Armand Assante

Relegated to a series of low-budget thrillers in his later years despite impressive appearances in such films as Paradise Alley (1978) early on, Emmy-winning actor Armand Assante can always be relied upon to turn in a solid performance despite the fact that full-fledged stardom has eluded him throughout his long and varied career. A New York City native and a graduate of Cornwall Central High School, the handsome Irish-Italian actor got an impressive start to his acting career when he was awarded one of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts' highest honors while still a student at the renowned school. Assante is well versed in both stage and screen, and after he cut his teeth on such television dramas as How to Survive a Marriage and The Doctors, the fledgling actor got his big break opposite Sylvester Stallone in 1978's Paradise Alley. High-profile roles in Private Benjamin (1980) and Unfaithfully Yours (1984) found Assante gaining screen momentum in the early '80s, though the dedicated thespian continued to moonlight with numerous stage roles throughout the decade. From 1984 on, the majority of Assante's screen work was of the television variety, and in 1989 he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the made-for-television feature Jack the Ripper.

Assante started off the 1990s with a bang, and after gaining momentum with such efforts as Q & A (1990), The Mambo Kings (1992), and Hoffa (1992), an unrelentingly goofy performance in Fatal Instinct (1993) proved that he did indeed have a sense of humor despite his suave composure. With Judge Dredd (1995), Assante's feature career came to something of a head in the mid-'90s, and upon returning to the small screen he would take home an Emmy for his chilling performance as the eponymous character in the 1996 crime drama Gotti. Kudos would continue to roll in when Assante took the lead role in the television production of The Odyssey (1997), and after a strong few years onscreen he would usher in the new millennium with a voice role in the animated adventure The Road to El Dorado (2000). After taking the lead in the made-for-television remake of Stanley Kramer's nuclear war drama, On the Beach (2000), Assante spent the following few years appearing in such obscure action thrillers as Federal Protection (2001) and Partners in Action (2002). Despite his low profile, the tireless actor was in fact busier than ever as he appeared in no less than five films in 2003 alone.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide