Frank Vincent
Encyclopedia
Frank Vincent is an American
actor
, musician
, author
and entrepreneur
. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese
, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas
(1990) and Casino
(1995). He often plays a gangster and works both in features and television. He has also lent his voice talents to video games. He played the New York
Boss
Phil Leotardo in the HBO series The Sopranos
.
, was born Frank Vincent Gattuso in North Adams, Massachusetts
. His father, Frank Vincent Gattuso, Sr., was at one time an iron worker. but in later life a businessman. Vincent has two brothers: Nick and Jimmy, and a half sister, Fran Fernandez. His father was one of six children Lucy/Lucille (Lucia), Phillip (Filippo), Tony (Antonio), Frank, James [Jimmy] and Cecilia [Ceil]). All the boys were born in North Adams, Massachusetts and the girls in New York to Italian immigrants Nicolò Gattuso and Francesca Di Peri. He is of Sicilian (paternal grandfather) and Neapolitan descent.
, and piano
, Vincent originally aspired to a career in music but in 1975 he co-starred in the low-budget gangster movie The Death Collector
along with Joe Pesci
where they were spotted by Robert De Niro
, De Niro told Martin Scorsese
about the both of them who were impressed by their performances and hired Vincent to appear in a major supporting role in Raging Bull (1980), in which he once again appeared with Pesci. The two would go on to appear together in several other movies. Another familiar co-star and good friend of Vincent's is Robert De Niro
, who is also friends with Pesci. Vincent had small but memorable roles in two Spike Lee
films in 1989 and 1991 respectively: Do the Right Thing
and Jungle Fever
.
Vincent is usually typecast
as a gangster
. He appeared in Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas
, where he played Billy Batts, a made man
in the Gambino crime family
. He also played a prominent role in Scorsese's 1995 film Casino as Frank Marino (based on real-life gangster Frank Cullotta), the sidekick
of Pesci's character. It has been noted that in Goodfellas, Pesci's character beats Vincent's to death, while Vincent's character returns the favor in Casino.
In 1996, Vincent appeared in rap artist Nas
' video "Street Dreams" as his character Frankie Marino from Casino. The video mirrors Casino at certain times. In the television movie
Gotti, Vincent played Robert "DiB" DiBernardo
, an associate of Mafia
boss John Gotti
, whose life the film chronicled. In the HBO TV series The Sopranos
, he had his most prominent role yet, as Phil Leotardo, a ruthless New York gangster who, as boss
of the show's fictional Lupertazzi crime family, becomes the show's chief antagonist in the final season.
Vincent also had a leading role in the heist movie This Thing of Ours
in 2003. One of his more light-hearted roles came when he was in a British
television commercial for Peugeot
cars. In early 2005, Frank Vincent appeared on Irish
television in a series of television commercials for Irish bank Permanent TSB. In 1999, he won the Italian American Entertainer of the Year Award. Another noted performance is his appearance in the 2003 film Remedy
. In 2001, Vincent lent his voice to Mafia boss Salvatore Leone in the controversial computer and video game Grand Theft Auto III
. He later reprised that role in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
(2004) and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
(2005).
In 2006, he released his first book, A Guy's Guide to Being a Man's Man to positive reviews. His idol is Dean Martin
. He has also released a line of hand-rolled cigars which have his picture prominently displayed on the band.
In the summer of 2008, he played Lieutenant Marino in the independent film The Tested
directed by Russell Costanzo and in 2009, he made a cameo appearance alongside fellow Sopranos actor Steve Schirripa
in Stargate Atlantis
episode "Vegas".
He starred in Chicago Overcoat
in 2010 as the main protagonist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
(1990) and Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
(1995). He often plays a gangster and works both in features and television. He has also lent his voice talents to video games. He played the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Boss
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
Phil Leotardo in the HBO series The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
.
Early life
Vincent, an Italian AmericanItalian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
, was born Frank Vincent Gattuso in North Adams, Massachusetts
North Adams, Massachusetts
North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state...
. His father, Frank Vincent Gattuso, Sr., was at one time an iron worker. but in later life a businessman. Vincent has two brothers: Nick and Jimmy, and a half sister, Fran Fernandez. His father was one of six children Lucy/Lucille (Lucia), Phillip (Filippo), Tony (Antonio), Frank, James [Jimmy] and Cecilia [Ceil]). All the boys were born in North Adams, Massachusetts and the girls in New York to Italian immigrants Nicolò Gattuso and Francesca Di Peri. He is of Sicilian (paternal grandfather) and Neapolitan descent.
Career
As an accomplished player of the drums, trumpetTrumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Vincent originally aspired to a career in music but in 1975 he co-starred in the low-budget gangster movie The Death Collector
The Death Collector
The Death Collector is a 1976 low-budget crime film directed by Ralph De Vito and starring Joseph Cortese, Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent...
along with Joe Pesci
Joe Pesci
Joseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, comedian, and musician.He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks...
where they were spotted by Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, De Niro told Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
about the both of them who were impressed by their performances and hired Vincent to appear in a major supporting role in Raging Bull (1980), in which he once again appeared with Pesci. The two would go on to appear together in several other movies. Another familiar co-star and good friend of Vincent's is Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, who is also friends with Pesci. Vincent had small but memorable roles in two Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
films in 1989 and 1991 respectively: Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American dramedy produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who is also a featured actor in the film. Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. It is also notably the...
and Jungle Fever
Jungle Fever
Jungle Fever is a 1991 American drama film directed by Spike Lee, starring Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra. It was Lee's fifth feature-length film. The film mainly explores interracial relationships...
.
Vincent is usually typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
as a gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
. He appeared in Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
, where he played Billy Batts, a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
in the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
. He also played a prominent role in Scorsese's 1995 film Casino as Frank Marino (based on real-life gangster Frank Cullotta), the sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
of Pesci's character. It has been noted that in Goodfellas, Pesci's character beats Vincent's to death, while Vincent's character returns the favor in Casino.
In 1996, Vincent appeared in rap artist Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
' video "Street Dreams" as his character Frankie Marino from Casino. The video mirrors Casino at certain times. In the television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Gotti, Vincent played Robert "DiB" DiBernardo
Robert DiBernardo
Robert DiBernardo, also known as "DB", was a caporegime in the Gambino crime family...
, an associate of Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
boss John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
, whose life the film chronicled. In the HBO TV series The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, he had his most prominent role yet, as Phil Leotardo, a ruthless New York gangster who, as boss
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
of the show's fictional Lupertazzi crime family, becomes the show's chief antagonist in the final season.
Vincent also had a leading role in the heist movie This Thing of Ours
This Thing of Ours (film)
This Thing of Ours is a crime/drama film released in 2003 starring Frank Vincent, Danny Provenzano, Edward Lynch, Vincent Pastore and James Caan...
in 2003. One of his more light-hearted roles came when he was in a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television commercial for Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
cars. In early 2005, Frank Vincent appeared on Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
television in a series of television commercials for Irish bank Permanent TSB. In 1999, he won the Italian American Entertainer of the Year Award. Another noted performance is his appearance in the 2003 film Remedy
Remedy (film)
Remedy is an American 2005 crime drama directed by Christian Maelen and written by Sandy Eiges, Nicholas Reiner, and Charlotte Wise. The film stars Maelen, Arthur Nascarella, Jon Doscher, Frank Vincent, Vincent Pastore, and Chuck Zito.-Production:...
. In 2001, Vincent lent his voice to Mafia boss Salvatore Leone in the controversial computer and video game Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
. He later reprised that role in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
(2004) and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar North and Rockstar Leeds. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto series...
(2005).
In 2006, he released his first book, A Guy's Guide to Being a Man's Man to positive reviews. His idol is Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
. He has also released a line of hand-rolled cigars which have his picture prominently displayed on the band.
In the summer of 2008, he played Lieutenant Marino in the independent film The Tested
The Tested
The Tested is a 2009 independent feature film written and directed by Russell Costanzo and produced by Melissa B. Miller of . It is based on the award winning short of the same name.Chosen to participant in the 2009 & in New York City...
directed by Russell Costanzo and in 2009, he made a cameo appearance alongside fellow Sopranos actor Steve Schirripa
Steve Schirripa
Steven R. "Steve" Schirripa is an American actor, voice artist, producer, and comedian, best known for playing Bobby Baccalieri on The Sopranos....
in Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
episode "Vegas".
He starred in Chicago Overcoat
Chicago Overcoat
Chicago Overcoat is a feature length gangster film. The script was written by Brian Caunter, John W. Bosher, Josh Staman, and Andrew Alex Dowd, with Caunter also directing the film. The production filmed in Chicago and wrapped principal photography November 29, 2007...
in 2010 as the main protagonist.