Despite nine Oscar nominations and a 1993 win for Scent of a Woman, Al Pacino still flags one career misstep. He says he regrets turning down a 1970s Bob Fosse role that went to Dustin Hoffman, a part he revisited with Larry King in 2010 and that helped the film earn six Oscar nominations.
For all his iconic turns in The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon and beyond, one offer still needles Al Pacino. He passed on playing Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse’s biopic, a part that went to Dustin Hoffman. Years later, he told Larry King he had misjudged the role and applauded Hoffman’s work after finally seeing Lenny. The film’s six Oscar nominations only deepen the sting of a what-if that lingers over a storied career.
A legendary career with few regrets
Some careers feel etched in granite, and Al Pacino’s is one of them. Across half a century, he shaped American cinema with landmark turns in The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and Heat. With nine Oscar nominations and a win in 1993, the arc seems airtight. Yet Pacino has admitted there is one role he let pass that still tugs at him.
The role that got away: ‘Lenny’
In the mid-1970s, Pacino was offered the lead in Lenny, the biopic of Lenny Bruce directed by Bob Fosse. He declined, believing the part did not fit. The role went to Dustin Hoffman, whose ferocious portrait of the taboo-shattering comedian helped the film earn six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It became a defining title of the era.
An admission of regret
Years later, speaking with Larry King in 2010, Pacino acknowledged he had misjudged Lenny. He praised Hoffman’s performance and admitted that watching the finished film reframed the part for him. He saw the electricity of the club scenes, the sting of the material, and recognized a challenge he might have embraced. The hesitation that felt sound in the moment no longer held.
Why ‘Lenny’ still matters
Released in 1974, Lenny tracks Bruce’s ascent and unraveling, treating provocation as both art and liability. Shot in stark black and white and running 1 hour 51 minutes, it bridged stage, stand-up and cinema with rare intensity. For US viewers curious about this pivot in biographical filmmaking, the movie is currently available to rent or buy on major platforms like Amazon and Apple TV.
A snapshot of high-stakes casting
Pacino’s reflection also evokes a crowded moment in Hollywood, when he often vied for the same parts as peers like Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Robert Redford. Each decision carried weight. Indeed, even a towering filmography leaves room for the what-ifs. And if a single near-miss still echoes, it is Lenny, the role Pacino didn’t take and can’t quite forget.