Movie legend Al Pacino tells TV&Satellite Week about his first regular TV role in Amazon Prime Video’s new 10-part series, Hunters
Al Pacino has much to celebrate when he turns 80 this year. Not only is he the undisputed godfather of film, but the actor now reigns supreme on streaming services, following up Netflix hit The Irishman with a 10-part thriller, Hunters, which launches on Amazon Prime Video.
Produced by Oscar-winning writer-director Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us), the drama is set in 1977 and stars Pacino as wealthy businessman and Holocaust survivor Meyer Hofferman, who leads a gang of New York-based vigilantes on a quest to hunt down former Nazis who are living in the US under fake identities.
When an old friend and ally is shot dead in her own home, Meyer finds a potential new recruit in her lost and lonely grandson, Jonah Heidelbaum (Percy Jackson star Logan Lerman), who is thirsty for revenge.
If Jonah is to join the highly skilled gang – which includes master of disguise Lonny Flash (How I Met Your Mother’s Josh Radnor) and weapons expert Mindy Markowitz (Gotham’s Carol Kane) – he must agree to serve up brutal justice.
But with razor-sharp FBI agent Millie Morris (Grey’s Anatomy’s Jerrika Hinton) and sadistic neo-Nazi fixer Travis Leich (Greg Austin) on their tail, will the Hunters succeed in stopping the threat of a Fourth Reich?
TV&Satellite Week chatted to The Godfather and Scarface star Al Pacino to find out more about Hunters…
Why did you choose Hunters for your first regular TV series role?
Al Pacino: "This show is so eccentric and eclectic. It’s a horror, but it’s also funny and tragic at the same time. I read the script and thought, ‘This is something I could really get into.’"
Did you enjoy the experience?
"I loved the freedom of it, and it reminded me of the good old days when I was doing theatre in New York and everyone was experimenting. I’m partial to trying different things, and Hunters is unlike anything I’ve seen before."
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What can you tell us about Meyer Offerman?
"I like an unpredictable character, someone who can go either way, and Meyer is just that. Like the show, you never know where he’s going next. He has an interesting and strange past."
How did it feel to be playing a Holocaust survivor?
"I’m educated on it and I grew up in the South Bronx, where I was immersed in Jewish culture and had lots of close Jewish friends, but it’s very difficult to understand something like the Holocaust. It’s so profound."
Meyer becomes Logan’s mentor, and as the most experienced actor on set, did you find yourself in that role off-screen, too?
"Logan is young, yes, but he’s worked his whole life and is very experienced, as is the entire cast. I worked with Carol Kane in the theatre in the 1970s and she starred in Dog Day Afternoon. But we were all filming together for five months and we became a sort of troupe, like one big family."
Will we see you in more TV series now?
"Well, I’m still making films… I’m in one now, The Irishman! I didn’t used to watch that much television, but after doing this show, I’ve now got Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Hulu, and like everyone, I’m always searching for things to watch. Logan says I’ve got to watch Fleabag."
Do you watch your own movies?
"Only before they’re released so I can have a say and give some feedback. But once they’re out, I don’t look at them again. Lately though, and I don’t know if it’s because of my old age – I blame everything on old age nowadays – I’ve been watching a lot of my old movies."
And what do you think looking back?
"It helps me get some perspective. I’m not overly critical, but I’m just learning from it. Maybe it’s also because they hold memories for me of people I’ve loved who are gone now. It’s nostalgic, like looking at old photographs."
Can you pick out a favourite film?
"Some are better than others, let’s face it, but it’s like comparing your kids. I suppose it has to be The Godfather [1972] because my whole life changed after that movie. However, I recently watched Dog Day Afternoon [1975] and what a film that is. But then there’s Scarface [1983]… OK, I can’t choose."
Hunters launches on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 21 February
