JAMES RUSSO | DETECTIVE DEFAZIO | A Manhattan-born character player who attended New York University, actor James Russo wrote and starred in a prize-winning short film called "The Candy Store" while attending college. His first big film break was as a convenience store robber in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".
Possessed with a stare that can bring shivers down one's back, he has been quite the accessible villain over the years, memorably portraying a number of gritty psychopaths and gangsters, among other undesirables. One only needs to be reminded of his sadistic sexual animal role in "Extremities" on stage (in which he won a 1983 Theatre World Award) and in the film in which he terrorized Farrah Fawcett, to recall how chillingly effective he is.
Other film roles include Kevin Costner's "The Postman" and "Open Range", plus "Beverly Hills Cop", "We're No Angels", "Donnie Brasco", "No Way Home", and a number of other crimers. On stage, he has "Welcome to Andromeda", "Deathwatch", "Marat/Sade" and the aforementioned "Extremities" to his credit. Russo appeared opposite Johnny Depp in Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate", and portrayed mobster Victor Mura in TV's short-lived "Falcone" the following year. More recently, he offered a penetrating cameo as Frank Sinatra in "Stealing Sinatra".
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