A method actor and former student of the HB Studio and the Actors Studio, where he was taught by Charlie Laughton and Lee Strasberg, Pacino's film debut came at the age of 29 with a minor role in "Me, Natalie" (1969). He gained favorable notice for his first lead role as a heroin addict in "The Panic in Needle Park" (1971). Wide acclaim and recognition came with his breakthrough role as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" (1972), for which he received his first Oscar nomination, and he would reprise the role in the sequels "The Godfather Part II" (1974) and "The Godfather Part III" (1990).