Al Pacino has paid tribute to his ex-girlfriend and former co-star Diane Keaton.
The 85-year-old first met Diane on the set of The Godfather in 1972 and the pair had an on-and-off-again romantic relationship into the late 1980s.
The veteran movie star is filming a project in Paris at the moment and needed some time to gather his thoughts after hearing that his former flame had passed away last week at the age of 79.
“When I first heard the news, I was shaken,” he told Deadline this week. “Diane was my partner, my friend, someone who brought me happiness and, on more than one occasion influenced the direction of my life.
“Though over thirty years has past since we were together, the memories remain vivid, and with her passing, they have returned with a force that is both painful and moving.”
“She lived without limits, and everything she touched carried her unmistakable energy,” he added. “She opened doors for others, inspired generations, and embodied a once-in-a-lifetime gift that radiated through her work and her life.
“On screen, she was magnetic – lightning and charm, hurricanes and tenderness. She was a wonder. Acting was her art, but it was only one of the many ways she expressed her imagination and creativity.”
The Donnie Brasco star said people will miss Diane, but more importantly, they’ll remember her.
“She left a mark that cannot fade. She was unstoppable, resilient and above all, deeply human,” he said. “I will always remember her. She could fly — and in my heart, she always will.”
Diane once told People magazine she had a crush on Al as soon as they started working together on The Godfather.
“I was mad for him,” she told the publication in 2017. “Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker. There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan, like this kind of crazy idiot savant. And oh, gorgeous!”
The relationship ended when the It’s Complicated star gave the Scarface star an ultimatum to marry her or she’d walked away from the relationship.
“I worked hard on that one. I went about it in not a perfect way,” she told People.
In her memoir Then Again, Diane wrote about that period of her life and how much it meant to her.
“For me, the Godfathers, all three of them, were about one thing — Al. It was as simple as that,” she said.
Earlier this week, a source close to the Hollywood star said he’d always seen Diane as the “one who got away”.
“Looking back, Al admits the love of his life was Diane who he’s always called, ‘an amazing woman’,” the insider told the publication. “I know he will forever regret he didn’t make his move when he had the chance.”
“For years after he and Diane split, Al used to say, ‘if it’s meant to be, it’s never too late for a do-over’. But sadly, now it is,” they added.
The last time Al spoke about Diane publicly was in 2017 when he made a speech when she won an AFI Lifetime Achievement award.
“I remember leaving the house once, and I had an interview. And I’m very uncomfortable here, but at interviews, I’m even more uncomfortable, believe it or not,” he said during the speech. “And she was very encouraging, helping me along, and as I was leaving, she called out to me, and said, ‘Al, you’re going to be OK. Just remember, whatever you do, don’t say you’re an artist.”
He closed his speech with, “You’re a great artist, I love you forever”.
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