Michelle Pfeiffer reveals why she cried herself to sleep every night while filming with Al Pacino
The three-time Oscar nominee opens up about fear, self-doubt, and the grueling audition process behind her iconic “Scarface” role.
Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Pfeiffer, celebrated for her performances in “Dangerous Liaisons,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” and “What Lies Beneath,” is also known for roles in “Batman Returns,” “The Age of Innocence,” and “The Russia House.” But one of her earliest and most career-defining roles came in the 1983 classic “Scarface.”
Directed by Brian De Palma and starring Al Pacino, Pfeiffer played Elvira Hancock, the lover of mob boss Frank Lopez who eventually marries Tony Montana after Lopez’s death. While the role would become iconic, it was a grueling experience for Pfeiffer, who was just 25 at the time.
A tough audition process
The role of Elvira could easily have gone to stars like Kim Basinger, Geena Davis, Carrie Fisher, Sharon Stone, or Glenn Close. Instead, it went to the young, relatively unknown Californian. Even then, Al Pacino reportedly doubted her:
“He just said, ‘She’s no good.’ And Brian eventually came to me and said, ‘You know, honey, this isn’t going to work.’ And I said, ‘I know, man. I’m sorry,’” Pfeiffer recalled on the Smartless podcast.
From doubt to triumph
Pfeiffer described the audition process as “intense and exhausting.” Against all odds, she won the role and became Tony Montana’s future wife on screen. Reflecting on her final audition, she said:
“I had so little hope of ever getting the part that I became completely relaxed. In the last test, I just walked in and suddenly I could act again. Everything came back because I didn’t care.”
Even after landing the role, Pfeiffer struggled with self-doubt and the infamous impostor syndrome throughout filming. “I cried myself to sleep almost every night on ‘Scarface,’” she revealed, sharing the challenges of working under Brian De Palma and alongside Al Pacino.
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