Joe Pesci
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Compact Italian-American actor Joe Pesci was born February 9, 1943 in Newark, New Jersey, 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-1950s, was starring on the series "Star Time Kids". In the mid-1960s, he released a record under the stage name 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 his 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 Chiến Hữu (1990) and Sòng Bạc (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 role 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 Bò Đực Nổi Điên (1980), which really got him noticed in Hollywood. He played opposite Rodney Dangerfield in Easy Money (1983), was with buddy DeNiro again in Nước Mỹ Một Thời (1984), nearly stole the show as con man Leo Getz in Vũ Khí Tối Thượng 2 (1989) and scored a Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing the psychotic Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas (1990).
His comedic talents shone again in the mega-popular Ở Nhà Một Mình (1990), and he put in a terrific performance as co-conspirator David Ferrie in JFK (1991). Pesci was back again as Leo Getz for Vũ Khí Tối Thượng 3 (1992), and was still a bumbling crook in Ở Nhà Một Mình 2: Lạc Ở New York (1992), and had a minor role in the Robert De Niro-directed Chuyện Ở Bronx (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 Sòng Bạc (1995), and starred in the comedies 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997) and Câu Cá Cùng Sát Nhân (1997), although both failed to fire at the box office.
Pesci returned again as fast-talking con man Leo Getz in Vũ Khí Tối Thượng 4 (1998). In 1999, he announced his retirement from acting and since then, he appeared only occasionally in films, including a cameo appearance in Hồ Sơ Một Điệp Viên (2006). He also appeared in the music documentary I Go Back Home: Jimmy Scott (2016).
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 role 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 Bò Đực Nổi Điên (1980), which really got him noticed in Hollywood. He played opposite Rodney Dangerfield in Easy Money (1983), was with buddy DeNiro again in Nước Mỹ Một Thời (1984), nearly stole the show as con man Leo Getz in Vũ Khí Tối Thượng 2 (1989) and scored a Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing the psychotic Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas (1990).
His comedic talents shone again in the mega-popular Ở Nhà Một Mình (1990), and he put in a terrific performance as co-conspirator David Ferrie in JFK (1991). Pesci was back again as Leo Getz for Vũ Khí Tối Thượng 3 (1992), and was still a bumbling crook in Ở Nhà Một Mình 2: Lạc Ở New York (1992), and had a minor role in the Robert De Niro-directed Chuyện Ở Bronx (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 Sòng Bạc (1995), and starred in the comedies 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997) and Câu Cá Cùng Sát Nhân (1997), although both failed to fire at the box office.
Pesci returned again as fast-talking con man Leo Getz in Vũ Khí Tối Thượng 4 (1998). In 1999, he announced his retirement from acting and since then, he appeared only occasionally in films, including a cameo appearance in Hồ Sơ Một Điệp Viên (2006). He also appeared in the music documentary I Go Back Home: Jimmy Scott (2016).
