Pacino Pays Tribute to Co-Stars After Tony Loss

Al Pacino refused to be downhearted after missing out on a Tony Award forhis role in the Merchant of Venice and paid tribute to his co-stars in amoving speech after the New York prizegiving.

The Godfather star was nominated in the category for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his part in the Shakespeare classic, but lost out at Sunday's (12Jun11) show to Mark Rylance, who won for Jerusalem.

At an awards afterparty, the actor addressed his loss and paid tribute to the cast and crew of the play for their hard work, according to New York Post gossip column Page Six.

Pacino reportedly told the crowd, "To be on Broadway, with all of you, and every night we make dreams come true. Getting to know each other oversix, eight, 10 months, and here in New York City, it's just a wonderful thing. I probably would have said all this if I won the Tony".