Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance as Elvira Hancock in Scarface is iconic. The 1983 Brian De Palma movie is often considered one of the best remakes of all time, and part of what makes it great is the Hairspray star’s performance. But, if you can believe it, she was the last person Al Pacino wanted in the role, and she knew it. On that note, I just learned the wild story behind her casting in one of the best ’80s movies of all time, and we have to talk about it.
Pfeiffer opened up about her attempts to land one of her most famous roles while speaking to the hosts of the SmartLess podcast via YouTube. The fan-favorite actress opened up about the now-legendary story of how she went from rejection to screen-testing opposite Pacino, and accidentally drawing blood. Before that situation happened, though, Pfeiffer was apparently having a tough time auditioning:
Al will admit this [but] he didn’t really want me for the part. And I auditioned, I think, for a couple of months for it, and I knew he didn’t want me going into it. One of my favorite stories is when I actually made him bleed during my screen test.
Director Brian De Palma was pushing for Michelle Pfeiffer from the start, but Pacino wasn’t sold. And, after two months of auditions, the Ant-Man alum admitted she went from nailing it early on to spiraling under pressure. She continued:
I come in, I do a great reading with Brian De Palma and the casting director, it just happened to be good. Then they want to bring me back to meet Al. So, over the course of two months, I just get worse and worse and worse, because I’m just afraid. And by the end, I’m bad. And I don’t blame [Al]. He just was like, ‘[She’s] bad.’ And Brian finally comes to me and says, ‘You know, doll, it’s just not gonna work out. I’m like, ‘I know, man. I’m sorry.’ Because Brian really wanted me.
Pfeiffer thought that was the end of it, until a month later, she received a surprise call to return for a screen test. Burned out and assuming it was a lost cause, she walked in with nothing left to lose. And that’s when things got… bloody. The (arguably best-ever) Catwoman actress herself recalled:
So, at least a month goes by, and I get a call. They want to bring me in to screen test. So I show up, and I don’t even give a shit, because I know I’m not getting this part… It was my best work of the film, and it’s that restaurant scene where I explode at the end. And I swipe the table of the dishes and glasses break, the dishes break ‘Cut.’ There’s blood everywhere, and they all run over to me, to see where I’ve cut myself. Well, I didn’t cut me. I cut Al. I thought, ‘Well, there goes that part.’ [But] actually I think that was the day [Pacino] was like, ‘Yeah, yeah. I think, yeah, she’s not bad.’
Turns out a little chaos, and a lot of broken glass, was exactly what the role needed. It’s fitting, really, for a movie where barely anyone makes it out alive. Pfeiffer nailed it, and the rest is cinematic history.
Now, Scarface is considered a great gangster film by many, but I’ll be honest: it’s not one I’m racing to rewatch. It’s a solid remake, arguably better than the original but, for me, it’s not exactly fun. That said, Michelle Pfeiffer is easily one of the best parts of a not-so-great movie, in my eyes. Now, knowing what she went through just to get cast, beyond the extreme weight loss and months of rejection, I find her performance to be all the more impressive.
Still, if you’re not like me and do want to dive back into Scarface (and catch Michelle Pfeiffer at her most radiant), you can stream it now with your Netflix subscription. Pfeiffer will also next be seen on the big screen in the holiday comedy Oh. What. Fun., which is set to hit theaters on December 3 amid the 2025 movie schedule.