Two greatest actors of their time—and it’s possible, of all time—are trending for fathering children, at 83 and 79. The world is churning out think pieces, analyses, and speculative comments. I only want to celebrate them being two of my favorite actors—that are native New Yorkers—living their best life. After the pandemic, it seems like everything gets labeled an era now—the era of this and the era of that. As a millennial, the 1990s and early 2000s produced era-worthy “eras.” One of them is the Al Pacino and Robert De Niro era. Heat (1995) is flames though. Any Given Sunday (1999) is too. Meet the Parents (2000) is a classic, also. Yeah, that’s my response to all the concerns with the age gaps these two actors have between the mothers of their new babies. It’s not a big deal. Let the guys live, please.
The other day, my wife and I laughed about where we were the first time hearing the “inch by inch” speech in Any Given Sunday. We were at a drive-in when it was in theaters. “Those inches make the difference between living and dying!” I was 17, hearing Pacino as coach “Tony D’Amato” yelling this to his team at half-time, amping them up. Legendary night. We saw Meet the Parents together in an indoor theater. It’s another one of our shared-favorite movies. Her dad gave me the “Jack Byrnes treatment” early on too. But we bonded fast over our liking for cinema and all things science. He was an Al Pacino fan and big on Scarface (1983), actually (with a thing for Michelle Pfeiffer).
But it’s Heat for me—where Al Pacino and Robert De Niro share the screen—that defined their era. It’s a crime caper written, produced, and directed by Michael Mann. It’s about the duality of human nature and the precarious line between good and evil. One thing Michael Mann is very good at doing is intense slow-burn stories. Heat is his best work. It’s a cat-and-mouse pursuit involving a driven, disciplined detective and heist mastermind.
Heat stands out from other great movies of that era for many reasons. Everything about it is a statement about the mid-1990s. Nothing is transient gossamer. The way men’s suits were gray, boxy, oversized, yet stylish and on brand. The way cell phones were the size of bricks. Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore being, well, Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore in the mid-1990s. But Heat is inspired by actual people and events. Robert De Niro as “Neil McCauley,” based on a real-life master criminal of the same name. Al Pacino plays “LAPD Lieutenant Vincent Hanna,” based on a real-life Chicago Detective, Chuck Adamson. Although they’re adversaries, they form a deep admiration and understanding for each other. In the film, it’s over coffee at a diner. They meet face-to-face for the first time. This intense “diner scene” makes Heat one of the best movies created ever.
Pacino and De Niro acting in movies and dominating Hollywood over the decades has been adventurous. But Heat is a whole era. Even seeing it in the theatre at 12 years old, I knew, there was this sense that they created something special that transcended the screen. You can pinpoint it to that subtle exchange. The dialogue is classic, yes, but it’s what goes unsaid. That’s remembered most. Pacino with his knowing eyes. Their innocent glint of mischievous amusement at the world around him. De Niro, with his signature shrugs and gestures. The tucking of his chin and furrowing of his brow. There’s this vibe that they know they’re conveying through the scene. It’s like a “you know this is an iconic moment in the history of acting unfolding, right?” vibe. You can teach a masterclass on the stuff in this scene.
29-year-old Noor Alfallah—credited as a film producer—seems to be doing okay in life. She’s the soon-to-be mom expecting a child with Pacino. The pair have been dating for a year. She’s also known for having a connection to Mick Jagger. Sources tell Page Six she comes from a wealthy family and mature guys are kind of her thing. The kid will be Pacino’s fourth.
De Niro, Pacino’s friend for over 50 years now, became a dad to his seventh child. The Oscar winner is also a parent to Drena, 51, and Raphael, 46, from his first marriage to Diahne Abbott. He also has twins, Julian and Aaron, 27; Elliot, 24; and Helen Grace, 11, from his second marriage to Grace Hightower. De Niro and Hightower announced they were divorcing in 2018. De Niro met Tiffany Chen—a tai chi instructor—on the set of The Intern (2015). Another one of my favorite films with De Niro, starring fellow native New Yorker, Anne Hathaway. Chen has a small roll as martial arts instructor. They began dating in 2021, and are now the proud parents of daughter Gia, who arrived in April 2023.
If you want to get technical, the whole “daddy issues” way of looking at women who choose these relationships has been debunked. As for the mothers of Pacino’s and De Niro’s new kids, they were secure finance-wise long before they even dated them. Sources say, Noor Alfallah is Kuwaiti-American and her father is an oil investor. Tiffany Chen has been an accomplished martial artist most her life, from an accomplished family. Sure there’s a natural curiosity to these dynamics, but these are grown women. They weren’t trafficked or groomed, or slipped pills by a rapey TV dad against their will. Sometimes people are locked onto their life’s trajectory and the creative output needed to make it work. That’s Pacino and De Niro. It doesn’t appear these guys are trying to change Alfallah and Chen. They’re too busy living their best life, and we should let them. Let the guys live, please. And if you struggle with a reason to, remember, Heat (1995) is flames though. It’s the definition of “understanding the assignment.”
