Nobody actually liked the idea of casting Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface. Not at first, anyway. Brian De Palma wasn’t feeling it. Al Pacino, fresh off the massive success of The Godfather and already a cinematic titan, definitely wasn't sold on a girl whose biggest claim to fame was Grease 2.
It’s kind of wild to think about now. You see that icy, cocaine-fueled stare of Elvira Hancock and you can’t imagine anyone else in those silk slip dresses. But back in 1982, Pfeiffer was just a "newbie" who had to fight through a grueling two-month audition process that nearly broke her.
The Audition Where Things Got Bloody
Most actors talk about "killing it" in an audition. Michelle Pfeiffer actually made Al Pacino bleed.
Honestly, her audition journey was a total train wreck. She’s gone on record saying that as the weeks went by and the pressure mounted, she got worse. She was terrified. She felt like she didn't have the chops to stand next to Pacino. Eventually, De Palma told her it just wasn't going to work out.
But a month later, they called her back for a screen test. Since she figured she’d already lost the part, she didn't care anymore. The fear vanished. During the famous restaurant scene where Elvira snaps, she smashed dishes and swiped everything off the table. A shard of glass flew and sliced Al Pacino’s hand.
There was blood everywhere.
Pfeiffer thought, "Well, that’s it. I just wounded the greatest actor in the world." Instead, that raw, unhinged energy was exactly what Pacino needed to see. He realized she wasn't just a pretty face from a musical sequel; she was a fighter.
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Tony and Elvira: A Love Story Without the Love
If you watch the movie closely, you’ll notice something weird. Tony Montana and Elvira Hancock never really kiss. Not a real one, anyway.
Their relationship is basically a business transaction gone wrong. To Tony, Elvira is just another trophy to be won, like the tiger in his yard or the "The World Is Yours" sign. He tells Manny, "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women."
He didn't love her. He coveted her.
Pfeiffer played Elvira with this incredible, detached boredom. She’s a woman who has traded her soul for a constant supply of "Peruvian flake" and high-end fashion. While Pacino was chewing the scenery—screaming, sweating, and plunging his face into mountains of fake coke—Pfeiffer stayed frozen.
It was a brilliant contrast. He’s the fire; she’s the ice. And eventually, the ice just melts away and leaves him alone in that giant, ugly mansion.
The Brutal Reality of the Six-Month Shoot
Making Scarface wasn't exactly a party. It was a "boys' club," according to Pfeiffer. She and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio were the only women in a sea of machismo and method actors who stayed in character even when the cameras weren't rolling.
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Pfeiffer has admitted she cried herself to sleep many nights. She was only 23.
To look the part of a high-functioning addict, she basically stopped eating. She lived on tomato soup and Marlboros. Because the shoot kept getting delayed—it went from four months to six—she kept getting thinner and thinner. The crew was actually getting worried. They’d try to sneak her bagels just so she wouldn't collapse on set.
Why the Critics Hated Them
It’s easy to forget that when Scarface hit theaters in 1983, it was mostly trashed. Critics called it "empty" and "excessive."
They hated Pacino’s over-the-top accent. They hated the violence. Even Kurt Vonnegut reportedly walked out during the chainsaw scene. Martin Scorsese, who was at the premiere, leaned over to Steven Bauer (who played Manny) and told him, "They’re going to hate it in Hollywood because it’s about them."
He was right.
But the "regular" people loved it. The hip-hop community, in particular, adopted Tony Montana as a folk hero. They saw the struggle, the hustle, and the eventual tragedy. And they saw the chemistry between Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer as the ultimate, albeit toxic, power couple dynamic.
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The Legacy of the "Bad Guy" Couple
Pacino and Pfeiffer eventually worked together again in 1991 for Frankie and Johnny. It was the polar opposite of Scarface. No guns, no coke, just two lonely people working in a diner.
But the spark was still there.
There’s something about the way they play off each other. Pacino brings the intensity, and Pfeiffer brings a grounded, sharp-edged reality that forces him to stay present. In Scarface, she was the only person who wasn't afraid of Tony Montana. She looked at him with pure disgust when he was at his most powerful.
That’s why the movie stays relevant. It’s not just the gunfights or the memes. It’s the human wreckage of two people who got everything they thought they wanted and realized it was all hollow.
How to Appreciate the Performance Today
If you're revisiting the film, look past the "Say hello to my little friend" moments. Watch the quiet scenes.
- The Babylon Club: Watch how Elvira looks at Tony when he first approaches her. It’s not fear; it’s total, utter boredom. It’s the ultimate insult to a man who thinks he’s the king of the world.
- The Bathtub Scene: Tony is at the height of his power, yet he's miserable, yelling at the TV. Elvira is just... gone. The distance between them in that room is wider than the ocean.
- The Restaurant Blow-up: This is where Pfeiffer finally wins. She tells him exactly what he is—a "bored, uneducated" immigrant who doesn't know how to be a husband. It’s the only time Tony looks genuinely hurt.
If you want to dive deeper into the history of these two icons, check out Brian De Palma's interviews on the 40th-anniversary Blu-ray. He talks extensively about the technical "muzzle flash" tech they used for the guns and why he refused to use a rap soundtrack for the 2003 re-release.
The best way to see the evolution of their chemistry is to watch Scarface and Frankie and Johnny back-to-back. It’s like watching two different lifetimes of the same two souls. One ends in blood and mountains of white powder; the other ends with a simple toothbrush in a shared bathroom.
Go watch the restaurant scene again. Notice the exact moment Elvira decides she’s done. It’s a masterclass in acting that proves why, 40 years later, we’re still talking about Elvira and Tony.