John Turturro

John Turturro
Turturro at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	John Michael Turturro February 28, 1957 (1957-02-28) (age 52) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, Writer, Director
Years active	1980–present
Spouse(s)	Katherine Borowitz (1985-present)

John Michael Turturro (born February 28, 1957) is an American actor, writer, and director best known for his performances in Barton Fink (1991), Quiz Show (1994), The Big Lebowski (1998), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). He has appeared in over sixty movies, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He is well known for his ability to change both his demeanor and physique.

Early life

Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Katherine, an amateur jazz singer who worked in a Navy yard during World War II, and Nicholas Turturro, a carpenter and construction worker who fought as a Navy serviceman in D-Day.^[1][2] Turturro's mother was Sicilian and his father immigrated from Giovinazzo, Bari, Italy at the age of six.^[3] Turturro was raised a Catholic^[4] 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 Scorsese'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), She Hate Me (2004) and Miracle at St. Anna (2008).

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 O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). He has also appeared in several of Adam Sandler's movies, such as Mr. Deeds (2002) and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008). He played a severely disturbed patient of Jack Nicholson's in the comedy Anger Management and played Johnny Depp's antagonist in Secret Window. Before becoming a household name, Turturro made a cameo in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters.

He won an Emmy award for his portrayal of Adrian Monk's brother Ambrose Monk in the USA Network series Monk, and has reprised the role on numerous occasions. He has also been nominated and won many awards from film organizations such as Screen Actors Guild, Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globes, and others.^[5]

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 oddball Sector 7 agent Simmons in two films of the Transformers live-action series.

Personal life

Turturro's brothers are actor Nicholas Turturro and middle school art teacher Ralph Turturro. Actress Aida Turturro is Turturro's cousin. He has two children, Amedeo (born 1990) and Diego (born 2000). Turturro is Roman Catholic and his wife, actress Katherine Borowitz, is Jewish.^[2]

Turturro also participates as a member of the Jury for the NYICFF, a local New York City Film Festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18. ^[6]

Filmography

Film

• Raging Bull, 1980, Man at table (uncredited)
• Exterminator 2, 1984, as Guy #1
• The Flamingo Kid, 1984, as Ted from Pinky's
• Desperately Seeking Susan, 1985, as Ray
• To Live and Die in L.A., 1985, as Carl Cody
• Hannah and Her Sisters, 1986, as Writer
• The Color of Money, 1986, as Julian
• Gung Ho, 1986, as Willie
• Off Beat, 1986, as Neil Pepper
• Five Corners, 1987, as Heinz Sabantino
  • (Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for "Best Supporting Male")
• The Sicilian, 1987, as Pisciotta
• Do the Right Thing, 1989, as Pino
• Catchfire, 1990, as Pinella
• 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
  • (Won - Cannes Film Festival Award for "Best Actor")
• Mac, 1992, as Niccolò Vitelli; also directed and co-written by Turturro
  • (Nominated - Independent Spirit Awards for "Best Director" and "Best Feature")
  • (Won - 1992 Cannes Film Festival Award - "Golden Camera")
• Brain Donors, 1992, as Roland T. Flakfizer
• Being Human, 1993, as Lucinnius
• Fearless, 1993, as Bill Pearlman
• Quiz Show, 1994, as Herb Stempel
  • (Nominated - Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture"
  • Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role")
• The Search for One-eye Jimmy, 1994, as Disco Bean
• Search and Destroy, 1995, as Ron
• 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
  • (Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for "Best Male Lead")
• La Tregua, 1997, as Primo Levi
• The Last Bet, 1997, as Leon
• Illuminata, 1998, directed by Turturro
  • (Nominated - Cannes Film Festival Award - "Golden Palm")
• Rounders, 1998, as Joey Knish
• He Got Game, 1998, as Billy Sunday
• O.K. Garage, 1998, as Jonny
• The Big Lebowski, 1998, as Jesus Quintana
• Summer of Sam, 1999, as the voice of the Demon
• Cradle Will Rock, 1999, as Aldo Silvano
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?, 2000, as Pete
  • (Nominated - MTV Movie Award for "Best On-Screen Team" with George Clooney and Tim Blake Nelson)
• The Man Who Cried, 2000, as Dante Dominio
• Company Man, 2000, as Crocker Johnson
• The Luzhin Defence, 2001, as Alexander Luzhin
• Monkeybone, 2001, as Monkeybone (voice)
• Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, 2001, as Walker
• Collateral Damage, 2002, as Armstrong
• Monday Night Mayhem, 2002, as Howard Cosell
  • (Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries")
• 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
  • (Nominated - Saturn Award for "Best Supporting Actor")
• The Good Shepherd, 2006, as Ray Brocco
• Quelques jours en septembre, 2006, as William Pound
• The Bronx is Burning, 2007, as Billy Martin
  • (Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries")
• Transformers, 2007, as Agent 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, as Harvey Brickman
• What Just Happened, 2008, as Dick Bell
• You Don't Mess With The Zohan, 2008, as Fatoush 'The Phantom' Hakbarah
• Miracle at St. Anna, 2008, as Detective Antonio 'Tony' Ricci
• Nutcracker: The Untold Story, 2009, as The Rat King
• The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, 2009, as Camonetti
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2009, as Agent Reggie Simmons
• Rehearsal for a Sicilian Tragedy, Himself (also writer and producer)

Audio Book

• World War Z, 2007, as Serosha Garcia Alvarez

Television

• Miami Vice, episode 1x16, 1985
• Monk, 2004-2005, as Ambrose Monk
• The Bronx is Burning, 2007, as Billy Martin
• Flight of the Conchords, 2007, as himself.
• Monk (Mr. Monk's 100TH Case, 2008).... as Ambrose Monk

References

External links

• John Turturro at the Internet Movie Database
• John Turturro at TV.com