Al Pacino’s Iconic iPhone

Al Pacino, quite possibly the greatest actor of all time, has reemerged as a cultural figure and unparalleled style icon in recent years, following incredible turns in The Irishman and the “what a picture” gif from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He dresses like a guy who shops at The Row, all decked out in beautiful, drapey fabrics, only I’m not sure if Al Pacino knows what The Row is. He’s always in all black, often in sunglasses, and he usually looks extremely comfortable. This, to me, is “goals.”

Lately, however, the fascination with Pacino’s style has transcended his clothing and shifted to his tech accessories, namely: his wired iPhone headphones.

Back in February, Pacino was photographed walking and dancing while listening to music. For years I was taught to be careful with wired headphones for fear of them catching on something and at best, clotheslining me and at worst, decapitating me completely. But here is an acclaimed actor doing it without a care in the world. Maybe it is my turn to be brave.

The obsession with Pacino and his wired iPhone headphones continued through the late winter and early spring. Here he is again walking and talking.

Here he is at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, wired iPhone headphones plugged in.

Time bends back on itself: although Gen Z is getting all the credit for “bringing back” the wired headphones, here is someone of note and stature and advanced age doing so with ease, class, and humor. Long live the days of buying a pair of Skullcandy headphones from Target for, I don’t know, $17, which is what they still cost. Inflation is everywhere but in the wired headphones market.

This weekend, however, the investigation of Pacino’s iPhone took a turn. Producer Marie Bardi asked what is going on with Pacino’s iPhone case.

The question on all our minds:

It was confirmed, late last night, by Olivia Pacino, the actor’s youngest daughter, that her father’s iPhone case is indeed a collage of Shrek, as we live and breathe. The case, available on Amazon for under $10 (a steal!), features not only Shrek in one iteration, but several, dotting the back of the phone case like a sun-dappled forest of green.

Whether this phone case was a gift — from his daughter, from his friend Robert De Niro, from his friend Lady Gaga, his ex-girlfriend Meital Dohan who broke up with him due to their near-four decade age difference, anyone — or something that Pacino himself purchased online and patiently waited two days to arrive (does Al Pacino have Prime?), the Shrek case and the wired iPhone headphones are all a necessary and good reminder that having a smartphone can actually be so fun. You can listen to music, talk to your friends, and buy a beShrekked case that reminds you why you got into the movie-making business in the first place.