Joe Pantoliano

Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American actor who has played over 150 roles across film, television, and theater.^[1][2] He is best known for portraying Ralph "Ralphie" Cifaretto on the HBO crime drama The Sopranos (1999–2007), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Cypher in the sci-fi action film The Matrix (1999).

After early roles in the television series M*A*S*H and the comedy film Risky Business, Pantoliano gained recognition for numerous supporting roles in films and television shows such as Hill Street Blues, The Goonies, La Bamba, Empire of the Sun, Midnight Run, NYPD Blue, Memento, and Bad Boys and its sequels. He also appeared in The Fugitive and its spin-off U.S. Marshals. He began working with the Wachowskis in their directorial debut Bound, and later appeared in their film The Matrix and their sci-fi series Sense8.

Pantoliano has published two memoirs and is active in the field of mental health, having documented his mother's issues and his own. He founded the nonprofit No Kidding, Me Too! which is dedicated to removing the stigma from mental illness.^[3]

Early life

Joseph Peter Pantoliano was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 12, 1951,^[4] the son of Italian-American parents Mary (née Centrella) and Dominic "Monk" Pantoliano.^[5] His mother was a bookmaker and seamstress, while his father was a hearse driver and factory foreman.^[6][7] His family moved to Cliffside Park, New Jersey, where he attended Cliffside Park High School.^[8] He attended the HB Studio and studied extensively under actors Herbert Berghof and John Lehne.^[9]

Career

Pantoliano first grew to fame as Guido the killer pimp in 1983's Risky Business. In 1985 he appeared as the villainous Francis Fratelli in teen classic The Goonies. He gained fame among a new generation as Cypher in the 1999 landmark sci-fi film The Matrix. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Ralph Cifaretto in HBO's The Sopranos.^[10]

Pantoliano is also known for his role as Eddie Moscone, the foul-mouthed, double-crossing bail bondsman, in the Robert De Niro comedy Midnight Run, as Captain Conrad Howard in Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Bad Boys for Life and Bad Boys: Ride or Die, as double-crossed mafioso Caesar in Bound, as John "Teddy" Gammell in Memento, and as investigative journalist Ben Urich in Mark Steven Johnson's 2003 Daredevil adaptation. He played Deputy U.S. Marshal Cosmo Renfro in The Fugitive along with Tommy Lee Jones and reprised the role in the sequel U.S. Marshals.

In 2003 Pantoliano replaced Stanley Tucci in the Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.

In 2012 Pantoliano starred as the eccentric pawn broker Oswald Oswald in the film adaptation of Wendy Mass's popular children's book Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, written and directed by Tamar Halpern.^[11] In 2013, he was cast as Yogi Berra in the Broadway production of Bronx Bombers,^[12] but dropped out during rehearsals due to "creative differences."^[13] From 2015 to 2018 he played Michael Gorski in the Wachowskis' Netflix series Sense8.

Personal life

Pantoliano was married to Morgan Kester from 1979 until they divorced in 1985. He married his second wife, former model Nancy Sheppard, in 1995; they have four children together,^[14] and reside in Connecticut.^[15] He was introduced to Sheppard by actress Samantha Phillips.^[16]

During his tenure on The Sopranos, Pantoliano struggled to stay anonymous in his native New Jersey; when filming his scenes as Ralph, he prevented the public from recognizing him by wearing a wig based on the hairstyle of filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who had previously directed him in Memento.^[17] Ralph's secret use of a wig later became a minor plot point in one episode of the show.^[18]

On October 9, 2007, Pantoliano announced on the National Alliance on Mental Illness blog that he had been suffering from clinical depression for the last decade, although he was only formally diagnosed recently. He also has dyslexia.^{[citation needed]} He said that his 2006 film Canvas helped him come to terms with his depression.^[19] Rather than hide his illness from the public, he chose to speak out about it to remove some of the stigma commonly associated with mental illness. He founded a nonprofit organization called No Kidding, Me Too! which aims to unite members of the entertainment industry in educating the public about mental illness.^[20] The title comes from the response he has frequently heard after revealing how mental illness affected him and his family. He directed, wrote, and starred in the documentary No Kidding! Me 2!! (2009).^[21]

Pantoliano is the author of two memoirs: Who's Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy and Asylum: Hollywood Tales From My Great Depression: Brain Dis-Ease, Recovery, and Being My Mother's Son. He revealed in the latter that he struggled with alcoholism, food addiction, sex addiction, and addictions to Vicodin and Percocet before being diagnosed with clinical depression.^[22]

On May 1, 2020, Pantoliano suffered a concussion and chest trauma when he was struck by a vehicle while walking in his neighborhood.^[15]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

• Who's Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy, Joe Pantoliano, David Evanier, Dutton Books (2002), ISBN 978-0525946779
• Asylum, Joe Pantoliano, Hachette Books (2013), ISBN 978-1602861992

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Pantoliano.

• Joe Pantoliano at IMDb
• Joe Pantoliano interview with ABILITY Magazine