Vincent D'Onofrio

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Vincent D'Onofrio
Born June 30, 1959 (age 47)
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Spouse(s) Carin van der Donk (1997 - Present)
Notable roles Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket
John Lange Homicide: Life on the Street "The Subway", (Emmy Nomination)
Edgar/The Bug in Men in Black

Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio (born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is well known for playing Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

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[edit] Early life

Vincent D'Onofrio was born in Brooklyn, New York. His family moved around in his youth, and he grew up in Hawaii, Florida, and Colorado. He graduated from Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School in Florida in 1977 and then attended a Colorado University for about 18 months. He then dropped out of college to pursue acting. He was accepted for study with the American Stanislavsky Theatre in New York City. [1]

[edit] Career

In 1984, D'Onofrio became a full member of the American Stanislavsky Theatre and appeared in a number of its productions, including Of Mice and Men and Sexual Perversity in Chicago. He also made his Broadway debut as Nick Rizzoli in Open Admissions . Before this breakthrough, he had been acting in New York University student films and was working as a bouncer. [1]

In 1987 D'Onofrio entered the mainstream consciousness with two film roles that showcased his range as an actor. Most notable was the role of Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film, Full Metal Jacket. This was D'Onofrio's first major role, and he gained 70 pounds (32 kg) for the part (see List of actors who gained or lost weight for a role). [2] The other role was that of Dawson, the owner of Dawson's Garage in Adventures in Babysitting, which was directed by Chris Columbus. D'Onofrio only appears in one pivotal scene (near the end of the movie), but his role was memorable in that his muscular physique and long blonde hair cause Sara (the film's youngest character) to mistakenly believe that he is actually Thor, the superhero she idolizes.

In the time since, D'Onofrio has continued to play a wide variety of roles, including iconic director Orson Welles in Tim Burton's Ed Wood, farmer Edgar and the evil "Bug" from Men In Black, Yippie founder Abbie Hoffman in Steal This Movie, time traveler from the distant future in Happy Accidents, and fictional serial killer Carl Stargher in The Cell.

He also has dabbled in film production and direction, having, to date, produced two movies, The Whole Wide World and Guy in 1996 and 1997, respectively, executive produced two others, The Velocity of Gary in 1998 and Steal This Movie in 2000 and directed the short Five Minutes, Mr. Welles in 2005. This last represents a culmination of D'Onofrio's desire to improve on his performance as Welles in Ed Wood, which reputedly left director Tim Burton underwhelmed and in need of a voice-over artist (Maurice LaMarche) despite D'Onofrio's uncanny physical resemblance to the late actor/director.

D'Onofrio has since moved to the small screen. He received an Emmy nomination in 1997 for his appearance as John Lange, the doomed victim in the acclaimed "Subway" episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. He currently stars as Detective Robert Goren, a principal character, on the NBC television show Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

In 2003, it was reported that D'Onofrio and Joe Pantoliano began work on a small film titled "Little Victories" about a 12-year old boy whose perceptions of the world are forever changed when his gangster uncle comes to live with him. No release date has been published.[3]

In November 2005, he won Best Actor at the Stockholm International Film Festival for his role as Mike Cobb in the independent film Thumbsucker.

In 2006, D'Onofrio again appeared on the big screen in The Break Up, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. In it, D'Onofrio played Vaughn's somewhat eccentric brother. This fraternal pairing of the two was regarded by many as a clever casting choice, since the two actors have similar physical features and mannerisms that, combined with having the same first name, cause many casual movie fans to confuse the two actors. The two had previously appeared together in The Cell, where Vaughn co-starred as an FBI agent attempting to catch D'Onofrio.

[edit] Personal life

D'Onofrio has a daughter, Leila George D'Onofrio, born 1992 in Australia. Leila's mother is actress Greta Scacchi, with whom D'Onofrio made several movies in the late '80s and early '90s (including The Player and Fires Within). D'Onofrio married Carin van der Donk on March 22, 1997. The couple have a son Elias, born 1999. [2] D'Onofrio and van der Donk separated in October 2003 [4], and have since reconciled and remain married. D'Onofrio and his family reside in New York where Law & Order: Criminal Intent is filmed. [5]

In late 2004, D'Onofrio experienced a health scare when he collapsed on the set of Law & Order: Criminal Intent on November 10. He collapsed again at home a few days later and was taken back to the hospital for more thorough testing, where he was diagnosed with exhaustion. [6] Subsequently, the series' producers introduced a second team of detectives in 2005, Mike Logan (Chris Noth) and Carolyn Barek (Annabella Sciorra), later replacing Sciorra with Julianne Nicholson playing Detective Megan Wheeler. [7]

D'Onofrio stands 6' 4" tall.

[edit] Partial filmography

[edit] Television (including notable guest appearances)

[edit] Documentaries

  • Anatomy of a Homicide, PBS (1998)[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b NBC Universal Media Village: Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Vincent D'Onofrio
  2. ^ a b IMDB Vincent D'Onofrio (I) - Biography
  3. ^ The Hollywood Reporter: Pantoliano, D'Onofrio in 'Little' film
  4. ^ My Way - Liz Smith November 16, 2003
  5. ^ NBC.com > Law & Order: Criminal Intent > Bios > Vincent D'Onofrio
  6. ^ Variety.com - D'Onofrio returns to 'Law and Order'
  7. ^ NBC Universal Media Village: Law & Order: Criminal Intent

[edit] External links

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