James Russo

A Manhattan-born "tough guy" character lead and support, James (Vincent) Russo was born in New York City on April 23, 1953, to an Italian father and German mother. Raised in Flushing, New York, he graduated from the High School of Art and Design. He attended New York University where he wrote and starred in a prize-winning short film, "The Candy Store."Developing an interest in acting, he drove a cab and worked as a construction worker and gravedigger while pursuing acting jobs. Making his on-camera debut in the TV movie _Chicago Story (1981)_ (qv), James' first film was in the thriller _A Stranger Is Watching (1982)_ (qv). His first break came as a convenience store robber in _Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)_ (qv). It helped to give him the lead role in the highly obscure, low-budgeted noirish thriller _Vortex (1982)_ (qv). Possessed with a stare that could easily bring shivers down one's back, Russo would become an accessible villain over the years, memorably portraying a number of secondary psychopaths and gangsters, among other urban lowlifes, in such 80's films as _Once Upon a Time in America (1984)_ (qv), _The Cotton Club (1984)_ (qv), _Beverly Hills Cop (1984)_ (qv) and _The Blue Iguana (1988)_ (qv).Surprisingly, Russo is not a name or commodity, yet an intense and dependable "tough guy" performer he has proven to be. One only needs to be reminded of his sadistic sexual animal role in "Extremities" on stage (in which he won a 1983 Theatre World) and in the film version _Extremities (1986)_ (qv) (in which he terrorized poor 'Farrah Fawcett' (qv)), to recall how chillingly effective he could be. Other potent roles in films include _We're No Angels (1989)_ (qv), _My Own Private Idaho (1991)_ (qv), _Illicit Behavior (1992)_ (qv), _Da Vinci's War (1993)_ (qv), _Condition Red (1995)_ (qv), 'Kevin Costner' (qv)'s _The Postman (1997)_ (qv), _No Way Home (1996)_ (qv), _Donnie Brasco (1997)_ (qv) and _Open Range (2003)_ (qv). Russo appeared opposite 'Johnny Depp' (qv) in 'Roman Polanski' (qv)'s _The Ninth Gate (1999)_ (qv).On stage, James has to his credit, powerful roles in "Welcome to Andromeda," "Deathwatch" and "Marat/Sade." On TV he appeared as a guest on such crime series as "The Equalizer," "Miami Vice," "Crime Story," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Dellaventura."His looks hardening into the millennium, the veteran "bad guy" offered a penetrating cameo as 'Frank Sinatra' (qv) in _Stealing Sinatra (2003)_ (qv) and 'Rocky Graziano' (qv) in _The Bronx Bull (2016)_ (qv), plus rare-anti-hero parts in _The Box (2003)_ (qv), which he also wrote, and _Dreams and Shadows (2009)_ (qv). Back in "bad guy" form, Russo offered manly malice and menace in such low-budget indies as _Pendulum (2001)_ (qv), _Kings of the Evening (2008)_ (qv), _The House Next Door (2002)_ (qv), _The Hit (2007)_ (qv), _Dark World (2008)_ (qv), _Django Unchained (2012)_ (qv), _Samuel Bleak (2013)_ (qv) and _Badland (2019)_ (qv).Divorced in 2020 from studio teacher 'Bettina Russo' (qv), he has two children from that marriage.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net