Michael Imperioli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Imperioli
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Imperioli in 2024
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| Born | March 26, 1966 Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Victoria Chlebowski
(m. 1996) |
| Children | 3 |
Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor. He is well-known for playing Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama series The Sopranos from 1999 to 2007. For this role, he won an Emmy Award in 2004. He also gained recognition for his role as Dominic Di Grasso in the HBO comedy drama series The White Lotus in 2022.
Early in his career, Michael Imperioli appeared in Martin Scorsese's film Goodfellas (1990). He also played supporting roles in many other movies. These include Jungle Fever (1991), Bad Boys (1995), The Basketball Diaries (1995), and Shark Tale (2004). He also appeared in The Lovely Bones (2009) and One Night in Miami (2020).
Beyond acting, Imperioli helped write the movie Summer of Sam (1999) with Spike Lee. He also wrote five episodes of The Sopranos. In 2008, he directed his first feature film, The Hungry Ghosts, which he also wrote. For his role in The White Lotus in 2022, he was nominated for another Emmy Award. In 2024, he made his first appearance on Broadway in the play An Enemy of the People.
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Michael Imperioli's Early Life and School
Michael Imperioli was born on March 26, 1966, in Mount Vernon, New York. His father, Dominic Ralph Imperioli, was a bus driver and enjoyed acting as a hobby. His mother, Claire Linda (Luzzi), worked in a department store and also enjoyed acting. Michael's family came to New York City from different parts of Italy, including Lazio, Sicily, and Oriolo, Cosenza, Calabria.
When Michael was 11, his family moved to Brewster, New York. During high school, he started going to see Broadway plays. After finishing Brewster High School in 1983, he planned to study medicine at the State University of New York at Albany. However, the night before college was supposed to start, he told his parents he wanted to be an actor instead.
At age 17, Michael moved to Manhattan's East Village. There, he enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute to learn acting. While studying, he met John Ventimiglia, who later played Artie Bucco on The Sopranos. They became roommates. In the early 1990s, Imperioli was the lead singer for a band called Wild Carnation. He left the band to focus on his acting career.
Michael Imperioli's Acting Career
Michael Imperioli has been nominated for many awards for his acting. For his role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, he was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and five Emmy Awards. He won an Emmy in 2004 for the fifth season of The Sopranos.
Besides The Sopranos, Imperioli has been in many movies. Some of these include Goodfellas, Jungle Fever, Bad Boys, and Malcolm X. He also appeared in The Basketball Diaries, Clockers, Dead Presidents, and Girl 6. Other films include My Baby's Daddy, Lean on Me, I Shot Andy Warhol, Last Man Standing, Shark Tale, and High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story. He also co-wrote and co-produced Summer of Sam. He wrote five episodes for The Sopranos as well.
Imperioli was the artistic director for Studio Dante, an Off-Broadway theater he started with his wife. He is also involved with The Jazz Foundation of America. In 2009, he helped host their yearly concert, "A Great Night in Harlem". In 2010, Imperioli took on a main role in the ABC TV show Detroit 1-8-7. In 2014, he won the Tournament of Stars competition on the cooking show Chopped. He sent his $50,000 prize to the Pureland Project, a charity that builds schools in Tibet. In 2016, he played the angel Uriel on the Fox show Lucifer.
In 2019, Imperioli was cast in the main role of Rick Sellitto in the NBC drama series Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector. Since April 6, 2020, Imperioli has co-hosted a podcast called Talking Sopranos with Steve Schirripa. They share behind-the-scenes information as they discuss each episode of The Sopranos. By September 2020, the podcast had been downloaded over five million times.
In 2020, Imperioli and Schirripa signed a deal to write a book about The Sopranos. The book, called Woke Up This Morning: The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos, was released on November 2, 2021. In July 2020, he hosted a show on NTS Radio called 632 ELYSIAN FIELDS. Imperioli is also the guitarist and singer for the band Zopa. In 2020, Zopa released their first album, La Dolce Vita.
Imperioli played Andrew Cuomo in the Showtime series Escape at Dannemora (2018). He also played Angelo Dundee in the movie One Night in Miami (2020). In 2021, he was the narrator for The Many Saints of Newark, a movie that tells a story before The Sopranos. In January 2022, Imperioli was cast in a main role in the second season of the HBO series The White Lotus. For his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2023, it was announced that Imperioli would make his Broadway debut in 2024. He acted alongside Jeremy Strong and Victoria Pedretti in the play An Enemy of the People. He also acted in the film Oh, Canada, which was shown at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Michael Imperioli's Personal Life
Michael Imperioli married Victoria Chlebowski in 1996. They have homes in Manhattan and have three children. He and his family enjoy practicing Tae Kwon Do. In 2008, Imperioli became a Buddhist.
Michael Imperioli is a big fan of the animated TV show American Dad!. He has said in interviews that it is his favorite TV show. He even voiced a character named Fred, who was Roger's father, in an episode of the show.
Michael Imperioli's Film and Television Roles
Michael Imperioli has appeared in many films and television shows throughout his career. Here are some of his notable roles:
Films
- 1989: Lean on Me as George
- 1990: Goodfellas as Spider
- 1991: Jungle Fever as James Tucci
- 1992: Malcolm X as Reporter at Fire Bombing
- 1995: The Basketball Diaries as Bobby
- 1995: Bad Boys as Jojo
- 1999: Summer of Sam as Midnight (also co-writer)
- 2004: Shark Tale as Frankie (voice)
- 2009: The Lovely Bones as Detective Len Fenerman
- 2013: The Call as Alan Denado
- 2020: One Night in Miami... as Angelo Dundee
- 2021: The Many Saints of Newark as Christopher Moltisanti (voice)
- 2024: Oh, Canada as Malcolm
Television Shows
- 1999–2007: The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti (Main cast)
- 2005–2006: Law & Order as Detective Nick Falco (Recurring role)
- 2006: The Simpsons as Dante Jr. (voice)
- 2008–2009: Life on Mars as Detective Ray Carling (Main cast)
- 2010–2011: Detroit 1-8-7 as Detective Louis "Lou" Fitch (Main cast)
- 2013: The Office as Sensei Billy
- 2015–2018: Hawaii Five-0 as Odell Martin (Recurring role)
- 2016–2017: Lucifer as Uriel (Recurring role)
- 2018: Escape at Dannemora as Andrew Cuomo
- 2020: Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector as Rick Sellitto (Main cast)
- 2022: The White Lotus as Dominic Di Grasso (Main cast)
- 2024: American Dad! as Fred (voice)
Michael Imperioli's Podcasts
- 2020–2021: Talking Sopranos as Himself (co-host)
- 2022: Marvel's Wastelanders: Black Widow as Stanley (voice)
Michael Imperioli's Theatre Work
- 2007: Chicken as Floyd at Studio Dante
- 2024: An Enemy of the People as Peter Stockmann at Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway
Michael Imperioli's Awards and Nominations
Michael Imperioli has received many awards and nominations for his acting:
- Primetime Emmy Awards:
- 2001: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2003: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2004: Won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2006: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2007: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2023: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for The White Lotus
- Golden Globe Awards:
- 2002: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor – Television for The Sopranos
- 2004: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor – Television for The Sopranos
- Screen Actors Guild Awards:
- 1999: Won Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2000: Nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2001: Nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2002: Nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2004: Nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2006: Nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2007: Won Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Sopranos
- 2020: Nominated for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture for One Night in Miami
- 2022: Won Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series for The White Lotus
See also
In Spanish: Michael Imperioli para niños
