Character Corner: John Turturro

John Turturro

This week we’re taking a look at the fantastic actor, John Turturro. Although he has pretty much become a household name, if not a household face, he was (and still is) primarily a character actor. He was born in Queens, NY on February 28, 1957 to Nicholas, a carpenter and construction worker, and Katherine, a jazz singer. After he graduated from SUNY New Platz, he received his MFA from Yale Drama School (I know, fancy right?). His on screen debut, if you want to call it that, was as an extra (“Guy at Table”) in Martin Scorcese’s “Raging Bull”. A small beginning, but between Robert Deniro and Martin Scorcese, it’s a good place to start. His first real milestone was originating the title role in John Patrick Shanley’s “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” at the Humana Festival of New Plays in Louisville (a huge festival) and then at Circle in the Square theater in NY. He was so good in this role, that he won an Obie Award for Best Performance in 1984, just one year after graduating from Yale. That same year (a lot of italics, I know, but bear with me) he made his broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”. Not bad John, not bad. He then went on to have small roles in several movies (“Desperately Seeking Susan”, “Gun Ho”, etc) but he didn’t gather much notoriety until he was cast in “Five Corners” (1987) written by John Patrick Shanley. Knowing his work from “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” a few years prior, he wrote a part into the film specifically for Turturro (isn’t it nice to have friends?). This role allowed him to feature his dark intensity that is so characteristic of him, and he was rewarded with a nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards for “Best Supporting Male”. A guy named Spike Lee happened to watch “Five Corners” and happened to like Turturro so much, that he happened to put him in his movie “Do The Right Thing” (1989) as Pino the racist pizza-maker. This was the beginning of a long relationship between Turturro and Lee. He has appeared in nine Spike Lee movies and counting, more than any other actor. This alone would be an incredibly sweet deal, but the story continues. Not only was Turturro developing a long lasting relationship with one award winning director, but in 1990, the Coen Brothers began working with Turturro by casting him in their film “Miller’s Crossing”. Joel Coen was actually first introduced to John when he was at Yale (Joel Coen’s future wife, Francis McDormand was attending Yale at the time). After Miller’s Crossing, The Coens cast him as the title role in “Barton Fink”(1991) for which he won a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film festival. The Coen’s continued to cast him in “The Big Lebowski” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”. While Filming “Barton Fink”, he began to prepare himself for the role by writing a screenplay (the character was also a writer). In this time, he wrote “Mac” (1992), which turned into his writing and directing debut in film. While the film wasn’t a box office success, he did win a Camera d’Or at Cannes and another Independent Spirit Award for his efforts. That’s how good this guy is; he turns leading roles into character roles that can still support the weight of an entire film, and he can do it in any medium. He’s mercurial; he can make you believe he’s whoever he wants to be. 1994’s “Quiz Show” may be one of his highest profile roles to date, with Herb Stempel, for which he garnered nominations from the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild. Lately, he has been venturing into the mainstream with small roles from “Mr. Deeds” (2002) to “”Transformers” (2007). This move has put him in the eye of the public (moreso). He made a small, guest appearance on the show “Monk” as Tony Shaloub’s agoraphobic brother, Ambrose Monk (2004). This was his first foray into television, which he has largely avoided for the extent of his career. This first venture earned him an Emmy Award. Yeah, on his first try. He has shown us again and again what an undeniable talent he really is. He continues to take the leading man and turn him into a character, someone interesting and intriguing. He is one of the few actors who can effortlessly bridge the gap between character actor and leading man, and will continue to do so for a long time. http://www.stephenmedvidick.com