Joe Pantoliano | |
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![]() Pantoliano in February 2009 | |
Born | Joseph Peter Pantoliano September 12, 1951 Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. |
Other names | Joey Pants |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1974–present |
Spouses |
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Children | 4 |
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]
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'
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.
Inspired by his role in Canvas, Pantoliano created No Kidding, Me Too!, a nonprofit dedicated to removing the stigma associated with mental illness.