“I was eating Valium like they were candy”: Al Pacino’s First Night at the Oscars Turned Sour Pretty Early After Actor Nearly Had a Nervous Breakdown

Al Pacino is an actor who has established himself as a legendary artist. Not only is he known worldwide as one of the most respected and legendary actors, but his name is one that echoes sheer talent. From Serpico to The Godfather, there has been one big project after another that holds Pacino’s name in it.

It is no doubt that he earned a lot of awards throughout his life. However, his first time at the Oscars also happened to be his second nomination. That was one night he never forgot purely because of how thankful he was to not win any award and not the other way around.

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Al Pacino Thought the Oscars Were Only an Hour Long

When Al Pacino first went to the Oscars, he remembered it to be only the second time he was nominated, for Best Actor for Serpico. The movie had gotten a lot of praise from critics and fans alike and he had no idea how long the Oscars were supposed to last. According to IMDb, he was oblivious beyond compare.

“I was at the Oscars once, for Serpico. That was the second time I was nominated. I was sitting in the third or fourth row with Diane Keaton. Jeff Bridges was there with his girl. No one expected me to come. I was a little high. Somebody had done something to my hair, blew it or something, and I looked like I had a bird’s nest on my head, a real mess. I sat there and tried to look indifferent because I was so nervous. Any time I’m nervous, I try to put on an indifferent or a cold look. At one point, I turned to Jeff Bridges and said, ‘Hey, looks like there won’t be time to get to the Best Actor awards.’ He gave me a strange look. He said, ‘Oh, really?’ I said, ‘It’s over, the hour is up.’ He said, ‘It’s three hours long.’ I thought it was an hour TV show, can you imagine that?”

Pacino believed the show to be only an hour long and was almost sure that he had lost the award because the Oscars were over. Had it not been for Jeff Bridges, the actor might as well have gotten up and left.

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Al Pacino was Glad he didn’t Win

Al Pacino added that the experience very quickly turned into something horrific because he needed to go to the washroom. The award function did not seem to end anytime soon and he had to somehow manage. When the nominees for Best Actor were being announced, he had been praying profusely about how it shouldn’t be him.