Biography
So authentic was his portrayal of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on the groundbreaking family crime drama "The Sopranos" (HBO, 1998-2007), that it was easy to dismiss Vincent Pastore's work on the series as not so much acting, but rather as someone merely playing themselves. For someone who came to his chosen profession late in life, Pastore demonstrated a surprising range when given the chance, as well as a dedication to the craft. A …
Vincent Pastore SlideShow
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Career Milestones
| Grew up in New Rochelle, New York | ||
| Managed and owned nightclubs in New Rochelle; became friends with clubgoers Matt and Kevin Dillon who convinced him to pursue acting | ||
1989 | Credited as Vinny Pastore in Nancy Savoca's "True Love" | |
1990 | Acted in two movies starring Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese's "GoodFellas" and Penny Marshall's "Awakenings"; credited for both as Vinny Pastore | |
1992 | First association with director Ted Demme, "The Bet" | |
1992 | First of four appearances on NBC's "Law & Order", playing Dominick in "Wedded Bliss" episode | |
1993 | Acted in Brian De Palma's "Carlito's Way" | |
1993 | Played Tony 'Clams' Como in Demme's feature directorial debut, "Who's the Man?" | |
1994 | Appeared as a State Trooper in Demme's "The Ref"; first feature credit as Vincent Pastore | |
1995 | Breakthrough film, "The Jerky Boys" opposite Alan Arkin | |
1996 | Portrayed Angelo Ruggiero in HBO movie "Gotti" | |
1997 | Acted with future "Sopranos" co-stars Tony Sirico and Michael Imperioli in John Andrew Gallagher's "The Deli" | |
1997 | Appeared in CBS miniseries, "Mario Puzo's The Last Don" | |
1998 | Played Mikey DeBatt in NBC miniseries, "Witness to the Mob" | |
1999 | Acted in the TV-movie "A Slight Case of Murder" (TNT), starring William H Macy and Felicity Huffman | |
1999 | Appeared in Norman Jewison's "The Hurricane" | |
1999 | Played a funny mobster named Al in "Mickey Blue Eyes", opposite James Caan | |
1999 | Portrayed 'Big Pussy' Bompensiero, the right-hand man and confidant of Tony Soprano in HBO's acclaimed cult mob series, "The Sopranos"; character was killed in the second season | |
2000 | Reteamed with Gallagher for "Blue Moon" | |
2002 | Cast as Tony in the feature comedy "Servicing Sara" | |
2003 | Along with Frank Vincent, co-starred in the mafia feature "This Thing Of Ours" | |
2004 | Guest starred as an attorney on ABC's "The Practice" | |
2004 | Voiced Luca in the animated feature "Shark Tale" | |
2005 | Cast in "Revolver," written and directed by Guy Ritchie (released theatrically in 2007) | |
2006 | Appeared on the fourth season of the VH1 reality show "Celebrity Fit Club" | |
2007 | Signed on for the fourth season of "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC); withdrew from the competition after only one week, after finding the necessary training and preparation too physically demanding; replaced by actor John Ratzenberger | |
Awards
2000 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2001 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |