Max Casella
{{Short description|American actor (born 1967)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{infobox person
| name = Max Casella
| image = Max_Casella_(28754172591).jpg
| caption = Casella in August 2016
| birth_name = Maximilian Deitch
| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|6|6}}
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1981–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Leona Robbins|2002|2018|end=separated}}{{cite web| title=Filmcraziest Podcast| url=https://filmcraziest.com/2021/07/03/scenes-from-an-empty-church-interview-review-writer-director-onur-tukel-stars-kevin-corrigan-max-casella-thomas-jay-ryan-the-filmcraziest-show/| publisher=Filmcraziest| date=July 3, 2021}}
| children = 2
}}
Max Casella (born Maximilian Deitch; June 6, 1967){{cite web| title=Search: Maximilian Deitch| url=https://familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3AMaximilian~%20%2Bsurname%3ADeitch~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1960-1970~%20%2Brecord_country%3A%22United%20States%22| publisher=Family Search| date=March 3, 2015}} 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.{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crQoYila-dAC&q=%22Max+Casella%22+doogie&pg=PA90| title=Gaming 2003| work=Spin| date=December 2003| page=90| access-date=March 20, 2012}}
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.{{cite web| url=http://www.nj.com/weblogs/print.ssf?/mtlogs/njo_sopranos/archives/print063669.html| title=NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090057/http://www.nj.com/weblogs/print.ssf?%2Fmtlogs%2Fnjo_sopranos%2Farchives%2Fprint063669.html| archive-date=September 29, 2007}}{{cite web| url=http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/94379/qa-inside-llewyn-davis-and-oldboys-max-casella-on-the-coens-spike-lee-woody-allen-and-surviving-the-sopranos-and-child-acting| title=Q&A: Inside Llewyn Davis and Oldboy's Max Casella on the Coens, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, and Surviving The Sopranos and Child Acting| first=Eric| last=Ducker| work=Grantland| date=December 10, 2013}}[https://www.jewishtampa.com/jews-in-the-news/jews-in-the-news-kirk-douglas-natalie-portman-and-max-cassella Jewish Community Centers and Federation of Tampa: "Jews in the News: Kirk Douglas, Natalie Portman and Max Cassella"] by Nate Bloom. December 5, 2016 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.[https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-sopranos-actor-max-casella-looked-so-young-in-his-twenties-police-accused-him-of-stealing-cars.html/ 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 His brother also shares the condition. He did not go through puberty until the age of 27 after medical intervention.{{cite web | url=https://people.com/health/max-casella-says-he-was-on-growth-hormones-and-didnt-hit-puberty-until-he-was-27-horror-show/ | title=Max Casella Says He Was on Growth Hormones and Didn't Hit Puberty Until He Was 27: 'Horror Show' }} 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.{{cite podcast|title= "Scenes from an Empty Church"|url=https://www.strawhutmedia.com/bettertogether/scenes-from-an-empty-church|publisher=Better Together with Anne and Heather by Strawhut Media}}
Career
Casella played Vincent "Vinnie" Delpino in the television series Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1989 to 1993 with Neil Patrick Harris.{{cite news| url=http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/18/31_18_edge_of_his_seat.html| title=Edge of his seat| last=Rathe| first=Adam| date=May 3, 2008| work=The Brooklyn Paper| access-date=March 20, 2012}} 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.{{cite book| last1=Lavery| first1=David| last2=Howard| first2=Douglas L.| last3=Levinson| first3=Paul| title=The Essential Sopranos Reader| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfP243s2dTkC&pg=PA320| year=2011| publisher=University Press of Kentucky| isbn=9780813130125| page=320}} 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,{{cite journal|last=Hassan|first=John|date=July 6, 2007|title=Lights, cameras, action at "The Bronx is Burning" premiere|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=hassan/070706|publisher=ESPN|journal=Page 2}} and they separated in 2018.{{cite podcast|title= "Scenes from an Empty Church"|url=https://filmcraziest.com/2021/07/03/scenes-from-an-empty-church-interview-review-writer-director-onur-tukel-stars-kevin-corrigan-max-casella-thomas-jay-ryan-the-filmcraziest-show/|publisher=Filmcraziest}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1992
| Newsies | Racetrack Higgins | |
| 1994
| Ed Wood | |
| 1996
| Spc. Dino Paparelli | |
| 1997
| Dr. Brown | |
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| Nicky Shivers | |
| Freak Talks About Sex
| Freak's High School Friend | |
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea | Tip (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| Dinosaur
| Zini (voice) | |
| 2005
| Howie | |
| 2006
| Donny | |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Max Steiner | |
| Revolutionary Road
| Ed Small | |
| rowspan="2" | 2011
| Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son | Anthony Canetti | |
| Somewhere Tonight
| Fred | |
| 2012
| Barry Caprio | |
| rowspan="5" | 2013
| Pappi Corsicato | |
| Blue Jasmine
| Eddie | |
| The Last of Robin Hood
| |
| Fading Gigolo
| Guy at Counter | |
| Oldboy
| James Prestley | |
| rowspan="3" | 2015
| Osgood | |
| Applesauce
| Les | |
| Christmas Eve
| Randy | |
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| Jackie | |
| Live by Night
| Digger Pescatore | |
| 2017
| Ryan | |
| 2018
| Mark | |
| 2019
| Burditt | |
| rowspan="2" | 2020
| Leon Giler | |
| Paper Spiders
| Gary | |
| rowspan="2" | 2021
| Police Officer | Uncredited |
| The Tender Bar
| Chief | |
| 2022
| Tim | |
| 2024
| Harout | |
| TBA
| Special Delivery | Man | Short; post-production |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1983
| Max Deitch | 3 episodes |
| 1988
| Streak | Episode: "The Child Broker" |
| 1989
| Mike Sheridan | Episode: "Chip's Notes" |
| 1989–1993
| Vinnie Delpino | 97 episodes |
| 1993–1994
| Cro | Cro (voice) | 20 episodes |
| 1995
| Simon Cosler | Episode: "Comic Book Murder" |
| 1995–1996
| Studd Puppy (voice) | 13 episodes |
| 1996
| Tony B. / Philly D. (voices) | Episodes: "Benchwarmer/Cool Jerk" |
| 1998
| Working | Quinten McCracken | Episode: "Greenery" |
| 2001–2007
| 28 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Nicky | Episode: "Shandeh" |
| Courage the Cowardly Dog
| The Beaver (voice) | Episode: "A Beaver's Tale" |
| rowspan="1" | 2003
| Christopher Schiffer | Episode: "Case by Case" |
| rowspan="1" | 2007
| 4 episodes |
| rowspan="1" | 2009
| Medium | Joel Tiernan | Episode: "Soul Survivor" |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| Joey | Episode: "Malama Ka Aina" |
| Boardwalk Empire
| Leo D'Alessio | 7 episodes |
| 2011
| Eddie | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 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
| Michael Kessler | 5 episodes |
| 2017–2018
| Joe Delicious | 13 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2018
| Capt. Daniel Pines | 2 episodes |
| Ray Donovan
| Emerson Lake | 6 episodes |
| 2019
| Henry Morris | Episode: "Lady Luck (No. 69)" |
| 2021
| Danny Trumpet | 2 episodes |
| 2022
| Detective Donny | Episode: "Masha Masha Masha" |
| 2022–present
| Armand Truisi | Main role{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Peter |date=May 6, 2022 |title=Tulsa King: Andrea Savage To Star Alongside Sylvester Stallone In Taylor Sheridan's Paramount+ Mob Drama Series |url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/tulsa-king-andrea-savage-sylvester-stallone-taylor-sheridan-1235015650/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation}} |
| 2023
| Taco | Episode: "Pink" (6 Months After the Heist) |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role |
|---|
| 2001
| Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy | rowspan="4"| Daxter |
| 2003
| Jak II |
| 2004
| Jak 3 |
| 2005 |
| 2006
| Daxter | Daxter, Hotelier |
| 2007
| Pain | rowspan="2" | Daxter |
| rowspan="2" | 2009 |
| Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony
| Union Official |
| 2011
| rowspan="2" | Daxter |
| 2012 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|143295|Max Casella}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{iobdb name|26229}}
- [http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/cast/actor/max_casella.shtml Max Casella] at Home Box Office
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casella, Max}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:American male child actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male video game actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American people of Italian-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:American people of Jewish descent
Category:American Ashkenazi Jews
Category:Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni
Category:Jewish American male actors
Category:Male actors from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Category:Male actors from New York City
Category:Male actors from Washington, D.C.
Category:Singers from Massachusetts