Joseph Peter "Joe" Pantoliano is an American actor.
Pantoliano is best known for portraying Ralph Cifaretto on The Sopranos, Bob Keane in La
Bamba, Cypher in The Matrix, Teddy in Memento, Francis Fratelli in The Goonies, Guido in
Risky Business, Eddie Moscone in Midnight Run, and Caesar in Bound.
He also played Deputy U.S. Marshal Cosmo Renfro in both The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals.
He is often referred to as "Joey Pants" because of the difficulty some people have pronouncing
his Italian surname.
Early life Pantoliano was born in Hoboken, New Jersey,
the son of Italian American parents Mary, a bookie and seamstress, and Dominic "Monk"
Pantoliano, a hearse driver and factory foreman.
He attended HB Studio, and studied extensively with actors John Lehne and Herbert Berghof.
Career
He first grew to fame as "Guido the Killer Pimp" in Risky Business, and continued to
rise in 1985 when he appeared as the villainous Francis Fratelli in teen classic The Goonies.
He gained fame amongst a new generation as Cypher in the 1999 landmark sci-fi film The
Matrix, and won an Emmy as Ralph Cifaretto in HBO's The Sopranos.
Pantoliano is also known for his role as Eddie Moscone, the bail bondsman, in the Robert
De Niro comedy Midnight Run, 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 also played Deputy Marshal Cosmo Renfro in The Fugitive along with Tommy Lee Jones
and reprised the role in the sequel U.S. Marshals.
He is known for his portrayals of criminals, criminal investigators, detectives, and forensic
specialists with a wisecracking touch.
In 2003, Pantoliano replaced Stanley Tucci in the Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in
the Clair de Lune.
That same year he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The
Sopranos.
In 2012, Joe Pantoliano stars 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.
In 2013, he was cast in the role of Yogi Berra for the Broadway production of Bronx Bombers,
but he dropped out during rehearsals due to "creative differences".
When not acting, Pantoliano also writes.
He's 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.
In the latter, he writes about his addictions to alcohol, food, sex, Vicodin and Percocet,
before being diagnosed with clinical depression.
Personal life Pantoliano lives with his wife, former model
Nancy Sheppard, and their four children.
He was introduced to his wife by his friend, actress Samantha Phillips.
On October 9, 2007, Pantoliano announced on the National Alliance on Mental Illness blog
that he has been suffering from clinical depression for the last decade, although he was only
formally diagnosed recently.
He claims that his recent film Canvas was what helped him come to terms with his depression.
Rather than hide his struggle from the public, he has chosen to speak out about it to remove
some of the stigmas that are commonly associated with mental illness.
He founded a non-profit organization, No Kidding, Me Too!, to unite members of the entertainment
industry in educating the public about mental illness.
He is also dyslexic.
The title comes from the response he’s heard all too often after divulging how mental illness
affected him and his family.
He’s also shot a documentary called No Kidding, Me Too!.
Filmography Films
TV series Video games
Awards and nominations References
External links Official website
Joe Pantoliano at the Internet Movie Database Joe Pantoliano interview with ABILITY Magazine