Credit: Far Out / Warner Bros.
Wed 2 September 2026 17:45, UK
It’s important for film buffs to have a diverse knowledge of everything which has come before them in Hollywood.
The minute anyone accepts a role, the first thing that a lot of them do is watch older films that could help to inspire their performance moving forward. Granted, it’s rare that a decent actor will completely imitate what someone else has done; however, they borrow mannerisms here and there, and find themselves wanting to use inflections on certain words, take elements of how someone walks, and generally just try to channel a previous performance’s aura.
It can become a bit more difficult for actors to work out what portrayals they would like to take from when a character has been covered time and time again. Throughout the history of cinema, there are some people (and entities) who have been played on multiple different occasions because of how famous, or infamous, they are. Their mere presence would be enough to get a lot of people down to their local cinema with a bucket of popcorn and a drink in hand.
One of these characters is Satan himself. Religion and art cross over time and time again, and so when you look back at different horror movies, thrillers (and sometimes comedies), it’s pretty common for the devil to rock up. In 1997, when Al Pacino took on the role of John Milton (who turns out to be the devil) in The Devil’s Advocate, he prepared for his role by looking back at some of the most iconic portrayals of the king of hell.
No doubt Pacino prepared by trying to see the more humane and relatable side of a character that isn’t usually humane or relatable. When he was talking to Colin Farrell and passing on some acting advice, Pacino was adamant that no matter what project you’re working on, you should make it your goal to find nuances to a character that excite you.
“Pacino said to me, ‘If you’re gonna do big movies, then do something you like’,” recalled Farrell, “‘Even in big commercial movies, you can find characters that you can be sympathetic towards. Don’t just do stuff that’s shit and take the money. Make sure there is something you want to work with’.”
There were a few performances that stood out to him when looking back at the history of the devil in Hollywood. There was Daryl Van Horne’s portrayal in The Witches of Eastwick, as well as Robert De Niro’s sinister approach in Angel Heart; however, the movie that moved him the most was released all the way back in 1941. This was The Devil and Daniel Webster, a film where Pacino found himself completely in awe of Walter Huston’s performance, so much so that it excited him to try and find his own voice to such a historic character.
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
“But the Huston movie helped me most,” said Pacino, “That kind of sanctioned it, because he was such a consummate actor attempting it. I sort of felt encouraged by that and I went off on a kind of adventure to find my own voice.”
He continued, discussing the film that helped him make The Devil’s Advocate, “As soon as I saw that, I was going, ‘Whoa’, […] He was giving me wings there. It was just such a brilliant performance. Without him doing anything, he was able to make you feel the devil’s power.”
