Toast Al Pacino's 70th birthday with some classic Scarface merchandise

The acting legend hits a milestone.

You might know him as Mafia patriarch Michael Corleone from The Godfather trilogy; as larger than life crime lord Tony Montana from Scarface or as temperamental cop Vincent Hanna in Heat – yup, Alfredo James Pacino (call him Al) has certainly played some iconic roles over the years. And today we’re raising our glasses to toast him as yesterday the acting legend turned 70-years-old.

It’s a good job that the acting thing worked out for the New Yorker as, having dropped out of high school, he spent his younger years trying to make ends meet with all sorts of low-paying jobs gigs from busboy to messenger boy. Back then times were so hard that Al was often unemployed and even slept rough on the streets, a low period made all the more devastating with the death of his mum and granddad.

But things took an upswing when he was accepted into the Actor’s Studio, New York’s prestigious drama school which had helped launch such mega-watt stars as Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul Newman. By learning at the knee of celebrated coach, Lee Strasberg, the ambitious young Al improved his craft and soon picked up theatre jobs winning a Tony award before making the move into film.

And it’s worked out pretty sweetly ever since. Al was one of the most acclaimed actors of the 70s, earning four Academy Award noms for The Godfather (1972), Serpico (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975) putting together a string of hits that really cemented his star status. Incredibly it wasn’t until he played blind army vet Frank Slade in 1992’s Scent of a Woman that he snagged his one and only Oscar, but since his 70s glory days he’s still managed to put in some incredible performances in the likes of Heat, The insider, Donnie Brasco and Carlito’s Way.

Inevitably there have been some stinkers over the years (Righteous Kill, we’re looking at you) and some movies that were popular but didn’t really challenge Al’s skills (Ocean’s Thirteen), but for a career spanning over 40 years his average of hits to misses isn’t too shabby (Robert De Niro take note – you don’t have to say yes to every script that comes your way!) And all the while he’s also managed to keep treading the boards and even wandered onto the small screen with HBO mini-series, Angels in America, providing just another new set of awards for him to get familiar with.

So what’s next for the now septuagenarian? Plenty, this fella’s not ready for his pension just yet with cop drama Son of No-One co-starring Channing Tatum, religious epic Mary Mother of Christ in which he plays Herod and the titular role in The Bard’s family tragedy King Lear all lined up for this year and next. And so to celebrate the acting legend’s big day, we’re honouring one of his most iconic roles that of Tony Montana with some cool Scarface goodies.