The Irishman is a lot of things: an acting masterclass, a semi-fictionalized portrayal
of real life events and figures, and yet another fantastic addition to director Martin Scorsese's
film catalogue.
Among the esteemed cast of The Irishman is veteran character actress Kathrine Narducci,
who portrayed Carrie Bufalino, the wife of Joe Pesci's big boss character Russell.
"Why don't you go upstairs, wash up.
Give me those clothes.
I'll get rid of them."
If you found yourself wondering where you may have seen the woman behind Carrie Bufalino
before, you're not alone.
Narducci has carved out a widely varied body of work in feature films over nearly three
decades, proving herself to be one of the most versatile and reliable supporting players
in the business.
Let's take a deep dive into the career of Kathrine Narducci, and discover just why the
no-nonsense Carrie Bufalino from The Irishman looks so familiar.
A lot of actors spend years grinding their way into the business through bit parts on
small TV shows before getting their big break.
Kathrine Narducci certainly put in her time doing that, but she actually first came onto
the scene in a big way.
Her very first credited role was portraying Robert De Niro's wife in 1993's A Bronx Tale,
which De Niro also directed.
But as captivating as she is on the big screen, Kathrine Narducci brings just as much fire
power to television.
Fans of network TV may remember Narducci from her guest roles on the original Law & Order.
She appeared three separate times in three different roles during the series' fourth,
seventh, and eighth seasons in the 1990s.
Her multiple turns on Law & Order were an impressive appetizer to Narducci's future
success, as she was just warming up as a supporting player.
Narducci went on to make appearances on NYPD Blue, Third Watch, In Plain Sight, Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit, and Blue Bloods, to name a few.
Now, if those roles don't ring a bell for you, it's a pretty safe bet that you recognize
Kathrine Narducci from her role as a recurring character on one of the greatest TV dramas
ever.
On The Sopranos, Narducci played Charmaine Bucco, the wife of Artie Bucco, a childhood
friend of Tony Soprano.
Charmaine couldn't abide by Artie's infatuation with his buddy's gangster lifestyle, though
Artie himself never became a full-blown mobster.
She was a co-owner of Artie's restaurant, and it was eventually revealed that she had
a shrewd business mind.
With her dedication to hard work and her strong sense of community, it soon became clear that
Charmaine and Artie, whose primary motivation always seemed to be material success, were
on different paths.
The pair were recurring characters on The Sopranos' first two seasons, but Charmaine
and Artie both were promoted to regulars starting with season 3.
They separated for a time, and Artie unwittingly inserted himself further into Tony's world
when his restaurant became the center of a scam involving stolen credit card numbers.
Artie and Charmaine eventually reconciled, and they continued to figure peripherally
into The Sopranos' storyline through the show's final season in 2007.
By this point, you might think that Narducci's specialty is appearing in crime-dramas but
that's just not the case.
She's had appearances on the Comedy Central sitcom Workaholics, where she popped up for
two episodes as Maria when the gang moves to the suburbs.
In 2011, she appeared in an episode of the series Hung, with a one-off gig as Bernice.
Narducci also had a regular featured role as Frankie Lavarro in the Starz network drama
Power opposite Omari Hardwick, Naturi Naughton, and Curtis Jackson.
She appeared often as the boss and sometimes-mentor of one of the main characters, Angela.
More recently, she played opposite Robert De Niro in the Barry Levinson-directed TV
movie The Wizard of Lies, which chronicled the rise and fall of the infamous white collar
criminal Bernie Madoff.
In 2019, Narducci appeared in the crime drama serial Godfather of Harlem, a prequel series
to the 2007 feature film American Gangster.
While Narducci continued to rack up the TV guest spots, her appearances on the big screen
became more frequent after 2007.
Many of the feature gigs Narducci landed were comedies such as the anthology Made in Brooklyn
and The Deported, in which Narducci portrayed the character Cynthia.
She also appeared as Lorraine Lionello in the 2009 indie mob drama Chicago Overcoat.
These roles served to prepare her for a supporting turn in a feature film from an absolute giant
of cinema: director Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys, a biopic of the legendary pop group
the Four Seasons.
In the 2014 film, Narducci portrayed the mother of Frankie Valli, the pop icon with the towering
falsetto.
"You keep an eye on Frankie?
“Mrs. Castelluccio I never let anything happen to Frankie, my hand to God."
Since then, she's popped up in featured roles in flicks like the 2018 drama Cruise from
director Robert Siegel, the crime drama First We Take Brooklyn from the same year, and the
2019 comedy Bad Education, opposite Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney.
Next on tap for Narducci is a supporting role as Rosie in the Tom Hardy-starring biopic
Capone, written and directed by Josh Trank, and a role as Faith in the drama film Two
Ways to Go West, the sophomore feature from Trace director Ryan Brookheart.
With a resume as long as your arm and talent to spare, there's no doubt that Kathrine Narducci
will stay on casting directors' speed dial for many more years to come.
Thanks for watching.
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