American actor (born 1967)
Max Casella
Casella in August 2016
Born Maximilian Deitch
(1967-06-06 ) June 6, 1967 (age 57) Occupation Actor Years active 1981–present Spouse
Leona Robbins
(
m. 2002;
sep. 2018)
[ 1] Children 2
Max Casella (born Maximilian Deitch ; June 6, 1967)[ 2] is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series Doogie Howser, M.D. , The Sopranos , Boardwalk Empire , Vinyl , Cro and the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.[ 3]
Early life
Casella was born in Washington, D.C., the son of David Deitch, a newspaper columnist, and Doris Casella, a social worker. His father is Jewish and his mother is of Italian descent.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] He grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School , where his classmates included Traci Bingham , Ben Affleck , and Matt Damon . Casella has growth hormone deficiency , which accounted for his ability to play characters much younger than his actual age.[ 7] His brother also shares the condition. He did not go through puberty until the age of 27 after medical intervention.[ 8] His physical changes caused him to gain weight and he was dropped by his agents. He then had to completely reinvent himself as an actor.[ 9]
Career
Casella played Vincent "Vinnie" Delpino in the television series Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1989 to 1993 with Neil Patrick Harris .[ 10] In 1992, Casella played Racetrack Higgins in Newsies , which was based upon true events in the 1899 newsboys strike against Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst . He appeared in WindRunner: A Spirited Journey , starring Margot Kidder and Russell Means as Jim Thorpe 's ghost. In 1997, Casella played Timon in the original Broadway production of The Lion King ; a performance for which he was awarded a Theatre World Award and received a Drama Desk Award nomination. From 2000 to 2001 he returned to Broadway as Marcellus Washburn in the revival of The Music Man . Casella portrayed Pvt. Dino Paparelli in Sgt. Bilko . He joined the cast of the HBO series The Sopranos during its third season, as Benny Fazio .[ 11] Casella also starred in Ed Wood and Analyze This . In 2007, Casella portrayed Dick Howser in the ESPN mini-series The Bronx is Burning . He also voiced Tip in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea , Zini in the CGI film Dinosaur and the titular character in ABC 's Cro . In 2008, Casella played Mack Steiner in Leatherheads and Dennis, one of the main characters in Scaring the Fish . He also played Leo D'Alessio in season one of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire .
Since 2022, Casella has portrayed Armand Truisi on the Paramount+ series Tulsa King .
Personal life
Casella married Leona Robbins in 2002, and has two daughters, Mia and Gioia. They lived in New York City ,[ 12] and they separated in 2018.[ 13]
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
^ "Filmcraziest Podcast" . Filmcraziest. July 3, 2021.
^ "Search: Maximilian Deitch" . Family Search. March 3, 2015.
^ "Gaming 2003" . Spin . December 2003. p. 90. Retrieved March 20, 2012 .
^ "NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page" . Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
^ Ducker, Eric (December 10, 2013). "Q&A: Inside Llewyn Davis and Oldboy's Max Casella on the Coens, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, and Surviving The Sopranos and Child Acting" . Grantland .
^ Jewish Community Centers and Federation of Tampa: "Jews in the News: Kirk Douglas, Natalie Portman and Max Cassella" by Nate Bloom. December 5, 2016
^ Showbiz Cheatsheet: "‘The Sopranos’ Actor Max Casella Looked So Young In His Twenties Police Accused Him of Stealing Cars" by Brandi Yetzer. February 7, 2021
^ "Max Casella Says He Was on Growth Hormones and Didn't Hit Puberty Until He Was 27: 'Horror Show' " .
^ " "Scenes from an Empty Church" " (Podcast). Better Together with Anne and Heather by Strawhut Media .
^ Rathe, Adam (May 3, 2008). "Edge of his seat" . The Brooklyn Paper . Retrieved March 20, 2012 .
^ Lavery, David; Howard, Douglas L.; Levinson, Paul (2011). The Essential Sopranos Reader . University Press of Kentucky. p. 320. ISBN 9780813130125 .
^ Hassan, John (July 6, 2007). "Lights, cameras, action at "The Bronx is Burning" premiere" . Page 2 . ESPN .
^ " "Scenes from an Empty Church" " (Podcast). Filmcraziest .
^ White, Peter (May 6, 2022). "Tulsa King : Andrea Savage To Star Alongside Sylvester Stallone In Taylor Sheridan's Paramount+ Mob Drama Series" . Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation .
External links
International National Artists Other