Al Pacino named 2026 recipient of SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award

Al Pacino has been named the 2026 recipient of the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award, the performers union’s highest honor, recognizing career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment in fostering the “finest ideals of the acting profession.”

SAG-AFTRA announced the honor Wednesday, saying Pacino will receive the award at the 33rd Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA on Feb. 28, 2027. The ceremony is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles and will stream live on Netflix. According to SAG-AFTRA, Pacino is the 62nd recipient of the award. The Associated Press, which independently reported the announcement, noted that Pacino is 86.

“Like so many actors, I have spent my life in awe and appreciation of the force of nature that is Al Pacino,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said in the union’s release. “When you watch him perform, you are witnessing a student and a master. Al Pacino is an artist of extraordinary courage, intensity and heart whose work has always set an exceptional standard of skill and talent. All of that and he’s just plain fun to watch. SAG-AFTRA is proud to celebrate Al Pacino with our union’s highest honor.”

Pacino is one of the most decorated actors of his generation, an Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner whose best-known screen work includes playing Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” trilogy. He won the Academy Award for best actor for “Scent of a Woman.” SAG-AFTRA’s release said his honors also include two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Actor Awards.

“I wondered and wandered most of my life but have always felt at home with a script and my fellow actors,” Pacino said in the release. “It’s the work and the actors along the way that have been among the greatest joys of my life. It’s an honor to be recognized by SAG-AFTRA in celebrating the journey.”

The Life Achievement Award carries particular weight in Hollywood because it is bestowed by fellow performers through SAG-AFTRA, the union representing about 160,000 performers and media artists. The most recent recipient was Harrison Ford, who was honored at the 2026 ceremony as the 61st honoree. Beginning with that ceremony, the event was rebranded from the SAG Awards to The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA.