Vincent Piazza
Vincent Piazza | |
|---|---|
| File:Vincent Piazza 2012 Shankbone.JPG Piazza in 2012 | |
| Born | 1975 or 1976 (age 49–50) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Vincent Piazza (born 1975 or 1976)[1] is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of gangster Lucky Luciano in the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire. He has also played Earl Hefner in the comedy-drama Rocket Science (2007) and singer Tommy DeVito in Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of Jersey Boys (2014).
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Piazza was born in Middle Village, Queens, New York City, and raised in nearby Maspeth.[2][1] His father is Italian, having immigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. His mother is of German descent.[3]
Piazza played ACHA Division I-AA ice hockey for Villanova University, until a shoulder injury forced him to quit playing and leave the university after a year.[4]
Career
[edit | edit source]This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (June 2025) |
After retiring from hockey, he began to work with acting coach Alice Spivak and joined the TerraNOVA Collective theatre group in Lion Theatre along Theatre Row in New York City.[5] After appearing in a number of New York Off Broadway productions, including Baby Steps, A Match Made in Manhattan and Much Ado About Nothing,[5] he made his feature film debut in the 2006 film Stephanie Daley and went on to appear in the television movie The Dawn and an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.[4]
Piazza has appeared in three episodes of the television series The Sopranos; the eighth, eleventh and thirteenth episodes of the show's sixth season. He describes his experience working on the show as "incredible" and says he would appear in any prequels or sequels to the series if he was asked.[6] He then featured in the 2007 film Rocket Science as Earl Hefner, the kleptomaniac older brother of the film's protagonist. After auditioning at a casting session held at a New York acting school, he ended up being one of the first actors cast, writer-director Jeffrey Blitz saying: "Vince brought just the right combination of humor and threat to the part ... [I] kept many of the rest of the choices Vince brought to Earl. He's a very physical actor and a very funny one, too."[4] He went on to appear in the independent films Goodbye Baby, Tie a Yellow Ribbon and Apology, as well as guest-starring in an episode of Law & Order, before he landed the recurring role of Tony in Rescue Me's fourth season.
Piazza appeared in the 2008 film Assassination of a High School President in the role of Ricky Delacruz. He had originally unsuccessfully auditioned for a different part, but Brett Simon, the film's director, was fond of his performance in Rocket Science and so suggested that he take on another role.[6] In order to master a Hispanic accent for the role, he visited a woman he knew who runs a Puerto Rican theatre in Manhattan and usually coached Puerto Ricans to adapt American accents, to have her coach him to read his lines in a thick Puerto Rican accent.[6] He also completed a television pilot directed by Brett Ratner, Blue Blood, for which he had a seven-year contract if the series had been picked up by NBC.[6]
Piazza was then cast as a series regular on Boardwalk Empire in 2009 as real life Italian-American mobster Lucky Luciano, appearing in all five seasons. In 2013, Piazza won the role of Tommy DeVito in the Clint Eastwood-directed adaptation of the Broadway musical Jersey Boys. Piazza had to take vocal, guitar, and dance lessons to play DeVito, one of the founding members of the band The Four Seasons.[7]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Piazza was in a relationship with singer Ashlee Simpson from June 2011 to November 2012. As of May 21, 2018, he was engaged to actress Genesis Rodriguez but the relationship ended shortly after they became engaged.[8]
Filmography
[edit | edit source]Film
[edit | edit source]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Color of a Doubt: an Urban Fable | Chris Parker | |
| 2006 | Stephanie Daley | Geoff | |
| 2006 | The Dawn | Scott | |
| 2007 | Rocket Science | Earl Hefner | |
| 2007 | Goodbye Baby | Dominick | |
| 2007 | Tie a Yellow Ribbon | Ed | |
| 2008 | Assassination of a High School President | Ricky Delacruz | |
| 2010 | Polish Bar | Reuben | |
| 2014 | 3 Nights in the Desert | Barry | |
| 2014 | Jersey Boys | Tommy DeVito | |
| 2015 | The Wannabe | Thomas | |
| 2016 | The Intervention | Peter | |
| 2017 | Never Here | Andy Williams | |
| 2017 | The Girl Who Invented Kissing | Jimmy | |
| 2020 | Centigrade | Matt | |
| 2020 | 618 to Omaha | Ed Merriweather | Short film |
Television
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Eric Newsome | Episode: "Wrongful Life" |
| 2007 | The Sopranos | Hernan O'Brien | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Law & Order | Peter Harris | Episode: "Over Here" |
| 2007 | Rescue Me | Tony | 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Blue Blood | Bobby Moran | TV pilot |
| 2009 | How I Met Your Mother | Bus Boy | Episode: "The Rough Patch" |
| 2010–2014 | Boardwalk Empire | Lucky Luciano | Main Cast |
| 2019 | The Passage | Clark Richards | |
| 2021 | Pacific Rim: The Black | Joel | Animated series; voice role |
| Money, Explained | Scam Artist | docuseries; Episode: "Get Rich Quick" | |
| 2022–present | Tulsa King | Vince Antonacci | Main role[9] |
| 2024 | Batman: Caped Crusader | Tony Zito | Voice role |
References
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- ^ Rennison, Billy. "Vincent Piazza dishes on going from Queens to the 'Boardwalk'", Queens Courier, September 14, 2012. Accessed March 15, 2023. "Vincent Piazza — born in Middle Village before moving to neighboring Maspeth shortly thereafter, where his family still lives — grew up watching the films of Martin Scorsese, never imagining he would one day be directed by the film giant."
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Vincent Piazza at IMDb
- As Boardwalk Empire Meets its Final Season, Vincent Piazza Shines as Lucky Luciano Tiziano Thomas Dossena, L'Idea Magazine, 2014
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- 21st-century American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male stage actors
- American male television actors
- American people of German descent
- American people of Italian descent
- Archbishop Molloy High School alumni
- Living people
- Male actors from Queens, New York
- People from Maspeth, Queens
- People from Middle Village, Queens
- Villanova Wildcats athletes