The unprecedented on-screen gangster, Al Pacino, has cemented a cinematic legacy in a career spanning nearly five decades. As the veteran actor turns 76 today, we pay a tribute on his birthday by remembering his top seven iconic performances.

'The Godfather - Part II' (1974)Al Pacino in 'The Godfather - Part II'. Pic/YouTube

Al Pacino’s iconic performance as Michael Corleone in 'The Godfather - Part II' earned him an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for Best actor, while winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo, the film is both sequel and prequel to ‘The Godfather’. It presents parallel dramas: one narrates the story of Michael Corleone, the new don of the Corleone family, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an attempt on his life; the prequel traces the journey of his father, a young Vito Corleone, played by Robert De Niro, from his Sicilian childhood to the founding of his family enterprise in New York. The film garnered rave reviews from critics, with some deeming it superior to the 1972 original.