James Russo

James Russo

actor, writer, director

James Russo was born on Apr 23, 1953 in USA. James Russo's big-screen debut came with Chicago Story directed by Harvey S. Laidman in 1981, strarring . James Russo is known for The Allnighter directed by Aimee Graham, Owen Beckman stars as Terence and Gretchen Lodge as Belle. James Russo has got 2 awards and 2 nominations so far. The most recent award James Russo achieved is Route 66 Film Festival. The upcoming new movie James Russo plays is The Allnighter which will be released on May 01, 2023.

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), James' first film was in the thriller Otages (1982). His first break came as a convenience store robber in Ça chauffe au lycée Ridgemont (1982). It helped to give him the lead role in the highly obscure, low-budgeted noir-ish thriller Vortex (1982). 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 Il était une fois en Amérique (1984), Cotton Club (1984), Le flic de Beverly Hills (1984) and The Blue Iguana (1988).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) (in which he terrorized poor Farrah Fawcett), to recall how chillingly effective he could be. Other potent roles in films include Nous ne sommes pas des anges (1989), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Illicit Behavior (1992), Da Vinci's War (1993), Alerte rouge (1995), Kevin Costner's Postman (1997), No Way Home (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997) and Open Range (2003). Russo appeared opposite Johnny Depp in Roman Polanski's La neuvième porte (1999).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 in Stealing Sinatra (2003) and Rocky Graziano in The Bronx Bull (2016), plus rare-anti-hero parts in The Box (2003), which he also wrote, and Dreams and Shadows (2009). Back in "bad guy" form, Russo offered manly malice and menace in such low-budget indies as Sexe, crimes et pouvoir (2001), Kings of the Evening (2008), The House Next Door (2002), The Hit (2007), Dark World (2008), Django Unchained (2012), Samuel Bleak (2013) and Badland (2019).He is divorced and has two children.

  • Birthday

    Apr 23, 1953
  • Place of Birth

    New York City, New York, USA
  • Also known

    -

Known For

Awards

2 wins & 2 nominations

Route 66 Film Festival
2016
Best Debut Film
Winner - Best Debut Film
Not a Stranger (2018)
San Diego Film Festival
2004
Best Actor
Winner - Festival Award

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies
TV Shows