The best Italian-American actor is Pacino in my book. Another great one was his friend John Cazale, but he died young.

I like Joe Mantegna but can't deny that DeNiro is probably the best.

De Niro all the Way for me.

My father. He perfectly played the role of an Italian-American dad with all the pathos, emotions, brilliance, and inspiration that one expects of a man with such unparalleled skills.

I didn't know that Cazale was Italian-American. I respect him far more than Pacino or DeNiro.

I like Samuel L. Jacksonini.

good ol' blue eyes

It's been said that Frank Sinatra did more for phonology and allocution than any other individual of the 20th century. He had extraordinary phrasing and pitch; an orator of the highest level, he is a linguistical hero.

Noam Chomsky is the Frank Sinatra of Linguistics.

Do you know Fraunk Sinatry?

He's dead.

HAHAHAHAHA! Dead.

Yep! Cazalay is the was to say it.................

I love ol Frank. But he was known more for his singing, though. Chazz Palminteri is another great one.... What about Joe Pesci. The cool thing about Joey is he could play a nerd like in Leathel Weapon or a gangster like in Casino... Very good actor...

Just because Frank Sinatra was the greatest singer of the 20th century is no reason to discount his acting ability. He had quite a few roles that were worthy of Oscar nominations ("Some Came Running", "The Man With the Golden Arm" and "The Joker is Wild" come to mind) and many other fun roles that were excellently portrayed.

Why do people always say Sinatra was the greatest singer..

It was Elvis and Orbison

I thought it was Dean Martin?!?

??????????????????????????????????????????

Elvis was the king of rock-n-roll and a very great singer as well. However, the king was not Italo Americano............

The best Sinatra song is "Come Fly With Me." What a cool song.

My GF said she likes Leonardo DiCaprio. But did u know he's only got a little drop of dago blood in him. I heard he's like 1/4 Italian.

What is it specifically that you don't understand?

He was probably confused by this part of your sentence.

No! Just means I gotta lotta question fo him.............

Although I'm not real impressed with recent roles by either DeNiro or Pacino (for the most part), yet it's a tough call to me. I would still say my all time favorite is still Al Pacino (based mostly on his past roles)

Btw, I thought Leonardo DiCapiro was half Italian (not sure though). I remember he said his mom decided on the name Leonardo after visiting Rome and see DeVinci's work. FWIW


TIS

Actually, I think DiCaprio is only like 1/8th Italian, but it was the 1/8th that gave him his name.

My favorite Italian American actors (aside from Pacino and DeNiro) are the character actors: Danny Aiello, Dennis Farina, Danny DeVito, Richard Castellano, Bruno Kirby, et. al. There are a million of them. I always liked Tony Danza, although I'm still not sure if he's an actor .

Don't forget Alan Alda. People tend to forget he's a New York City Italian (born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo).

Was Brando any part Italian? I've heard he was.

By the way DiMaggio: "Dago"?

alda's intalian? didnt know that.

I always enjoy looking at these lists. This site has it broken down by category (sports,politics, art, music, etc) They even list some fictional Italians(ie. Rocky Balboa, Tony Soprano). Also they have Sicilian actors. I didn't know Sly's middle name was Enzio. Oh, Jon Bon Jovi and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) also is Italian.

TIS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Italian_Americans

Some of these are surprising. I didn't know about Crenna, Carrell, and Williams:

Nicholas Cage
Steve Carell
Richard Crenna
Jimmy Durante
Henry Fonda
Vittorio Gassman
Guy Williams

Ann Bancroft was in real life born Anna Marie Louise Italiano. Connie Stevens was Concetta Rosalie Engolia,
Robert Blake was born Michael Gubitosi,
Vince Edwards was Vincent Zoino
James Darren - James Ercolani
Bobby Darrin - Roberto Cossotto n

I agree. Henry Fonda??? I guess by the name it sounds it, but still surprising. I use to love Guy Williams in Zorro. Didn't know he was Italian either. Nicholas Cage is actually a Coppola. FFC's nephew I think.



TIS

i can see cage being related to FFC...his acting exactly matches sophia's lol

Ha ha!! Actually, I don't mind him, but he hasn't done many good movies. I think my favorite Cage movie is ConAir. He also did a Christmas one similar to Wonderful Life, but I can't remember the title. I always get the impression that he's kind of an "oddball" in real life. But he's way better actor than Sofia.

According to the link I posted, he changed his name to Cage so as not to be on FFC's coat tails. Still, I wonder if FCC has ever asked him to appear in any of his films. Can anyone visualize Cage in a mafia movie?



TIS

i cant imagine cage as vito, sonny, mike, fredo, or tom...hell i cant imagine him as a corpse lol.

yea he isnt bad...has some good movies like con air, and i find the natural treasure movies enjoyable. TIS the movie you are thinking about is 'The Family Man'

That's it Bam. Thanks! Oh, and FWIW, I picture Cage to be as "odd" as maybe his character in "Peggy Sue Got Married". He was a little strange. I did like that movie too though.

Oh, and Leaving Las Vegas, although a seeing it once is enough type film, was perfect for him I thought.

TIS