Bio
Acclaimed actor, director, producer and best-selling author, Joe Pantoliano (affectionately known as Joey Pants) is celebrated for the richly-complex characters he has portrayed in over 100 film, television, and stage productions. His resume is filled with both critically acclaimed and commercially successful titles, a testament to his uncanny ability to pick (and make) a winner. A favorite of master filmmakers like Richard Donner, Steven Spielberg, Andrew Davis, and the Wachowski brothers, Pantoliano’s busy career spans over three decades of memorable roles in films like “Risky Business,” “The Goonies,” “La Bamba,” “Midnight Run,” "Bad Boys I and II," “Empire of the Sun,” “The Fugitive,” “The Matrix,” “Memento,” “Daredevil” and “Percy Jackson & The Olympians.” On television, his portrayal of eccentric mobster “Ralphie Cifaretto” in HBO’s landmark series “The Sopranos,” netted him a Best-Supporting Actor Emmy in 2003. Other television work has included a lead role in the popular show EZ Streets, as well as prominent roles in Arli$$, NYPD Blue, Outer Limits, and Roswell among many others. Inspired by his role in “Canvas,” which landed him the Outstanding Actor Award at the Sedona International Film Festival as well as the Jury Award for Best Dramatic Performance at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival in 2006, Pantoliano started his own non-profit organization, No Kidding, Me Too! and made his directorial debut in April 2010 with an informative and moving documentary of the same name, taking home the SAMHSA-sponsored 2010 Voice Award. With this unique film, Pantoliano seeks to expose the stigma, discrimination and shame shrouding brain dis-ease and keeping a third of those affected from getting the help they need to take back their lives. NKM2’s follow-up documentary, “Between Iraq and a Hard Place,” has already begun production in Iraq and Afghanistan, uncovering the individual stories behind America’s armed forces hidden battle with suicide. Pantoliano currently resides in Connecticut & Hoboken, NJ with his wife, son, three daughters, and four dogs (and counting).