Tony Sirico
Tony Sirico | |
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Sirico in 2010 | |
Born |
Genaro Anthony Sirico Jr. July 29, 1942 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1974–present |
Family | Robert Sirico (brother) |
Genaro Anthony Sirico Jr. (born July 29, 1942)[1] is an American actor, best known for his role as Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri in The Sopranos and various roles in the films of Woody Allen.
Early life
Sirico was born in New York City, New York on July 29, 1942.[1]
As a teenager, Sirico was part of a street gang which had feuds with communities of African-Americans and the Irish. He later recalled that he was shot on the steps of St Brendan's Catholic Church in Brooklyn, by a rival Irish thug.
Before turning to acting, he was convicted of several crimes and had been arrested 28 times.[2][3] In 1967, he was sent to prison for robbing a Brooklyn after-hours club, but was released after serving 13 months. In 1971, he pleaded guilty to felony weapons possession and was sentenced to an "indeterminate" prison term of up to four years, of which he ended up serving 20 months. It is alleged that he was an associate of Colombo crime family captain Jimmy "Green Eyes" Clemenza during the late 1960s to mid 1970s. In a 1989 interview, Sirico has admitted that he has spent prison time within several penitentiaries including Woodbourne, Sing Sing and Wallkill. In 1999, he and Sopranos co-star Vincent Pastore were seen meeting Clemenza and his brother, a Colombo soldier, at a Christmas party in Little Italy; Clemenza was under FBI surveillance at the time.[4] He has said that during his imprisonment, he was visited by an acting troupe composed of ex-convicts, which inspired him to give acting a try.[5] According to a court transcript, at the time of his sentencing, he also had pending charges for drug possession.[6] He appeared in a 1989 documentary about life, The Big Bang, by James Toback, in which he discussed his earlier life.
Career
His first confirmed role in film was in Crazy Joe in 1974, with the help of Richard Castellano. Sirico has played gangsters in a number of films, including Goodfellas, Mob Queen, Mighty Aphrodite, Love and Money, Fingers, The One Man Jury, Defiance, The Last Fight, Innocent Blood, Bullets over Broadway, The Pick-up Artist, Gotti, The Search for One-eye Jimmy, Cop Land, Turn of Faith, Hello Again, and Mickey Blue Eyes.
He also played policemen in the films Dead Presidents and Deconstructing Harry. Sirico's most acclaimed acting job was that of Paulie Gualtieri in David Chase's Emmy award winning drama, The Sopranos. He originally auditioned for the role of Uncle Junior with Frank Vincent, but Dominic Chianese landed the role. David Chase instead offered him the role of playing Paulie Gualtieri, Sirico agreed under the condition that his character would not "become a rat".[7]
In late 2013, he voiced the character of Vinny Griffin, who was the family's pet dog in Family Guy (replacing Brian Griffin after his death; Brian would later be saved via time travel two episodes after Vinny's debut).[8] Sirico also made a live-action cameo in the episode "Stewie, Chris, & Brian's Excellent Adventure", where he threatens Stewie, who had insulted Italians, calling them "ridiculous people".
In 2018, he reunited with former Sopranos actors, Federico Castelluccio and Vincent Pastore, in Sarah Q.[9]
Personal life
Sirico's brother, Robert Sirico, is a Catholic priest and co-founder of the free-market Acton Institute.[10]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Crazy Joe | N/A | N/A |
1978 | Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell | Frankie Rio | N/A |
Fingers | Riccamonza | N/A | |
The One Man Jury | Charlie Nuts | N/A | |
1980 | Defiance | Davey | N/A |
1981 | So Fine | Associate | N/A |
1982 | Love & Money | Raoul | N/A |
1983 | Exposed | Thief | N/A |
The Last Fight | Frankie | N/A | |
1987 | The Galucci Brothers | Galucci Brother | N/A |
The Pick-up Artist | Patsy Cabaluso | N/A | |
Hello Again | Tough Guy | N/A | |
1989 | White Hot | Luke | N/A |
Cookie | Carmine's Wiseguy | N/A | |
The Big Bang | Himself | Documentary | |
1990 | Catchfire | Greek Guy | N/A |
Goodfellas | Tony Stacks | N/A | |
1991 | 29th Street | Fortunado | N/A |
1992 | Innocent Blood | Jacko | N/A |
1993 | New York Cop | Mr. C | N/A |
Romeo Is Bleeding | Malacci | N/A | |
1994 | Men Lie | Porno Witness | N/A |
Bullets over Broadway | Rocco | N/A | |
The Search for One-eye Jimmy | Snake | N/A | |
1995 | Dead Presidents | Officer Spinelli | N/A |
Mighty Aphrodite | Boxing Trainer | N/A | |
Melissa | Jack | N/A | |
Casino | Extra (Mickey's crew: signal happy gambler) | N/A | |
Dearly Beloved | Mr. Bedutz | Short film | |
1996 | Everyone Says I Love You | Escaped Convict | N/A |
1997 | Hoodlum | Driver | N/A |
Deconstructing Harry | Police Officer | N/A | |
Cop Land | Toy Torillo | N/A | |
The Deli | Tony | N/A | |
The Good Life | Junior | Never released[11] | |
1998 | Mob Queen | Joey (The Heart) Aorta | N/A |
Celebrity | Lou DeMarco | N/A | |
1999 | Mickey Blue Eyes | Risolli Guard | N/A |
2000 | It Had to Be You | Ricky Valentino | N/A |
2001 | Smokin' Stogies | Tony Batts | N/A |
2002 | Turn of Faith | Jimmy | N/A |
2008 | The Sno Cone Stand Inc | Bob Beasley | N/A |
2009 | Karma Calling | G | N/A |
2010 | Skate | Skate | Short film |
2012 | Jersey Shore Shark Attack | Captain Salie | N/A |
2013 | Super Athlete | Coach Lou | N/A |
Zarra's Law | Tony Zarra | N/A | |
Family on Board | Rocco | Short film | |
2014 | Friends and Romans | Bobby Musso | N/A |
2015 | Touched | Anthony | N/A |
2016 | Café Society | Vito | N/A |
2017 | Wonder Wheel | Angelo | N/A |
2018 | Sarah Q | Mr Danny | (post-production) |
TBA | Respect the Jux | Bobby | (post-production) |
2019 | Street Justice | Johnny | (pre-production) |
Made in Chinatown | Al Capella | (pre-production) | |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | Kojak | Greek God | Episode: "Case Without a File" |
1982 | Police Squad! | Poker Player | Episode: "Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)" |
1989 | Miami Vice | Frank Romano | Episode: "Fruit of the Poison Tree" |
Perfect Witness | Marco | Television film | |
1992 | In the Shadow of a Killer | Tony Andretti | Television film |
1996 | Cosby | Teddy | Episode: "Happily Ever Hilton" |
Gotti | Joe Dimiglia | Television film | |
1998 | Witness to the Mob | Thomas Gambino | Television film |
Vig | Locasso | Television film | |
1999–2007 | The Sopranos | Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri | 86 episodes |
2005 | The Fairly OddParents | Big Daddy | 2 episodes |
2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Mobster | TV special |
2010 | Chuck | Matty | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Fake Name" |
Medium | Big Daddy | Episode: "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day" | |
2013–2014 | Lilyhammer | Tony Tagliano | Episodes: "2.8: Ghosts" and "3.8: Loose Ends" |
2013 | Nicky Deuce | Charlie Cement | Television film |
2013–2016 | Family Guy | Vinny Griffin/Himself | Voice Episodes: "Life of Brian", "Into Harmony's Way", "Christmas Guy", "The Boys in the Band", and "Stewie, Chris & Brian's Excellent Adventure" (Live Action) |
2014 | Taxi Brooklyn | Tony | Episode: "Revenge" |
2016 | The Grinder | Sebastian | Episode: "Grinder v Grinder" |
2017 | American Dad! | Enzo Perotti | Episode: "Garbage Stan" |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | The Sopranos: Road to Respect | Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri | Voice |
Awards and nominations
References
- 1 2 "Tony Sirico Biography". The Biography Channel/A+E Networks. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
- ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (July 15, 1990). "A Real Tough Guy: Tony Sirico's rap sheet: 28 arrests and 27 acting jobs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
- ↑ "Artie's Goose Is Coked", New York Post, May 2, 2006
- ↑ "SOPRANOS MADE MOB SCENE FBI spotted actors at '99 Colombo fete". The Daily News. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ Rothstein, Mervyn (March–April 2001). "The Sopranos: Mob Rule - The wiseguys of HBO's The Sopranos take a shot at another season of the award-winning show". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
- ↑ From Sing Sing to Bada Bing, thesmokinggun.com, accessed July 17, 2007.
- ↑ "How Tony Sirico's Criminal Past Prepared Him To Play Paulie Walnuts On 'The Sopranos'". Uproxx. Christian Long. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ↑ Family Guy's Shocking Death: Boss Reveals Why They Decided to Kill Off (Spoiler)!
- ↑ "Five 'Sopranos' stars are reuniting for this brand new movie". Shortlist. Alex Finnis. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ↑ "Acton Institute Press Releases". Acton.org. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ↑ "The wild, untold story of The Good Life". Little White Lies. February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
External links
- Tony Sirico on IMDb