Joe Pesci

Joseph Frank Pesci was born on February 9, 1943, in Newark, New Jersey, USA. The son of an Italian-American working-class family, Pesci began showing an interest in acting and music at a very young age. At just five years old, he appeared on stage in theater plays in New York, and by the age of ten, he was regularly appearing on television programs. As a teenager, he turned his attention to music, releasing an album under the name "Joe Ritchie," playing guitar in various groups, and performing stand-up comedy at comedy clubs. He began his film career with the low-budget independent crime film "The Death Collector" (1976). His performance in this film caught the attention of veteran actor Robert De Niro, who introduced him to director Martin Scorsese. This critical meeting led to Pesci's portrayal of Joey LaMotta, the brother and manager of boxer Jake LaMotta, in the film "Raging Bull" (1980), which would permanently change his career. His extraordinary performance earned him his first Academy Award (Oscar) nomination and BAFTA Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Although he appeared in productions such as "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984) during the 1980s, his golden age was in the 1990s. He became a cinematic legend with his unpredictable, psychopathic, and dangerous gangster Tommy DeVito role in the mafia masterpiece "Goodfellas" (1990), which was directed by Martin Scorsese, and this time he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The actor, who was not limited to hard-edged mafia roles, became a beloved figure among millions with his portrayal of the bumbling thief Harry Lyme in the iconic family comedy "Home Alone" (1990) and its sequel "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992). His comedic performance in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992) received great praise, and he expanded the boundaries of his talent by joining the "Lethal Weapon" series as Leo Getz. He maintained his legendary partnership with Scorsese and De Niro at the peak of his career with his role as the merciless mafia member Nicky Santoro in the film "Casino" (1995), which portrays the dark side of Las Vegas. In 1999, he announced his retirement from acting in order to focus on music and spend time on his personal life. After this decision, he stayed away from film sets for many years and only appeared in a few special projects. However, after long efforts by the legendary director Martin Scorsese, he made a grand return with the film "The Irishman" (2019). In this film, he portrayed the quiet, controlled, and wise mafia patriarch Russell Bufalino, delivering a performance far more mature than usual, and was nominated for the Oscar for the third time in his career. Finally, the master actor, who currently appears in the comedy series "Bupkis" (2023), continues to hold his esteemed place in cinematic history as a unique talent who can portray both extremely terrifying and incredibly funny characters with equal mastery.