Tony Sirico

Tony Sirico
Born	Genaro Anthony Sirico, Jr. (1942-07-29) July 29, 1942 New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974–present

Genaro Anthony "Tony" Sirico, Jr. (born July 29, 1942)^[1] is an American actor who is best known for his role as Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri in the HBO series The Sopranos.

Early life

Sirico was born in New York City, New York.^[1] Before turning to acting, he was convicted of several crimes, and had been arrested 28 times.^[2][3] In 1967, he was sent to prison for robbing a Brooklyn after-hours club, but was released after serving thirteen months. In 1971, he pled guilty to felony weapons possession and was sentenced to an "indeterminate" prison term of up to four years, of which he ended up serving 20 months. Sirico said that during his imprisonment, he was visited by an acting troupe composed of ex-convicts, which inspired him to give acting a try.^[4] According to a court transcript, at the time of his sentencing, he also had pending charges for drug possession.^[5] He appeared in a 1989 documentary about life, The Big Bang, by James Toback, in which he discussed his earlier life.

Career

Sirico has played gangsters in a number of films, including Goodfellas, Mob Queen, Mighty Aphrodite, Love and Money, Fingers, The One Man Jury, Defiance, The Last Fight, Innocent Blood, Bullets over Broadway, The Pick-up Artist, Gotti, The Search for One-eye Jimmy, Cop Land, Turn of Faith, Hello Again, and Mickey Blue Eyes.

Sirico's best known role has been playing the gangster Paulie Gualtieri on The Sopranos (1999-2007).

He also played policemen in the films Dead Presidents and Deconstructing Harry.^[6] Recently, he told the host of a Las Vegas radio show he would be playing the role of an ill-tempered high school football coach in an upcoming comedy for children called Sports Heaven. He is currently set to star in the upcoming drama Zarra's Law, written and produced by Joseph Scarpinito for Scarpe Diem Productions. In late 2013, he voiced the character of Vinny Griffin, who was the family's pet dog in Family Guy for three episodes.^[7]

Personal life

Sirico and James Gandolfini with a member of the U.S. Air Force during a USO visit to Southwest Asia.

Sirico's brother, Robert, is a Catholic priest and co-founder of the free-market Acton Institute.^[8]

Sirico has stated that, politically, he is a "far-to-the-right Republican".^[9] He donated $1,200 to Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Tony Sirico at the Internet Movie Database