Joseph Frank Pesci (born February 9, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, singer, and musician of Italian descent.
Usually known for playing violent Mafia mobsters or grouchy but lovable funnymen, Pesci has starred in a number of high profile films, including raw dramas like Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Once Upon a Time in America, JFK, Casino and The Irishman, comedies such as My Cousin Vinny, Home Alone, Easy Money, and Lethal Weapon (starting with Lethal Weapon 2).
He is famous for portraying characters with terrifying Hair Trigger Tempers. He has a really filthy mouth too.note
He started as a child actor on the New York stage, but only became a full-time actor after his success in Raging Bull. Before then, he had a long list of He Also Did occupations. He worked as a barber, a restaurant owner, as part of a comedy team with his future frequent Those Two Actors partner Frank Vincent, and on the fringes of the music business. He was friends with several members of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasonsnote and played a role in their formation, was a member of Joey Dee & The Starliters (of "Peppermint Twist" fame), and even tried his luck as a solo singer under the Stage Name Little Joe Ritchie, releasing the album Little Joe Sure Can Sing! in 1968. 30 years later he recorded a comedy music album in-character as Vincent LaGuardia Gambini.
He retired from acting in 1999, and his very occasional returns to the big screen since were all huge news, especially when he reunited with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro in The Irishman.
He was also a good friend of stand-up comedian George Carlin, who said in his routines that he prayed to Pesci, because he "looks like a guy who can get things done".
Despite playing dangerous and foul-mouthed sociopaths, he is known as an extremely humble, soft spoken man who gave one of the shortest speeches in Oscar history after winning Best Supporting Actor for Goodfellas. He simply took a breath and said, "It was my privilege. Thank you." It was over in three seconds. The reason for the brevity is that he really didn't think he would win and didn't prepare a speech; he was genuinely surprised.
MOTHERFUCKIN' TROPES!!!:
- Ax-Crazy: Very famous for portraying violent, psychopathic characters who will hurt or kill at the slightest provocation. By far the most iconic example is Goodfellas."You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat. You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun. And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he'll keep comin' back and back until one of you is dead."
- Angrish: This often shows up in his more comedic films when he can't swear as aggressively as he usually does. He spends a good chunk of both Home Alone movies doing it.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Given his reputation for profanity both on and off screen, it's no surprise that he drops these regularly in a lot of his films.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Pesci started his entertainment career playing guitar in a lounge band with Frank Vincent and the two also had a successful Laurel and Hardy style comedy duo act after lounge music began to die off. Not exactly how you'd expect his career to have started.
- Flowery Insult: A large portion of his dialogue in most of his films.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Nearly all of his characters are perpetually pissed off, which is quite different from how he is in Real Life.
- Hot-Blooded: Many of his characters are this in addition to being constantly angry.
- Joisey: He has a thick Newark accent as a native of New Jersey.
- Large Ham: A recurring trait among his characters.
- Motor Mouth: Invariably plays excessively talkative characters.
- The Napoleon: Is 5'4 and tends to play pugnacious types.
- Playing Against Type: As the nervously naïve Leo Getz in the Lethal Weapon series, the incredibly wise and kindly Simon Wilder in With Honors, the calculating and composed Mafia don Russell Bufalino in The Irishman, a wisecracking, tough-talking — and inwardly painfully shy and lonely — photographer in The Public Eye, and as a generally good-natured angler in Gone Fishin'.
- Production Posse: A regular of Martin Scorsese's films.
- Rambunctious Italian: Since he is an Italian-American actor, many of his characters have a very aggressive attitude.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Most utterances of "fuck" in GoodFellas and Casino, two of the most profane films in history, are said by him. Most of the time, it's Cluster F-Bomb. He also has these in the Lethal Weapon films, with at least one Cluster F-Bomb-inducing slight in each.
- Those Two Actors: With either Frank Vincent or Robert De Niro.
- Tom Hanks Syndrome: Pesci was initially a stand-up comic before turning to acting. Most of his roles have been dramatic parts, but he has had a few comic roles as well.
- Typecasting: He is frequently cast as aggressive, often psychotic, gangsters and other criminals.
- What Could Have Been:
- Pesci was considered to voice Iago in Aladdin, before Gilbert Gottfried got the part.
- He was cast as mobster Angelo Ruggiero for the film Gotti and gained 30 pounds for the role, yet quit due to a pay dispute. He sued the producers for his promised salary of $3 million, and the situation was settled out of court. His role was replaced with Pruitt Taylor Vince.
