Michael Badalucco

Michael Badalucco (Brooklyn, December 20, 1954) is an American film, theater and television actor. His most notable role is as lawyer Jimmy Berluti in the television series The Practice (1997-2004), for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for best supporting actor in a drama series. He made his film debut in Raging Bull (1980), by Martin Scorsese, and later had film roles such as Mac (1992), Léon (1994), You've Got Mail (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). He has repeatedly worked under the direction of the Coen brothers, Nora Ephron, Spike Lee and John Turturro.

Early years

Badalucco was born in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, into a Catholic family of Italian origin. Her mother, Jean, whose maiden name was Bonomo, was born in Brooklyn, the daughter of immigrants from from Trapani, was a housewife, and her father, Giuseppe "Joe" Badalucco, originally from Paceco, Sicily, worked as a carpenter for film sets. Her parents transmitted to her a strong loyalty to family and religion. As a child, despite being shy, he managed to attract people's attention naturally, which helped him develop his talent.

He was in third grade when the script for the film Clip Point (1964) by Sidney Lumet—where his father was working—required the presence of a young boy. Badalucco debuted in the film as the son of a Russian general and although his character had no dialogue, it marked the beginning of his career as an actor. His father took him to the set, where he was photographed, and that photo was used in the film.

He attended Xavierian High School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and graduated in 1972. During his time in high school he acted in high school plays and sketches. He received a bachelor's degree in theater from the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz, where he met and performed with John Turturro. While at SUNY New Paltz, Badalucco performed in more than twenty plays in the company's repertoire, standing out inA View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, alongside Turturro. In New York he participated in theater productions such as Waiting for the Dough, The Tooth of Crime, < i>Of Mice and Men, Steel on Steel and Love of Don Perlimplín with Belisa in his garden.

He later joined his father's association, Local 52, to work as a prop man. In 1978, he was first credited as an assistant set designer on the play Slow Dance on the Killing Ground by John G. Avildsen. In 1979, he worked as a prop in Woody Allen's film Manhattan. While working as a prop, Badalucco starred opposite Turturro in the off-Broadway play The Tooth of Crime by Sam Shepard. It was his role in that play that attracted the attention of actor Robert De Niro. After being discovered by De Niro, Badalucco and Turturro were called to audition for the film Raging Bull (1980) by Martin Scorsese, who gave them their first film role.

Career

After his professional debut in Raging Bull (1980), Badalucco received new job offers. Four years later he premiered Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose, where he had a small role. In 1985, he had another brief role playing a Brooklynite in Desperately Seeking Susan, which also starred John Turturro.

In the early 1990s, his career took hold, working in films related to the mafia and Italian-American culture. He first played Sal in Men of Respect (1990), about hitman Mike Battaglia (Turturro). The same year he had a small role as Caspar's chauffeur (Jon Polito) in Miller's Crossing, written and directed by the Coen brothers. A year later, he participated in Jungle Fever by director Spike Lee, a film about the relationship between African-Americans and Italian-Americans in New York. In addition, he was in charge of purchasing props for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather III.

In 1992 he worked on John Turturro's directorial debut: Mac. He played Vico Vitelli, the middle brother of an Italian-American blue-collar family. Badalucco's role is remembered for his humorous monologue about the importance of charisma in attracting women.

In 1994 his face could be seen in the film Léon by French director Luc Besson. Set in Manhattan's Little Italy, Badalucco plays the head of a dysfunctional family, who is paid to store cocaine and often mistreats her twelve-year-old daughter, Mathilda (Natalie Portman). The film was a success both commercially and critically. Additionally that same year he was part of the cast of the independent film The Search for One-eye Jimmy, a comedy that would be released only in 1996, where he plays to the oldest virgin in the neighborhood.

He played Lieutenant Bonomo – his mother's last name – in a brief participation in the film An Unforgettable Day (1996), where he coincided with Michelle Pfeiffer. Next, he attended a casting to play a small role in the television drama series The Practice, but did not get the role. However, the creator of the series, David E. Kelley, informed him that he was writing another character for him, suitable for Badalucco's characteristics. About a week later, his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, showed him a scene he shared with Badalucco in Unforgettable Day. After Pfeiffer's recommendation, Badalucco landed the role of Jimmy Berluti, a Rudimentary lawyer with questionable ethics and little courtroom experience who often struggles with his conscience and has a history of gambling problems. His role on the series—which aired from 1997 to 2004—is one of the most notable of his career and earned him the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Likewise, Kelley and Badalucco were going to work together in an episode of Ally McBeal (1999) and in 2001 he appeared again playing Jimmy Berluti in an episode of the spin-off from The Practice, Boston Public.

Some of his later works in cinema were Love Walked In (1997) by the Argentine Juan José Campanella, Lesser Prophets (1997) with John Turturro and You've Got Mail (1998), starring Tom Hanks. He re-teamed with Spike Lee to play serial killer David Berkowitz, known as "Son of Sam," in Summer of Sam (1999).

Ten years after his first film with the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan offered him the role of bank robber George "Baby Face" Nelson in the period comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), starring George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson. The following year he reappeared with the Coens playing barber Frank Raffo in the neo-noir drama The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). After these two notable roles alongside the Coens, Badalucco continued with roles in independent films such as 13 Moons (2002), alongside Steve Buscemi, and 2BPerfectlyHonest (2004), again with Turturro.

In the mid-2000s, after finishing his work on the series The Practice, he resumed his work on television, participating as a guest on series such as Justice (2006), Bones (2008), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2008), Monk (2008), Cold Case (2010) and Boardwalk Empire (2010). In 2010 he became part of the soap opera The Young and the Restless to play an honorable but dangerous bookie named Hogan. "He's a great character, the kind of person who cries at a wedding but the next day he could break the groom's legs for not paying a bet," Badalucco commented on his role.

Personal life

In 1996 he married Brenda Heyob, a nurse born in Ohio with whom he had previously had a five-year relationship. They had no children. His brother is the actor Joseph Badalucco Jr., notable for his role like Jimmy Altieri in The Sopranos.

Filmography

Movies

TV series

Prizes