LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Michelle Pfeiffer got her first major acting role in 'Grease 2', the critically panned follow-up to the 1978 box office smash. She had only played minor roles up until that point, but director Patricia Birch hired her because she had "a quirky quality you don't expect."
Pfeiffer gave a new dimension to the part of a woman who was frequently objectified. However, Pfeiffer still found her subsequent role in the iconic 'Scarface' challenging, especially as she had to work with Al Pacino. “I can tell you that I was terrified. And it was a six-month shoot, I think. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and I were really the only females. It was a boys’ club. And it was also the nature of the relationship for Tony Montana to be very dismissive of my character. So I would go to sleep some nights crying,” Pfieffer once admitted to Interview Magazine.
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The big breakthrough
Pfeiffer, who was only 25 years old when the movie came out, landed one of the most famous supporting parts in movie history with 'Scarface'. The popular 1993 crime film, directed by Brian De Palma, starred Al Pacino as Tony Montana and Steven Bauer as his close buddy Manny as they collaborated to establish a repressive drug empire in Miami.
'Scarface', which ranks alongside ‘Goodfellas’, ‘The Godfather’ series, and ‘The Departed’ as one of the greatest gangster dramas ever made, is renowned for its compelling plot, savage violence, and giving Al Pacino one of his finest roles to date.
‘I sobbed myself to sleep’
Even now, the movie's impact endures thanks to a few of Pacino's memorable catchphrases that are still widely used. From "The eyes, chico, they never lie," to one of the most famous lines in movie history, "Say hello to my little friend," Pacino's magnificent rendition of Montana has gone down as one of the landmark performances of Hollywood history.
However, Pacino didn't do it alone. Alongside him, Pfeiffer appeared as Elvira Hancock, Tony's love interest, in what would end up being her breakout performance.
Given the ‘Catwoman' actor's fear of her co-star, it would appear that not everything that glitters is gold. “I sobbed myself to sleep practically every night on Scarface,” Pfeiffer admitted on an episode of The Skinny Confidential podcast. “It was obviously very important to me.”
Pfeiffer continued by revealing that Pacino had initially "wanted someone else" to be cast as Elvira, which she claimed was logical considering that her only previous major role was in 'Grease 2'.