Al Pacino opens up about fatherhood's impact on his acting career

Al Pacino owes much of his success to fatherhood.

The Godfather star, 85, was speaking with E! News about his award-winning success when he remembered one particular performance, the 1992 movie Scent of a Woman.

“A lot of my work had a little improvement because of them,” he began as he recalled the birth of his eldest child Julie Marie, 35, who he shares with ex-Jan Tarrant.

“I was playing a blind man and I remember my oldest daughter was at the time 3,” the actor continued. “I visited blind institutions and they were great to me.”

“I said to my daughter, ‘Hey, Julie, do a blind person. Can you do a blind person for me?’” the Oscar winner recalled.

“She did it and I thought, ‘Wow, I can't do this because kids are geniuses.’ They have that genius and she was blind and she just did it, no preparation, nothing.”

Pacino also credits his youngest child Roman, 2, who he shares with Noor Alfallah, for giving him a renewed sense of vitality.

“I want to be around for this child. And I hope I am,” he told the BBC in October. “I hope I stay healthy, and he knows who his dad is, of course.”

“Everything he does is real,” he explained. “Everything he does is interesting to me. So, we talk. I play the harmonica with him on the other video thing, and we have made this kind of contact. So, it’s fun.”

The actor is also dad to 24-year-old twins Anton and Olivia, who he shares with actress Beverly D’Angelo.

Pacino's latest work The Rituals is in theatres nationwide.