In the 1970s, whistleblower Frank Serpico exposed rampant bribery in the New York Police Department. Serpico, a cop himself, ended up getting shot in the face when fellow officers wouldn’t come to his ...

As Pacino recounts his discussions with the real-life Serpico in his memoir Sonny Boy, the actor was drawn to the fact that the former cop did not fall into the temptation of accepting payoffs.