Legendary actor Al Pacino was left so "horrified" by a nickname given to him on the set of a film that it saw him (very briefly) adopt a vegan lifestyle.

The Hollywood icon, famed for his roles in cinematic masterpieces like The Godfather trilogy, Dog Day Afternoon, and Any Given Sunday, was dubbed with an odd moniker back in the 1990s.

While filming The Local Stigmatic, Pacino developed a penchant for chicken, indulging so frequently in poultry products that the crew began to notice. This led to the creation of a comical nickname that would shock the star into changing his diet.

The reason behind his moniker became clear to X users after a viral social media post revealed a screenshot from the iMDB trivia page detailing Pacino's peculiar eating habits.

It stated: "Pacino reportedly ate so much chicken between takes that he earned the nickname Al Pa-chicken amongst the crew."

The post went on to reveal that once the filming concluded, Pacino was so taken aback by the amount of chicken he had consumed that he turned vegan for a total of 17 and a half hours and generously donated his earnings to a chicken sanctuary located in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Social media users were stunned by the fact and began calling for a biopic about this quirky episode in Pacino's life. One user humorously suggested: "They need to make a movie called '17 and a half hours' that charts the Al Pacino vegan period in full."

Another quipped about his fleeting attempt at a plant-based diet, with one humorously commenting: "'Became vegan for seventeen and a half hours' you mean he had a salad for lunch the next day."

Echoing the sentiment, another chimed in: "17 and a half hours isn't becoming vegan that's just eating something else for dinner."

Hollywood legend Pacino, who recently starred as Aldo Gucci in Ridley Scott's 'House of Gucci', is set to star in the forthcoming thriller, 'The Ritual'.