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Diane Keaton and Al Pacino are renowned actors, earning fame and critical acclaim for their movie roles. However, many are unaware that the pair of Oscar winners started dating while filming The Godfather Part II. 

Diane Keaton recalls being ‘mad’ for ‘charming’ and ‘hilarious’ Al Pacino

Al Pacino (R) and Diane Keaton (L) smiling
(L-R) Diane Keaton and Al Pacino | Robin Platzer/Getty Images

Pacino and Keaton were cast as Michael Corleone and Kay Adams, who dated and got married over the course of The Godfather. Their onscreen relationship was strained at times, but when the cameras stopped rolling, Keaton and Pacino got close. 

They didn’t start dating right away, but Keaton revealed that she was “really very taken” with her onscreen beau right from the start. It wasn’t until they started working on the sequel, The Godfather Part II, that the pair began dating. “I was mad for him,” Keaton said, according to InStyle.

“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 ultimatum that ended things between Diane Keaton and Al Pacino

Keaton and Pacino dated throughout the making and release of The Godfather Part II and Part III, but the relationship fizzled when the actor demanded Pacino make a permanent commitment. 

Keaton shared that she gave Pacino an ultimatum: get married or break up. Pacino chose the latter, and the relationship was over. Looking back, Keaton admits she “went about [the talk of marriage] in a not perfect way.”

Who are Diane Keaton and Al Pacino with today?

Keaton has had other high-profile relationships with stars like Woody Allen and Warren Beatty and is single today. She adopted her daughter, Dexter, in 1996 and her son, Duke, in 2001. 

“I think the reason I didn’t get married was because I would have to compromise too much,” she said in a 2010 interview with Film Monthly, according to Closer Weekly. “I wanted to try more adventurous things for myself.”

Pacino has also dated plenty of actors, including Tuesday Weld, Jill Clayburgh, Marthe Keller, Kathleen Quinlan, and Beverly D’Angelo, who he shares two children with. He also has a daughter from a relationship with acting coach Jan Tarrant. He is single today. Like Keaton, he has never been married. 

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Al Pacino Was Almost Fired From ‘The Godfather’ After Just 2 Weeks of Filming

Despite the breakup, it’s clear there’s still a lot of love between Keaton and Pacino. The actor was on hand at Keaton’s AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony, moving the crowd with his touching speech about his former flame.

Pacino told a story about being nervous about an interview and the advice Keaton gave him before he left the house. He called her “very encouraging,” remembering, “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 by saying, “I love you forever.” 

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