comes up to me. This is what I love about movies too. And he leans in and he says, say, say Attica. I said, what? He said, go in the crowd room, just yell out Attica. Okay, remember Attica. Because Attica was a prison that had had a lot of trouble and terrible prisoners were killed. It was a real scandal. It was so in the world, you know, it was right there. And I said, oh, okay, so you just go out there. So I went out. And there I am, and there's all these extras out there, staying on there all day long. And they start talking, looking at the cops. And I just say, yeah, what about Attica? At one point, I just had to the cop. I says, Attica. And I looked to the crowd, and I said, hey, remember Attica? Huh? Attica. And they went, yeah, Attica. So he's Attica. And all of a sudden, this thing, Attica, Attica. Became a fucking iconic moment. Absolutely. In the movies. And that's how it came about. That's amazing. And that's something— yeah, I mean, this is the way these things happen in films if you're open to it. And that's the kind of brain that Lumet had, that Burt had. And we would do things like that. And, you know, it just became this magic. It's magical. When you're out there, you got the room. But when you're doing a movie in 6 weeks, they don't have time for adding