Joe Pesci

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Birthday:

9 February 1943, Newark, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name:

Joseph Frank Pesci

Height:

163 cm

Compact Italian-American actor Joe Pesci was born February 9, 1943, in Newark, NJ, to Mary (Mesce), a part-time barber, and Angelo Pesci, a bartender and forklift driver. Pesci first broke into entertainment as a child actor and by the mid-50s was starring on the series "Star Time Kids". In the mid-'60s he released a record under the stage name of "Joe Ritchie" titled "Little Joe Sure Can Sing", and was also playing guitar with several bands, including Joey Dee and The Starliters. He even joined with friend Frank Vincent to start a vaudeville-style comedy act, but met with limited success (interestingly, Pesci and Vincent would later go on to co-star in several gangster films together, including Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995))Pesci's first film role was as an uncredited dancer in Hey, Let's Twist! (1961) and then he had to wait another 15 years for a minor part in The Death Collector (1976). His work in the second film was seen by Robert De Niro, who convinced director Martin Scorsese to cast him as "Joey LaMotta" in the epic boxing film Raging Bull (1980), which really got him noticed in Hollywood. He played opposite Rodney Dangerfield in Easy Money (1983), was with buddy DeNiro again in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), nearly stole the show as con man Leo Getz in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) and scored a Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing the psychotic Tommy DeVito in "Goodfellas".His comedic talents shone again in the mega-popular Home Alone (1990), and he put in a terrific performance as co-conspirator David Ferrie in JFK (1991). Pesci was back again as Leo Getz for Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), and was still a bumbling crook in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), and had a minor role in the Robert De Niro-directed A Bronx Tale (1993). He was lured back by Scorsese to play another deranged gangster named Nicky (based on real-life hood Tony Spilotro [aka "The Ant"]) in the violent Casino (1995), and starred in the comedies 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997) and Gone Fishin' (1997), although both failed to fire at the box office.He returned again as fast-talking con man Leo Getz in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998). Show less «

[on his good friend and My Cousin Vinny (1992) co-star, the late Fred Gwynne] It takes somebody who's very serious to pull off a character l...Show more »

[on his good friend and My Cousin Vinny (1992) co-star, the late Fred Gwynne] It takes somebody who's very serious to pull off a character like Herman Munster [from Gwynne's series The Munsters (1964)]. It's not simple to play the goof. Fred was not Herman. He was an intelligent, quiet gentleman. Show less «

[On Raging Bull] I remember being asked do you think we should shoot in black and white or in color. And I said black and white without any ...Show more »

[On Raging Bull] I remember being asked do you think we should shoot in black and white or in color. And I said black and white without any hesitation. Show less «

[On Robert De Niro] We work so well together. It's like breathing in and out. It's so easy for us- we feed off each other.

[On Martin Scorsese] Marty is probably the best director I've ever worked with and one of the best directors of our generation and previous ...Show more »

[On Martin Scorsese] Marty is probably the best director I've ever worked with and one of the best directors of our generation and previous generations. Show less «