Joe Pantoliano

"Joey Pants" redirects here. For the Canadian politician, see Joe Pantalone.
Joe Pantoliano
Pantoliano in February 2009
Born
Joseph Peter Pantoliano

(1951-09-12) September 12, 1951 (age 73)
Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.
Other namesJoey Pants
OccupationActor
Years active1974–present
Spouses
  • Morgan Kester
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1979; div. 1985)​
  • Nancy Sheppard
    ​
    (m. 1994)​
Children4

Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American actor who has played over 150 roles across film, television, and theater.[1][2] He is best known for portraying Ralph "Ralphie" Cifaretto on the HBO crime drama The Sopranos (1999–2007), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Cypher in the sci-fi action film The Matrix (1999).

After early roles in the television series M*A*S*H and the comedy film Risky Business, Pantoliano gained recognition for numerous supporting roles in films and television shows such as Hill Street Blues, The Goonies, La Bamba, Empire of the Sun, Midnight Run, NYPD Blue, Memento, and Bad Boys and its sequels. He also appeared in The Fugitive and its spin-off U.S. Marshals. He began working with the Wachowskis in their directorial debut Bound, and later appeared in their film The Matrix and their sci-fi series Sense8.

Pantoliano has published two memoirs and is active in the field of mental health, having documented his mother's issues and his own. He founded the nonprofit No Kidding, Me Too! which is dedicated to removing the stigma from mental illness.[3]

  1. ^ Ebert, Roger (October 11, 2007). "The serious side of Joey Pants". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020. Consider Joe Pantoliano. Famous for 'The Sopranos,' established as a character actor playing gangster and comic types, known by everyone, including himself, as 'Joey Pants'
  2. ^ Malkin, Marc (October 5, 2018). "Joe Morton, Jessica Walter, Joe Pantoliano to Be Honored at Carney Awards". variety.com. Variety Media LLC. Retrieved April 12, 2020. Joe Pantoliano...will be honored at this year's Carney Awards. Named in honor of the late Art Carney, the Carney Awards were launched ... to celebrate Hollywood's leading character actors.
  3. ^ "A Tough Guy Battles Back- Joe Pantoliano". ibpf.org. International Bipolar Foundation. October 14, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2020. Inspired by his role in Canvas, Pantoliano created No Kidding, Me Too!, a nonprofit dedicated to removing the stigma associated with mental illness.