Al Pacino in "Kramer vs. Kramer"—a role that Pacino had declined. During the 1970s, Pacino had four Oscar nominations for Best Actor, for his performances in "Serpico", "The Godfather Part II", "Dog Day Afternoon", and "...And Justice for All". Pacino's career slumped in the early 1980s; his appearances in the controversial "Cruising", a film that provoked protests from New York's gay community, and the comedy-drama "Author! Author!", were critically panned. However, his performance in "Scarface" (1983), directed by Brian De Palma, proved to be a career highlight and a defining role. Upon its initial release, the film was critically panned due to
Say Hello to My Little Friend (Awake) own child or that something awful happened to his family. While Isaacs had "played cheesy disco music" through filming the majority of the episodes, he played nothing during the filming of "Say Hello to My Little Friend". During a scene where Michael sits on the floor and starts crying, Isaacs had "no idea what came out of [his mouth]". That scene was shot three or four times with a different performance by Isaacs each time; the actor did not know which take Innes would use. "Say Hello to My Little Friend" continued and introduced key thematic elements to the series