Casey Siemaszko

A round-faced, slightly pudgy former juvenile lead who moved character roles in his 20s and 30s, Casey Siemaszko was born and raised in a Polish ethnic community in Chicago, IL. His father, a Holocaust survivor, ran a dance troupe and Casey (born Kazimierz) debuted with them at age five. His first paying job, however, was as an extra in the Stuttgart Ballet production of "The Taming of the Shrew". Siemaszko studied at the Goodman Theater School, where he acted in several stage productions. After debuting in "Class" (1983), he went on to appear as Jerry O'Connell's older brother in "Stand By Me" (1986) and played the doomed high school student in "Three O'Clock High" (1987). Siemaszko earned critical praise for his turn as the vulnerable cowboy in "Young Guns" (1988) while "Breaking In" (1989) teamed him with Burt Reynolds as the veteran's youthful partner-in-crime. In the 1992 remake of "Of Mice and Men". he was properly menacing as the farm boss' nasty son. More recently, the actor, who can be a commanding screen presence with the proper material, has been virtually wasted in throwaway supporting roles in "The Phantom" (1996) and "Bliss" (1997).

He has fared somewhat better on the small screen, notably as the doomed gunner who longs to be a cartoonist in "The Mission", the 1985 Steven Spielberg-directed episode of the NBC anthology series "Amazing Stories". Siemaszko won attention for his lead performance as a bank robber with a facility for disguises in the based-on-fact TV-movie "The Chase" (NBC, 1991). The actor was seemingly typecast as the half-Polish Joey Stivic, the grandson of Archie Bunker, who visits the old neighborhood in the premiere episode of the short-lived CBS sitcom "704 Hauser Street" in 1994. More recently, he was impressive as an angry homicide detective in "Mistrial" (HBO, 1996) and as a Scotsman wooing a young frontierswoman in "Rose Hill", 1997 CBS presentation of "Hallmark Hall of Fame".