Paul Anthony Sorvino (/sÉ"Ë rˈviË noÊŠ/, Italian: [sorˈviË no]; born
April 13, 1939) is an Italian-American actor, opera singer,
businessman, writer, and sculptor. He often portrays authority figures
on both sides of the law, and is known for his roles as Paulie Cicero
(based on Paul Vario) in the 1990 gangster film Goodfellas, and NYPD
Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the TV series Law & Order. He held supporting
roles in A Touch of Class, Reds, The Rocketeer, Nixon and Romeo +
Juliet. He is the father of actors Mira Sorvino and Michael
Sorvino.Sorvino was born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of
Brooklyn, New York City. His mother, Angela Maria Mattea (née Renzi),
was a homemaker and piano teacher, who was born in Connecticut, of
Italian (Molisan) descent. His father, Ford Sorvino, was an Italian
(Neapolitan) immigrant who worked in a robe factory as a foreman. He
attended Lafayette High School (where he was classmates with painter
Peter Max) and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.He began his
career as a copywriter in an advertising agency, where he worked with
John Margeotes, founder of Margeotes, Fertitta, and Weiss. He took 18
years of voice lessons. While attending The American Musical and
Dramatic Academy, he decided to go into the theatre. He made his
Broadway debut in the 1964 musical Bajour, and six years later he
appeared in his first film, Carl Reiner's Where's Poppa? starring
George Segal and Ruth Gordon. In 1971, he played a supporting role in
Jerry Schatzberg's critically acclaimed The Panic in Needle Park
starring Al Pacino and Kitty Winn.He received critical praise for his
performance as Phil Romano in Jason Miller's 1972 Broadway play That
Championship Season, a role he repeated in the 1982 film version. In
It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy, he played Harry Walters, real
estate salesman randomly picked up by a beautiful woman (JoAnna
Cameron) and raped at gunpoint as a prank. He also appeared in the
1976 Elliott Gould/Diane Keaton vehicle I Will, I Will... for Now. He
starred in the weekly series We'll Get By (1975, as George Platt),
Bert D'Angelo/Superstar (1976, in the title role) and The Oldest
Rookie (1987, as Detective Ike Porter). He also directed Wheelbarrow
Closers, a 1976 Broadway play by Louis La Russo II, which starred
Danny Aiello.
April 13, 1939) is an Italian-American actor, opera singer,
businessman, writer, and sculptor. He often portrays authority figures
on both sides of the law, and is known for his roles as Paulie Cicero
(based on Paul Vario) in the 1990 gangster film Goodfellas, and NYPD
Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the TV series Law & Order. He held supporting
roles in A Touch of Class, Reds, The Rocketeer, Nixon and Romeo +
Juliet. He is the father of actors Mira Sorvino and Michael
Sorvino.Sorvino was born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of
Brooklyn, New York City. His mother, Angela Maria Mattea (née Renzi),
was a homemaker and piano teacher, who was born in Connecticut, of
Italian (Molisan) descent. His father, Ford Sorvino, was an Italian
(Neapolitan) immigrant who worked in a robe factory as a foreman. He
attended Lafayette High School (where he was classmates with painter
Peter Max) and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.He began his
career as a copywriter in an advertising agency, where he worked with
John Margeotes, founder of Margeotes, Fertitta, and Weiss. He took 18
years of voice lessons. While attending The American Musical and
Dramatic Academy, he decided to go into the theatre. He made his
Broadway debut in the 1964 musical Bajour, and six years later he
appeared in his first film, Carl Reiner's Where's Poppa? starring
George Segal and Ruth Gordon. In 1971, he played a supporting role in
Jerry Schatzberg's critically acclaimed The Panic in Needle Park
starring Al Pacino and Kitty Winn.He received critical praise for his
performance as Phil Romano in Jason Miller's 1972 Broadway play That
Championship Season, a role he repeated in the 1982 film version. In
It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy, he played Harry Walters, real
estate salesman randomly picked up by a beautiful woman (JoAnna
Cameron) and raped at gunpoint as a prank. He also appeared in the
1976 Elliott Gould/Diane Keaton vehicle I Will, I Will... for Now. He
starred in the weekly series We'll Get By (1975, as George Platt),
Bert D'Angelo/Superstar (1976, in the title role) and The Oldest
Rookie (1987, as Detective Ike Porter). He also directed Wheelbarrow
Closers, a 1976 Broadway play by Louis La Russo II, which starred
Danny Aiello.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.