Michael Imperioli: Summary

Recent Role:: Hand Transplant Patient on Mercy

Gender:: Male

Birthday:: 3-26-1966

Birthplace:: Mount Vernon, New York

Birth Name:: James Michael Imperioli

Michael Imperioli was born in Mt. Vernon, New York, on March 26, 1966. His film work began in the late 1980s. An early part that brought him recognition was in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990), as Spider, a local kid who works for the gangsters and has a run-in with a psychopathic mob soldier played by Joe Pesci. He worked throughout the 1990s in the New York independent film industry, especially as a regular in Spike Lee's movies, appearing in Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Clockers (1995), Girl 6 (1996) and Summer of Sam (1999), generally playing working-class Italian-Americans from the "outer boroughs." While rooted in the New York movie scene, Imperioli also worked in Hollywood in the mid-'90s, in the formulaic movies Bad Boys (1995) and Last Man Standing (1996/I).

In 1999 Imperioli was cast in "The Sopranos" (1999) as Christopher Moltisanti, a low-ranking soldier in the Soprano crime organization whose family connections to street boss Tony Soprano move him up the ladder in the organization. Imperioli's multi-layered portrayal of such an unappealing character is a real highlight of the series and earned him an Emmy and a SAG award.

Imperioli has long been active in the New York theater scene as well, having written, directed, produced or starred in numerous plays. He was a founder, along with Lili Taylor (his then-girlfriend and co-star in Household Saints (1993)) of the downtown theater company Machine Full. He has also written several episodes of "The Sopranos" and was a writer on Lee's "Summer of Sam," which he also executive-produced.

Although most famous for his prominent part in "The Sopranos," Imperioli has worked on other television programs as well, including "Law & Order" (1990), "New York Undercover" (1994) and "NYPD Blue" (1993). He is married and has three children. Michael Imperioli was born in Mt. Vernon, New York, on March 26, 1966. His film work began in the late 1980s. An early part that brought him recognition was in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990), as Spider, a local kid who works for the gangsters and has a run-in with a psychopathic mob soldier played by Joe Pesci. He worked throughout the 1990s in the New York independent film...

Start a blog about Michael Imperioli.

Gilligan's Island Is Headed to the Movies
Plus: Michael Imperioli leads today's casting news, Betty White is in talks with Saturday Night Live, and ABC's The Forgotten is... what's the word?
- 03/03/10 11:30 AM
- 12 comments
Crying out for Mercy
Ironically titled “We’re All Adults,” Wednesday's episode was perhaps the show's most juvenile installment yet.
- 01/14/10 11:10 AM
- 3 comments
Life on Mars canceled
Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, meet Life on Mars. ABC's mass grave of quality shows canceled before their time is one deeper, as the network has officially canceled the freshman sci-fi drama Life on Mars. But instead of the cold shoulder ABC gave last year's trio of high-profile cuts, Life on Mars is being given a proper farewell.
- 03/03/09 11:16 AM
- 158 comments
Blog Spotlight: Life on Mars: Lost in Time
The Mike Stand on why you should check out ABC's crime drama Life on Mars
- 01/28/09 12:34 PM
- 0 comments
TV.com Top Ten: Best new supporting characters of 2008
At their best, supporting actors are stealing scenes from their higher-paid compadres, and at their worst, they're dragging a show into the ground and being deservedly killed off. We're going to focus on the former in this list, which covers our favorite new supporting characters from this television season. Let's get started.
10. Charlotte Lewis, Lost...
- 12/15/08 6:02 PM
- 113 comments