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Robert Davi

 
Actor: Robert Davi
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Jun 26, 1953 in Astoria, Queens, New York
  • Occupation: Actor, Writer, Director
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Action, Drama
  • Career Highlights: Licence to Kill, Raw Deal, Showgirls
  • First Major Screen Credit: Raw Deal (1986)

Biography

Rugged, tall, and heavily pock-marked, actor Robert Davi has built a long career out of playing anonymously ethnic bad guys. Born in Queens, NY, to Italian parents, he studied opera, Shakespeare, and stage acting under the wing of Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler before becoming one of Hollywood's most recognizable villains. His big feature-film break came in 1977, playing opposite Frank Sinatra in the detective drama Contract on Cherry Street. He would go on to appear with other superstars, toting guns as a mobster, corrupt cop, or general villain in numerous action movies. One of his most noticeable roles was as a Fratelli brother in The Goonies. He also played bad guys on television, building a long list of credits in popular series like The Fall Guy, The A-Team, and Wiseguy. Mostly a supporting actor, his first lead role was as a Palestinian terrorist in the TV movie Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami. His tough guy career reached its culmination in 1989, in the role of James Bond villain Franz Sanchez in License to Kill. After that, he occasionally broke out of the pattern and appeared in comedies and dramas. His first leading good guy part was in 1996 as FBI agent Bailey Malone in the NBC drama The Profiler. He even went so far as to star in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy The 4th Tenor and Rob Schneider's The Hot Chick. In 2002, Davi appeared in The Sorcerer's Apprentice as Merlin, lent his voice to the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and gained a starring role as Nick in the thriller Hitters. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Robert Davi
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Robert Davi
Born June 26, 1951 (1951-06-26) (age 58)
Astoria, Queens, New York

Robert Davi (born June 26, 1951)[1] is an American character actor. Davi is best remembered for his role as the villain Franz Sanchez in the James Bond film Licence to Kill, but also played roles such as Vietnam veteran and Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard and the villainous, singing Fratelli brother, Jake, in The Goonies. He also had roles in movies such as Predator 2 (as the frustrated by-the-book Police Chief Philip Heinemann), and Showgirls.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Davi was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the son of Maria (née Rulli) and Sal Davi. His mother was an Italian American and his father was a native of Southern Italy; Davi spoke Italian during his childhood. He attended Seton Hall, a Catholic high school in Patchogue (Long Island), New York.[1] He graduated from Hofstra University, the same alma mater as fellow James Bond villain Christopher Walken. Davi was drawn to Hofstra because of the school's Shakespearean 'round' theatre.

Career

Davi starred as FBI Task Force director Bailey Malone in NBC's Profiler and has a recurring role as the erstwhile Genii military leader, Commander Acastus Kolya, on Stargate Atlantis. He is the only actor to appear in all three of MGM's biggest franchises: James Bond, The Pink Panther and Stargate.

In 2004, he voiced the Covenant Elite, known as Spec-Ops Command Leader Half-Jaw in the game Halo 2. He reprised the role in Halo 3 (by which point his character had been promoted to Ship Master). He also co-starred in In the Mix, which marked the R&B singer Usher's first starring role. In 2005, he recorded a radio spot in support of California Proposition 73, the pro-life proposition that would have required that a physician notify in writing a parent or guardian at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor girl.[2]

Davi has played several villain roles during his lengthy career, including Franz Sanchez in the Bond film Licence to Kill (1989) and gangster Jake Fratelli in The Goonies (1985).

He directed his first feature film, a doo-wop/heist movie called The Dukes, receiving great acclaim at film festivals in the fall of 2007. The film co-stars Chazz Palminteri and Peter Bogdanovich and introduced film newcomer Greg London. [3]

Davi also narrated several film montages that aired during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Davi also spoke at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b Cigar Aficionado | People Profile | Robert Davi
  2. ^ Yes on 73 - News and Editorials
  3. ^ The Dukes: Official Movie Site

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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