JUST A REGULAR GUY WHEN IT COMES TO MENTORING YOUNG ACTORS, MASTER OF INTENSITY AL PACINO KEEPS IT CASUAL.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Writer

The young actress Bridget Moynahan, who plays a CIA trainee in the new movie ``The Recruit'' (opening Friday), recalls being initially unnerved by the actor who would play her instructor in the movie: the undeniably formidable Al Pacino.

``For me, it was always in that teacher-student situational relationship,'' she notes with some relief, ``so I didn't have to get over any hurdles of being intimidated or shy, because it sort of went with what was the story line.''

But soon, she was not just pleasantly surprised, but delighted by the behavior of the legend of the ``Godfather'' trilogy, ``Serpico'' and ``The Insider'' (among, of course, many, many others).

``He was great; I got a front row seat to just watch him perform and work things out,'' Moynahan smiles. ``Al definitely took some risks and tried some things and messed up. And he was goofy, which you don't expect to see Al Pacino doing. It was great for me to see; it sort of gives you the allowance to take that freedom.''

It's true. Ask the incredibly fit, surprisingly impish, 62-year-old actor about a movie of his, ``People I Know,'' that you haven't seen yet, and he immediately jumps up and goes (in full, tobacco-cured honk): ``Maybe I can do the 'People I Know' for ya. Here, it starts this way: It opens up, and the guy's ...''

Then he stops himself just as abruptly and breaks into a broad grin. But that's Al; a master of intensity on stage and screen for more than three decades, there is nothing he seems to like more than getting silly when the spotlight's off.

It's one of many tricks the veteran actor - who was trained at his hometown New York's storied Actors Studio; owns Obie, Tony and (after a notable seven nominations) Oscar awards; and has directed a couple of movies himself - has learned to help stay fresh, engaged and, yes, the formidable screen presence he has been since 1972.

Portrait of the artist

``You want to clean the slate all the time,'' Pacino explains. ``It's important to do that, that the canvas is fresh. It's a new canvas each time, and you're gonna paint on it.''

But that requires a lot more than goofing around between takes (or usable takes). There is extensive craft that goes into every Pacino performance, whether it's one of nonstop bravura technique (such as ``... And Justice for All,'' ``Scarface'' or ``Scent of a Woman,'' his 1992 Oscar winner) or subtle psychological shading (the ``Godfathers,'' ``Donnie Brasco,'' last year's sublime ``Insomnia'') or one of the myriad expert turns that register somewhere in between.

``I learned a lot, in a way, working with Al,'' says ``Recruit'' director Roger Donaldson (``No Way Out,'' ``Thirteen Days''). ``You're always interested in knowing what makes a guy shine the way Al has, and he has a method of working where he commits the script completely to memory, and then tries to forget it, I think. But he's also always looking for the rhythm of the dialogue. The way the words come out, they always sound like he's just thought them up. But he's really put a lot of work into getting that groundwork laid, so he can deliver those words convincingly.''

Pacino smiles and nods at that description of his approach. But there is more to it than that. Much more.

``I look for anything in it, also, that could've really happened for films,'' says the actor, who adds that the musical method is more applicable to how he prepares for the less-naturalistic medium of theater.

``We did that on 'Insomnia,' too; said, 'Suppose this really took place,' and you start from that premise. That's good for the imagination, because when you do a real character, a play or movie with real incidents that happened, it's amazing, the kinds of things that happened that you couldn't dream up. That's God's world, and you never know what God's gonna do!

``So you try to make it happen like it's really taking place, and you try to avoid the pitfalls of making something 'work,' quote/unquote.

``You try to bring in that extra thing that makes it plausible in movies. An audience watching it doesn't even think about it, but they'll know if something really wouldn't have happened, and they'll retreat. We all feel that way; I just love to see a movie as long as it stays consistent, but as soon as it throws in a red herring, it's upsetting because it knocks you out of it.''

That appreciation of craft goes all the way back to childhood, when impoverished Al, who lived with his mother and grandparents in a South Bronx tenement, would act out scenes he'd see when going with his mom to the best pastime she could afford, the movies. Although he made his stage name well before anyone thought of him as Hollywood material, Pacino's love for cinema has always been, and still remains, palpable and passionate.

'A leader and a teacher'

Maybe that's what makes him such a great example for younger actors like Moynahan and their ``Recruit'' co-star, Colin Farrell. Pacino loves to impart his knowledge, and that's a big reason why he took on the role of Walter Burke, who besides being a covert agent of exceptional skill and vast experience, is also the aspiring spies' key instructor at the CIA's legendary training ground, the Farm (which the organization, true to form, refuses to acknowledge exists).

``He's a leader and a teacher, and I enjoyed those ideas,'' Pacino says of Burke. ``Also, the idea of what kind of a person has endured this life of espionage and war, and come out the other side of it. Who is a person like that? You know, you're dealing with what has gone on before in films with CIA guys. So you're trying to come up with something that says this is a new angle, a new way of looking at a CIA guy. You go for that, if you can.''

Although most people would presume they know what a signature Pacino performance is, when you really study his films, most of them reveal him doing, or at least attempting, something different and unique. This stems from another lesson he learned long ago and is eager to relate to the youth of Hollywood, Broadway and beyond.

``What I learned early in my life as an actor is that you try different parts in order to see if any of them will work,'' Pacino recalls. ``That's the benefit of repertory, and I mention that to young actors. You get a chance to play different roles and you yourself find out what some of the pitfalls are and what you're able to get to. The only way you learn that is through actuation, doing it.

``Of course, it gets tougher to do out there in the commercial world. You want to take chances, but you do get burned for them. Because, after all, it's a medium where you're trying to serve an audience and the piece you're doing.''

Pacino has definitely been flamed. His, well, goofy contemporary accent in the birth-of-our-nation drama ``Revolution'' came as close to getting any actor laughed off of the screen as is virtually possible (funny, though, isn't it, that Daniel Day-Lewis is currently garnering wide praise for his similar-sounding, historically unverifiable Northeast drawl in another period piece, ``Gangs of New York'').

On the other hand, some of Pacino's more bravura performances (``Scent,'' ``Scarface,'' ``Devil's Advocate'') have simultaneously garnered reverence and ridicule, and still stand as both benchmarks of a distinguished career and the raw material for many an impersonator's comic burlesque.

Pacino knows, perhaps more than any other beloved working star, that he has to be aware of how the degree of technique, and the energy he invests it with, will affect the audience of any given movie.

And then, before he starts to act, he forgets about it.

``A lot of it is, you shoot from the hip and you hope for the best,'' Pacino explains. ``Sometimes, you go too far with things. You go out there and you take a chance with something and it turns out a little different than you expected. But mainly, it is the director. The director is the one that guides you through these things.

``But sometimes you just go with things. In 'Scent' ... Well, first of all, the character couldn't see, so I was already off on that. But I've done both. Take ('The Godfather's') Michael Corleone: I mean, there couldn't be anything lower-key than that. It's part of how you see the character, whether you play it closer to the vest.''

Actors are actors

With all the power he can marshal, it's no wonder Pacino intimidates first-time co-stars like Moynahan by sheer reputation alone. Most report that that feeling passes quickly once they get to working with Pacino. His innate silliness probably helps with that, but the guy makes a point of being accessible in any way he can.

``It's all the leather I wear, I think,'' Pacino jokes. ``And the helmet and the high shoes ... all these things, and then I loosen up. I don't know. I think it's usually the fact that a lot of people grow up seeing actors in the movies, so there's another relationship they have to you from knowing you're around. Thirty years ago, I was in movies, so I guess that has an effect. I know, for myself, when I met actors that I knew growing up, I was awed. But you know, you're an actor just like them and they see it, and it's really over with fairly soon.''

Now, there's a new generation of Pacinos to stare up at on the screen. No, not grandchildren; Al, who has a grown daughter, mischievously winks and says, ``We're workin' on it,'' about that. He and actress Beverly D'Angelo had twins less than two years back, and this second round of fatherhood has Pacino even more delirious than normal - and, uncharacteristically, at something of a loss for words.

``If I really got started talking about it, I'd just go on forever,'' he cautions. ``Let's just say that it's really been a pleasure. It's just great fun, wonderful.''

As for his other babies, the movie performances, Pacino is, like most longtime actors, unwilling to choose a favorite among them. However, when the question is posed a different way - which one is closest to you? - it results in another informative dissertation on the craft, topped with one of those off-the-cuff kickers that makes Al Pacino the most amusing acting instructor anyone could want.

``The classic answer that you hear all the time is that some of them are closer than others,'' he says. ``But there are so many areas in it, sometimes it's odd because the characters that you think are the furthest from you turn out to be among the best work that you've done, and the characters that you feel are the closest to you, sometimes, don't make the same step. A desire and a passion to do a role doesn't mean that it's you.

``It's a complicated paradox, I think, and I'm not smart enough to really understand it.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) call him AL Pacino embraces the role of mentor - on screen and off

(2) Al Pacino in ``The Recruit.''

(3) Director Roger Donaldson