Russo brothers

Anthony and Joe Russo
Born	1971 (age 41–42) (Joe) 1972 (age 40–41) (Anthony)
Occupation	Film directors, producers, screenwriters, actors, editors
Years active	1997 – present

Anthony and Joe Russo are Emmy Award-winning American film and television directors. The brothers direct most of their work jointly, and they also occasionally work as producers, screenwriters, actors, and editors. The Russos are from Cleveland, Ohio, and were born a year apart (Joe is the eldest and Anthony is the youngest). They both attended Benedictine High School in Cleveland. They are alumni of Case Western Reserve University.

Careers

Anthony and Joe Russo were graduate students at Case Western when they began directing, writing, and producing their first feature, Pieces. They financed the film with student loans and credit cards. After viewing Pieces at a film festival, Steven Soderbergh approached the duo and offered to produce their next film, along with his producing partner George Clooney. This project was the crime comedy Welcome to Collinwood, starring William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, and Clooney.

When TV exec Kevin Reilly was rebuilding the FX network, he sought out the Russos to direct the pilot for his flagship series Lucky, having liked the pair's work on Collinwood. Ron Howard was a fan of the pilot, and he had a hand in hiring the brothers to direct the pilot for Fox's Arrested Development. The brothers won an Emmy for their work on the episode. Ever since, they have been sought after directors for TV pilots. They are credited with creating the visual style that made Arrested Development so popular with its rabid audience of TV critics and fans.

In 2006, the Russo brothers returned to film, directing the Owen Wilson comedy You, Me, and Dupree. The film grossed $140 million worldwide. For the 2007-08 TV season, the Russos joined the crew of the ABC series Carpoolers as executive producers and directors. More recently, they served as executive producers and directors on the first several seasons of the NBC series Community and the ABC series Happy Endings.

In June 2012 the brothers were reported to be in final talks to direct Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a superhero sequel for Marvel Studios, due to be released on April 4, 2014.

The Russos cite classic sitcoms M*A*S*H, Taxi, and Cheers as influences. Their younger sister Angela Russo-Ostot also is in television, having worked as a writer and producer on V and Trust Me, among other series.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Credit(s)
1997	Pieces	Actor (Joe only) Directors Editors Producers Writers
2002	Welcome to Collinwood	Directors Writers
2006	You, Me and Dupree	Directors
2007	Crashing	Producers
2014	Captain America: The Winter Soldier	Directors

Short films

Year	Title	Credit(s)
2002	Kiss, TheThe Kiss	Directors Producers Writers
2006	No. 6	Producer (Joe only)
2008	Square One	Writer (Anthony only)
	Carfuckers	Directors
2009	Donkey Punch	Producer (Anthony only)

Television

Year	Program	Episode(s)	Credit(s)
2003	Lucky	"Calling Dr. Con"	Directors
2003-05	Arrested Development	Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Top Banana", "Key Decisions", "The Immaculate Election", "Spring Breakout" Joe only: "Bringing Up Buster", "In God We Trust", "Pier Pressure", "Marta Complex", "Shock and Aww", "Missing Kitty", "Hand to God", "Motherboy XXX", "Meet the Veals"	Directors
2004	LAX	"Pilot"	Directors
2004-05		All episodes	Co-executive producers
2006	Secrets of a Small Town	Failed ABC pilot	Executive producers
	What About Brian	"Pilot"	Directors
2006-07		All episodes	Executive producers
2007-08	Carpoolers	Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "The Code", "The Recital" Joe only: "Laird of the Rings", "What Would You Do?", "Down for the Count", "The Seminar", "A Divorce to Remember", "The Handsomest Man", "Lost in America"	Directors
		All episodes	Executive producers
2008	Courtroom K	Failed Fox pilot	Directors
2009	Untitled Family Pilot	Failed NBC pilot	Directors
	Comedy Showcase	"The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret"	Directors
2009–2012	Community	Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Introduction to Film", "Social Psychology", "Home Economics", "The Politics of Human Sexuality", "Physical Education", "Beginner Pottery", "The Psychology of Letting Go", "Basic Rocket Science", "Asian Population Studies", "Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy", "Biology 101", "Competitive Ecology", "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" Joe only: "Spanish 101", "Advanced Criminal Law", "Football, Feminism and You", "Debate 109", "Investigative Journalism", "Romantic Expressionism", "Pascal's Triangle Revisited", "Anthropology 101", "Accounting for Lawyers", "Cooperative Calligraphy", "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", "Comparative Wine Tasting", "A Fistful of Paintballs", "Geography of Global Conflict", "Advanced Gay", "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux"	Directors
		Season one-season three	Executive producers
2010	Running Wilde	"Pilot"	Directors Executive producers
	The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	"In Which Claims are Made and a Journey Ensues" (original Comedy Showcase pilot, some footage reshot)	Directors
2011	The Council of Dads	Fox pilot	Directors
2011–2012	Happy Endings	Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Barefoot Pedaler", "Blax, Snake, Home", "Secrets and Limos" Joe only: "Bo Fight", "Yesandwitch", "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre"	Directors
		Season one & season two	Executive producers
	Up All Night	Joe only: "Cool Neighbors", "Working Late and Working It", "Day After Valentine's Day"	Directors
2012	Animal Practice	Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Clean-Smelling Pirate"	Directors
		All episodes	Executive producers

External links

• Anthony Russo at the Internet Movie Database
• Joe Russo at the Internet Movie Database