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Max Casella

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Max Casella
Casella in August 2016
Born
Maximilian Deitch

(1967-06-06) June 6, 1967 (age 57)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1981–present
Spouse
Leona Robbins
​
​
(m. 2002; sep. 2018)​
[1]
Children2

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

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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

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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

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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

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1992 Newsies Racetrack Higgins
1994 Ed Wood Paul Marco
1996 Sgt. Bilko Spc. Dino Paparelli
1997 Trial and Error Dr. Brown
1999 Analyze This Nicky Shivers
Freak Talks About Sex Freak's High School Friend
2000 The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea Tip (voice) Direct-to-video
Dinosaur Zini (voice)
2005 The Notorious Bettie Page Howie
2006 Bristol Boys Donny
2008 Leatherheads Max Steiner
Revolutionary Road Ed Small
2011 Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Anthony Canetti
Somewhere Tonight Fred
2012 Killing Them Softly Barry Caprio
2013 Inside Llewyn Davis Pappi Corsicato
Blue Jasmine Eddie
The Last of Robin Hood Stanley Kubrick
Fading Gigolo Guy at Counter
Oldboy James Prestley
2015 Wild Card Osgood
Applesauce Les
Christmas Eve Randy
2016 Jackie Jack Valenti
Live by Night Digger Pescatore
2017 Wonder Wheel Ryan
2018 Night Comes On Mark
2019 Late Night Burditt
2020 The Rhythm Section Leon Giler
Paper Spiders Gary
2021 This Is the Night Police Officer Uncredited
The Tender Bar Chief
2022 Allswell in New York Tim
TBA Special Delivery Man Short; post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Don't Look Now! Max Deitch 3 episodes
1988 The Equalizer Streak Episode: "The Child Broker"
1989 Kate & Allie Mike Sheridan Episode: "Chip's Notes"
1989–1993 Doogie Howser, M.D. Vinnie Delpino 97 episodes
1993–1994 Cro Cro (voice) 20 episodes
1995 The Cosby Mysteries Simon Cosler Episode: "Comic Book Murder"
1995–1996 The Adventures of Hyperman Studd Puppy (voice) 13 episodes
1996 Hey Arnold! Tony B. / Philly D. (voices) Episodes: "Benchwarmer/Cool Jerk"
1998 Working Quinten McCracken Episode: "Greenery"
2001–2007 The Sopranos Benny Fazio 28 episodes
2002 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Nicky Episode: "Shandeh"
Courage the Cowardly Dog The Beaver (voice) Episode: "A Beaver's Tale"
2003 Queens Supreme Christopher Schiffer Episode: "Case by Case"
2007 The Bronx Is Burning Dick Howser 4 episodes
2009 Medium Joel Tiernan Episode: "Soul Survivor"
2010 Hawaii Five-0 Joey Episode: "Malama Ka Aina"
Boardwalk Empire Leo D'Alessio 7 episodes
2011 The Confession Eddie 2 episodes
2016 Vinyl Julian "Julie" Silver Main cast; 10 episodes
The Night Of Edgar Episode: "The Art of War"
Crisis in Six Scenes Barber Episode #1.1
2017–2022 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Michael Kessler 5 episodes
2017–2018 The Detour Joe Delicious 13 episodes
2018 Shades of Blue Capt. Daniel Pines 2 episodes
Ray Donovan Emerson Lake 6 episodes
2019 The Blacklist Henry Morris Episode: "Lady Luck (No. 69)"
2021 The Good Fight Danny Trumpet 2 episodes
2022 WeCrashed Detective Donny Episode: "Masha Masha Masha"
2022–present Tulsa King Armand Truisi Main role[14]
2023 Kaleidoscope Taco Episode: "Pink" (6 Months After the Heist)

Video games

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Year Title Role
2001 Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Daxter
2003 Jak II
2004 Jak 3
2005 Jak X: Combat Racing
2006 Daxter Daxter, Hotelier
2007 Pain Daxter
2009 Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony Union Official
2011 PlayStation Move Heroes Daxter
2012 PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

References

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  1. ^ "Filmcraziest Podcast". Filmcraziest. July 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Search: Maximilian Deitch". Family Search. March 3, 2015.
  3. ^ "Gaming 2003". Spin. December 2003. p. 90. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  4. ^ "NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Jewish Community Centers and Federation of Tampa: "Jews in the News: Kirk Douglas, Natalie Portman and Max Cassella" by Nate Bloom. December 5, 2016
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ "Max Casella Says He Was on Growth Hormones and Didn't Hit Puberty Until He Was 27: 'Horror Show'".
  9. ^ ""Scenes from an Empty Church"" (Podcast). Better Together with Anne and Heather by Strawhut Media.
  10. ^ Rathe, Adam (May 3, 2008). "Edge of his seat". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  11. ^ Lavery, David; Howard, Douglas L.; Levinson, Paul (2011). The Essential Sopranos Reader. University Press of Kentucky. p. 320. ISBN 9780813130125.
  12. ^ Hassan, John (July 6, 2007). "Lights, cameras, action at "The Bronx is Burning" premiere". Page 2. ESPN.
  13. ^ ""Scenes from an Empty Church"" (Podcast). Filmcraziest.
  14. ^ 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.
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