Joseph Peter Pantoliano was born on the 12th September 1951, in Hoboken, New Jersey USA, of Italian descent, and is an actor, well-known from playing Ralph Cifaretto in the TV series “The Sopranos” (2000 – 2004). In addition, he has created roles in many feature films including Guido in “Risky Business” (1983), Bob Keane in “La Bamba” (1987), Cypher in “The Matrix” (1999), and Teddy in “Memento” (2000) among others. Joe has been active in the entertainment industry since 1974.
How much is the net worth of Joe Pantoliano? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the total size of his wealth is as much as $8 million, as of the data presented in early 2017. Acting is the main source of Pantoliano’s net worth.
Joe Pantoliano Net Worth $8 Million
To begin with, Pantoliano was born into a family of a bookmaker and dressmaker as well as a factory worker. Joe Pantoliano began his career as an actor in the middle of the 1970s with small roles in various cinema and television productions. One his first major roles was in the drama film “All My Stars” (1980). At the beginning of the 1980s, he was mainly seen as a guest star in several television series, for example “M*A*S*H” (1981), “Chicago Story” (1982), “Hardcastle and McCormick” (1983) among others. Afterwards, he mostly starred in film productions, including “Midnight Run” (1988) directed and produced by Martin Brest, “The Fugitive” (1993) with Harrison Ford and directed by Andrew Davis, “Bound” (1996) written and directed by The Wachowskis (the directorial debut), “Matrix” (1999) produced and directed by The Wachowskis and “Memento” (2000) by Christopher Nolan. His net worth was rising steadily.
Despite these projects, Pantoliano also remained loyal to television, and took a recurring role in the mafia series “The Sopranos” (2000 – 2004), in 2003 winning an Emmy Award for the above mentioned role. In 2003, he made his debut as a director of the film “Just Like Mona”, and he has also worked as a film producer since the mid-1990s. Afterwards, he starred in such films as “The Amateurs” (2005), “Canvas” (2006), “The Job” (2009), “Loosies” (2012) and “The Perfect Match” (2016). All the aforementioned roles added significant sums to the outright size of Joe Pantoliano’s net worth.
In addition to this, he has worked in the theatre. At the beginning of his career, he took part in the play “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” stage version by Billy Babbit, and in 2003 he starred in the play “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” on Broadway. In 2015, he worked in New York’s City Theatre.
Moreover, he has written two autobiographical books – “Who’s Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy”, and “Asylum: Hollywood Tales From My Great Depression: Brain Dis-Ease, Recovery and Being My Mother’s Son”.
Finally, in the personal life of Pantoliano, he was married to the actress Morgan Kester (1979 – 1985), with whom he has three children. In 1994, he married the make-up expert Nancy Sheppard, with whom he has another child. Furthermore, he is the founder of the charity No Kidding? Me too! , which is committed to the acceptance of people with mental disorders.
Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2003)
Nominations
Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actor (1997), Television Critics Association Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2002, 2004)
Movies
Destination America (1987), The Squeeze (1987), Bound (1996), The Matrix (1999), Memento (2000), Deadly Impact (2009), Taxman (1999), Bad Boys for Life (2018)
TV Shows
M*A*S*H (1981), Chicago Story (1982), EZ Streets (1996-1997), The Sopranos (2000-2004), How to Make it in America (2011)
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Trademark
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High, husky voice
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Often plays amoral or deceitful characters
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Almost always seen wearing a cap, even in some of his movie roles
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Quote
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A character actor to me was someone who played a bunch of different roles versus a leading man or supporting actor, I wanted to be a character actor and do good parts. The guys that inspired me were Spencer Tracy, Robert Duvall, Albert Finney and Michael Caine, you, know, urban guys that came from the street. I just thought if they could do it, then so could I. They were the kinda guys who started out being the fourth guy through the door and then, at last, they get a line of dialogue.
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On making the transition from character actor to leading actor: It doesn't make any difference if you're a lead. It's all playtime.
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They say that politics is show business for ugly people.
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I liked Matrix Reloaded better than I liked the first one. I haven't seen Revolutions. I loved Cypher. He was very human. He was the one guy that doubted Morpheus, that doubted the real world. He was best served to go back into The Matrix and be a movie star and never know he was out of it. What a deal that would be!
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Going to work for me is very reminiscent of high school. You go and you've got your clique of friends. You go to the cafeteria with everybody. If you can do it, it's the best job in the world.
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My real fear playing Ralphie in The Sopranos was that I would be typescast. Luckily, like Jimmy Gandolfini, I was able to get plenty of other work - Bad Boys 2 and Daredevil in particular. But in a way, Ralphie encouraged me to do more, to ensure he didn't define me. That's why I did Frankie & Johnny on Broadway and, to be honest, it's why I took the role in The Handler - to show my fanbase that there's more to me that just that nutcase, Ralphie.
Was offered the role of Leo in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), but was forced to turn it down due to a conflict with the film The Last of the Finest (1990). Joe Pesci ultimately played the role.
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Founded the charity organization "No Kidding, Me Too!" (nkm2.org) to foster education and awareness of mental illness. The foundation's goal is to "Stomp the Stigma" associated with mental illness and encourage those suffering to seek help. [2008]
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Working on a novel about his hometown, Hoboken, New Jersey, entitled, "Who's Sorry Now?" He hopes to have the book completed in the next fifteen months and is working on a deal with a publisher. [July 2001]
Has suffered from Clinical Depression since the mid-1990s.
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According to his book, "Who's Sorry Now?", at age 12 during an argument in a grocery store, his mother, Mary Centrella Pantoliano, told Joe that his real father was her third cousin, Florio "Florie" Isabella, a made man who had spent several years in prison. Shortly before, Joe's father, Monk, and Mary had separated and Florie moved in with the family. Monk and Mary never got divorced, and Joe never found out which man was actually his father.
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He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
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Lives in Wilton, Connecticut.
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Studied acting with Michael Howard in New York City.
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He landed his first professional role in 1972 when he played Billy Bibbit in the national touring company of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He worked in regional theater appearing in more than 40 Off-Broadway productions including Vision of Kerouac at the Lion Theater and The Death Star at the Theater of St. Clements.
At age seventeen he moved from his hometown of Hoboken, New Jersey, to Manhattan to study to become a barber.
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Italian-American.
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Keen wine buff. On a recent episode of Jon Favreau's Dinner for Five (2001) on IFC, he was choosing the wine, inquiring about a '97 Ornellaia before settling on a '79 Tignanello. When the wine was presented to him for tasting, he picked up that it was corked and asked the sommelier to taste it himself, and the sommelier concurred.
$8 Million
