John Turturro Biography
Summary
"John Michael Turturro" (born February 28, 1957) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor noted for his performances in "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985), "The Color of Money" (1986), "Five Corners" (1987), "Men of Respect" (1991), "Quiz Show" (1994), "Monday Night Mayhem" (1999), "Secret Window" (2004), "The Bronx is Burning" (2007), "Transformers" (2007) and a variety of collaborations with Spike Lee and The Coen Brothers. He has appeared in over sixty movies, and is well known for his ability to change both his demeanor and physique.
Biography
Early life
Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York to Katherine, an amateur jazz singer who worked in a Navy yard during World War II, and Nicholas Turturro, a carpenter and construction worker who immigrated from Giovinazzo, Italy at the age of six and fought as a Navy serviceman in D-Day. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and moved to the Rosedale section of Queens, New York with his family when he was six. He majored in drama at the State University of New York at New Paltz, and completed his MFA at the Yale School of Drama. He first appeared on film working as an extra in Martin Scorcese's critically acclaimed "Raging Bull" (1980).
Career
Turturro created the title role of John Patrick Shanley's "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" at the Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in 1983. He repeated it the following year off-Broadway and won an Obie Award. Spike Lee liked Turturro's performance in "Five Corners" so much that he chose to cast him in "Do the Right Thing". This movie was the first of a long-standing collaboration between the famous director and John Turturro, which also includes "Mo' Better Blues" (1990), "Jungle Fever" (1991), "Clockers" (1995), "Girl 6" (1996), "He Got Game" (1998), "Summer of Sam" (1999), and "She Hate Me" (2004).
A versatile actor comfortable with both comedy and drama, Turturro also had an extended collaboration with the Coen Brothers, appearing in their films "Miller's Crossing" (1990), "Barton Fink" (1991), "The Big Lebowski" (1998), and most recently "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000). He also appeared as a severely disturbed patient of Jack Nicholson's in the comedy "Anger Management" and played Johnny Depp's antagonist in "Secret Window". Turturro is also an occasional guest star on "Monk" as Adrian's eccentric brother, Ambrose Monk. Before becoming a household name, Turturro made a cameo in the Woody Allen film "Hannah and Her Sisters". One of his comedy performances has attracted a cult following: his breezy take on Groucho Marx in the neglected 1992 comedy "Brain Donors", an update of "A Night at the Opera" starring Turturro as an ambulance-chasing lawyer.
He won an Emmy award for his portrayal of Adrian Monk's brother Ambrose Monk in the USA Network series "Monk". He has also been nominated and won many awards from many film organizations such as Screen Actors Guild, Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globes, and others. Despite his many acclaimed performances, Turturro has never been nominated for an Academy Award.
Turturro produced and directed, as well as acted in, the film "Illuminata" (1999), which also starred his wife Katherine Borowitz. He also wrote and directed the film "Romance and Cigarettes" (2005). He recently appeared in Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd" as the right hand man of C.I.A. man Edward Wilson (Matt Damon), and as the insidious Sector 7 agent Simmons in Michael Bay's "Transformers".
Personal life
John's brothers are actor Nicholas Turturro, and middle school art teacher, Ralph Turturro. Actress Aida Turturro is John Turturro's cousin. He has two children, Amedeo and Diego Turturro. Turturro is Roman Catholic and his wife is Jewish.
Filmography
"Raging Bull", 1980, uncredited extra
"Desperately Seeking Susan", 1985, as Ray
"Hannah and Her Sisters",1985
"To Live and Die in L.A.", 1985, as Carl Cody
"The Color of Money", 1986, as Julian
"Five Corners", 1987, as Heinz Sabantino
"The Sicilian", 1987, as Pisciotta
"Do the Right Thing", 1989, as Pino
"State of Grace", 1990, as Nick
"Mo' Better Blues", 1990, as Moe Flatbush
"Miller's Crossing", 1990, as Bernie Bernbaum
"Men of Respect", 1991, as Mike Battaglia
"Jungle Fever", 1991, as Paulie Carbone
"Barton Fink", 1991 as Barton Fink
"Mac", 1992, as Niccolò Vitelli; also directed and co-written by Turturro
"Brain Donors", 1992, as Roland T. Flakfizer
"Fearless", 1993, as Bill Pearlman
"Quiz Show", 1994, as Herb Stempel
"Unstrung Heroes", 1995, as Sidney Lidz
"Clockers", 1995, as Det. Larry Mazilla
"Girl 6", 1996, as Murray
"Box of Moon Light", 1996, as Al Fountain
"La Tregua", 1997, as Primo Levi
"Illuminata", 1998, directed by Turturro
"Rounders", 1998, as Joey Knish
"He Got Game", 1998, as Billy Sunday
"The Big Lebowski", 1998, as Jesus Quintana
"Summer of Sam", 1999, as the voice of Harvey
"Cradle Will Rock", 1999, as Aldo Silvano
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?", 2000, as Pete
"The Man Who Cried", 2000, as Dante Dominio
"Company Man", 2000, as Crocker Johnson
"The Luzhin Defence", 2001, as Alexander Luzhin
"Thirteen Conversations About One Thing", 2001, as Walker
"Collateral Damage", 2002, as Armstrong
"Monday Night Mayhem", 2002, as Howard Cosell
"Mr. Deeds", 2002, as Emilio
"Fear X", 2003, as Harry
"Anger Management", 2003, as Chuck
"Opopomoz", 2003, as voice
"She Hate Me", 2004, as Don Angelo Bonasera
"Secret Window", 2004, as John Shooter
"The Good Shepherd", 2006, as Ray Brocco
"Quelques jours en septembre", 2006, as William Pound
"Transformers", 2007, as Reggie Simmons
"Romance and Cigarettes", 2007, as Male Dancer & Singer; also directed and written by Turturro
" (Margot at the Wedding) ", 2007, as Jim
"Slipstream", 2007
"What Just Happened?", 2008, as Dick Bell
"Nutcracker: The Untold Story", 2008, as The Mouse King
Television appearances
"Monk", 2004-2005, as Ambrose Monk
"The Bronx is Burning", 2007, as Billy Martin
External links
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about John Turturro.
