AceShowbiz -

Adding another prestigious prize into his collection of trophies, Al Pacino was overwhelmed with emotion upon being bestowed this year's American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award at a gala reception held in Hollywood's Kodak Theatre Thursday night June 7.

"It means so many things to be honored like this," the veteran actor said gratefully. "It feels great."

Coming to laud the 67-year-old thespian were a number of Hollywood heavyweights, including Andy Garcia, Jamie Foxx, and director Oliver Stone among others.

"The depth of your artistry is only more overwhelmed by the generosity of your spirit and your warmth," said Garcia, who paired with the man in "The Godfather: Part III." "You're Van Gogh. You're Modigliani. That's who you are."

While Foxx, Pacino's co-star in "Any Given Sunday" regarded him as "the greatest actor in the world", Stone, who directed the New York native in 1983's "Scarface", simply pointed to his "wicked sense of humor" and "great, if misunderstood, heart."

"It is with great love and respect that I say goodnight to the bad guy," he remarked, recalling one of Pacino's famous lines from the gangster flick.

Pacino, the 2001 honoree of Golden Globes' Cecil B. De Mille Award, discovered acting at an early age to then begin to build his path in the field through a series of stage productions before coming to prominence in the 1972 blockbuster "The Godfather." So far he has scored eight Academy Awards nominations, winning one in 1992 for his role as Lt. Col. Frank Slade in "Scent of a Woman."