Armand Assante Biography
Summary
"Armand Anthony Assante, Jr." (born October 4, 1949) is an American actor.
Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York to Katherine, a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian, and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family.
During the 1970s, Assante was a regular on two NBC soap operas, "How to Survive a Marriage"
as Johnny McGee and "The Doctors" as Dr. Mike Powers.
His first film was "The Lords of Flatbush" (1974). A role that brought him greater attention came in 1980's "Private Benjamin" as a handsome Frenchman who becomes the love interest of a U.S. soldier played by Goldie Hawn.
Assante's somewhat sinister look has made him a popular choice for tough-guy heroes, as in his starring role as private eye Mike Hammer in the film "I, the Jury" (1982) or as Mafia gangsters like that of Michael Moretti in "Sidney Sheldon's Rage of Angels". He portrayed the notorious Bugsy Siegel in a comedy, Neil Simon's "The Marrying Man" (1991), another mobster in "Hoffa" (1992) starring Jack Nicholson and crime kingpin John Gotti in the 1996 made-for-television biopic "Gotti", for which he won his Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.
Other notable film appearances include one as a Cuban bandleader in "The Mambo Kings" opposite Antonio Banderas and in the adaptation of the science-fiction story "Judge Dredd" with Sylvester Stallone, his co-star in two previous films. More recently he appeared in "American Gangster" (2007) with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. He has had a recurring guest star role in several episodes of "NCIS", playing the international arms dealer René Benoit.
Outside of the U.S., he has participated in several film projects in Eastern European countries like Macedonia, Turkey, Serbia and Romania.
Assante was married to Karen McArn from 1982 to 1994. He lives in upstate New York and has two daughters, Anya and Alessandra.
Awards and nominations
Emmy Awards
1989 - "Nominated" Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Miniseries or a Movie for his portrayal of Richard Mansfield in "Jack the Ripper"
1996 - "Won" Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie for his portrayel of Mafia Don John Gotti
Golden Globe Awards
1989 - "Nominated" Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for "Jack the Ripper"
1991 - "Nominated" Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for "Q&A"
1997 - "Nominated" Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for "Gotti"
1998 - "Nominated" Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for "The Odyssey"
Screen Actors Guild Awards
1997 - "Nominated" - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for "Gotti"
Filmography
Films
"The Lords of Flatbush" (1974)
"Paradise Alley" (1978)
"Prophecy" (1979)
"Little Darlings" (1980)"
"Private Benjamin" (1980)
"Love and Money" (1982)
"I, the Jury" (1982)
"Rage of Angels" (1983) (TV)
"Unfaithfully Yours" (1984)
"Belizaire the Cajun" (1986)
"Hands of a Stranger" (1987) (TV)
"Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story" (1987) (TV)
"The Penitent" (1988)
"Jack the Ripper" (1988) (TV)
"Eternity" (1989)
"Animal Behavior" (1989)
"Q&A" (1990)
"The Marrying Man" (1991)
"The Mambo Kings" (1992)
"1492: Conquest of Paradise" (1992)
"Hoffa" (1992)
"Fatal Instinct" (1993)
"Blind Justice" (1994) (TV)
"Trial by Jury" (1994)
"Judge Dredd" (1995)
"Kidnapped" (1995) (TV)
"Striptease" (1996)
"Gotti" (1996) (TV)
"The Odyssey" (1997) (TV)
"The Hunley" (1999) (TV)
"The Road to El Dorado" (2000) (voice)
"On the Beach" (2000) (TV)
"Looking For An Echo" (2000)
"Last Run" (2001)
"One Eyed King" (2001)
"Federal Protection" (2002)
"Partners in Action" (2002)
"Citizen Verdict" (2003)
"Tough Luck" (2003)
"Consequence" (2003)
"Casanova's Last Stand" (2005)
"Children of Wax" (2005)
"Dot.Kill" (2005)
"The Third Wish" (2005)
"Mirror Wars: Reflection One" (2005)
"Two for the Money" (2005)
"Confessions of a Pit Fighter" (2005)
"Funny Money" (2006)
"Dead Lenny" (2006)
"Soul's Midnight" (2006)
"Surveillance" (2006)
"Mexican Sunrise" (2007)
"California Dreamin'" (2007)
"When Nietzsche Wept" (2007)
"American Gangster" (2007)
"Shark Swarm" (2008) (TV)
"La Linea" (2008)
"The Man Who Came Back" (2008)
"The Lost" (2009)
"The Bleeding" (2009)
"Chicago Overcoat" (2009)
"Order of Redemption" (2009)
"Shadows in Paradise" (2009)
"Killer By Nature" (2009)
"Magic Man" (2009)
"The Steam Experiment" (2009)
"The Sixth Family" (2009)
Television
"The Doctors" (1975-1977)
"Jack the Ripper" (1988)
"Push, Nevada" (2002)
"ER" (2006)
"NCIS" (2007)
"October Road" (2008)
""Chuck" (2010)
External links
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Armand Assante.
