Advertisement

Al Pacino said "yes" to Nazi-hunting TV drama Hunters because he was "affected" by story

Photo credit: Amazon Prime
Photo credit: Amazon Prime

From Digital Spy

Al Pacino is opening up about why Amazon Prime Video's new Nazi-hunting drama drew him to TV.

The two-time Academy Award-winning star of recent hits The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has his first-ever starring role in a streaming TV series in Hunters, a '70s period drama about Nazi infiltration of the US.

Pacino's character Meyer Offerman heads up a group secretly hunting Nazis who are covertly trying to start a Fourth Reich within the US, along with new recruit Jonah Heidelbaum (Percy Jackson's Logan Lerman).

Speaking to Digital Spy and others recently, Pacino spoke about why the relevancy of this story was interesting enough to entice him to streaming TV.

Photo credit: Amazon Prime
Photo credit: Amazon Prime

Related: Al Pacino tries to leave The One Show mid-interview

"I'm very affected by the text. I always was," he told us. "I think because I was brought up in the theatre, the text became my gauge. What I liked about this particular text is, I liked the ideas."

The legendary actor continued: "I liked the way he made the characters, [creator] David Weil. His writing was exemplary to me. And so I wanted to meet him, and I met him and the producer and the director of the first episode. And I liked the way they were talking about it.

"But that was very interesting. I sat with him. We talked about who this character was, and what they were trying to do with it. It sort of merged, and then I felt good about it. The project that you respond to is the one that you should do, I think.

Photo credit: Amazon Prime
Photo credit: Amazon Prime

"It doesn't matter whether it's on stage, or in the theatre, or on television. I missed out on some great television offers I had in the past because the whole thing was: 'You don't do television.' That's what the advisors would say early on. I'm talking 30 years ago."

As Pacino mentioned, the creative team behind Hunters includes David Weil and Academy Award winner Jordan Peele (Get Out and Us).

Hunters will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Friday (February 21).


Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.

Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter accounts.

You Might Also Like