Biography

A Manhattan-born character player who attended New York University, actor James Russo wrote and starred in a prize-winning short film called THE CANDY STORE while attending college. His first big film break was as a convenience store robber in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. Possessed with a stare that can bring shivers down one's back, he has been quite the accessible villain over the years, memorably portraying a number of gritty psychopaths and gangsters, among other undesirables. One only needs to be reminded of his sadistic sexual animal role in "Extremities" on stage (in which he won a Theatre World award) and in film (in which he terrorized Farrah Fawcett), to recall how chillingly effective he can be. Other roles in films include Kevin Costner's THE POSTMAN and OPEN RANGE, plus BEVERLY HILLS COP, WE'RE NO ANGELS, DONNIE BRASCO, and NO WAY HOME. On stage, he has "Welcome to Andromeda," "Deathwatch," "Marat/Sade" and the afore-mentioned "Extremities" to his credit. Russo appeared opposite Johnny Depp in Roman Polanski's THE NINTH GATE, and portrayed mobster Victor Mura in TV's "Falcone" the following year. He also offered a penetrating cameo as Frank Sinatra in STEALING SINATRA and recently completed portraying Walter Dietrich in the Michael Mann film, PUBLIC ENEMIES starring Johnny Depp.