10 Amazing Acting Performances To Watch On Netflix

Al Pacino’s iconic turn as Frank Serpico might be his boldest film choice, and also his most important. Fresh off the back of The Godfather, Pacino—with his beaten good-looks, his immaculate head of hair—was in danger of becoming a Hollywood heartthrob, and a number of projects looked to procure his services in that vein.

Instead, Pacino took on the unglamorous role of real-life New York cop Frank Serpico, a bearded ‘hippy’ who drew the hate out of his colleagues with his refusal to be corrupted and his growing alignment with the counterculture. Channelling Serpico’s moral fibre into his own acting, Pacino ensured that he would not become just another handsome leading man.

This, along with Dog Day Afternoon (also directed by Serpico’s Sidney Lumet), marks one of cinema’s greatest double-bills.