James Russo

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James Russo

Born	April 23, 1953 (1953-04-23) (age 55) New York City, New York

James Vincent Russo (born April 23, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 90 films in three decades.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Career
2 Filmography
3 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Russo was born in New York City, New York. A graduate of New York University (NYU), he wrote and starred in the prize-winning short film, The Candy Store. Before his first break in acting, he drove for a cab company and was also a gravedigger.

[edit] Career

Russo's first role in his acting career was in the 1981 made-for-television movie Chicago Story. He would then go on to star in many hit films of the 1980s. His big (but small role) came in the 1982 cult classic comedy film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as a convenience store robber. In 1984, his other big role came in the hit film Beverly Hills Cop as Mikey Tandino, the friend of Axel Foley who gets murdered. Also in 1984, he starred in The Cotton Club, and played small-time hood Bugsy in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America. Russo's other big role was as a brutal rapist in the 1986 drama Extremities, opposite Farrah Fawcett. He also starred in the 1988 drama-suspence-thriller film Freeway.

Russo's film roles in the 1990s include State of Grace (1990), A Kiss Before Dying (1991) - in which he played a private investigator who is helping Sean Young's character investigate the murder of her twin sister - and My Own Private Idaho (also 1991). Russo also had roles in the 1994 movie Western Bad Girls, the 1997 hit films The Postman (as Idaho, the brutal sergeant of the Holnist army), and Donnie Brasco.

In 2003, Russo was reunited with his co-star from The Postman, Kevin Costner, in the Western film Open Range. He has also made guest appearances in many TV dramas and movies, including The Equalizer, Miami Vice, CSI, CSI: Miami and Las Vegas.