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Compact with dark wavy hair and large expressive brown eyes, Joe Mantello has established himself as a leading actor and director in NYC theater since the late 1980s. Born and raised in the Midwest, he received his training at the North Carolina School of the Arts. With his classmates writer Peter Hedges and actress Mary-Louise Parker, Mantello co-founded the now defunct Edge Theater in NYC. By 1989, the young actor had become associated with the famed Circle Repertory Company as both an actor (in productions like Paula Vogel's "The Baltimore Waltz") and director (with shows like "Imagining Brad")....
Full Bio , Awards & Milestones

Filmography

Schmucks - ( Director / / Announced / )
Love! Valour! Compassion! - ( Director / 1997 / Released / )
Cookie - ( Dominick / 1989 / Released / Greater Union Distributors )
TV Credits
Mario Cantone: Laugh Whore ( 2005 / Released ): Director
Bash: Latterday Plays ( 2000 / Released ): Director
Central Park West ( 1995 / Released ): Actor
In the Wings: Angels in America on Broadway ( 1993 / Released ): Actor
Law & Order ( 1990 / Released ): Actor
Sisters ( Released ): Actor
Full Biography (Back to top)

Compact with dark wavy hair and large expressive brown eyes, Joe Mantello has established himself as a leading actor and director in NYC theater since the late 1980s. Born and raised in the Midwest, he received his training at the North Carolina School of the Arts. With his classmates writer Peter Hedges and actress Mary-Louise Parker, Mantello co-founded the now defunct Edge Theater in NYC. By 1989, the young actor had become associated with the famed Circle Repertory Company as both an actor (in productions like Paula Vogel's "The Baltimore Waltz") and director (with shows like "Imagining Brad"). He landed a bit role in Susan Seidelman's uneven comedy "Cookie" (1989), but found other acting roles lacking in both quality and number. After deciding to focus on a directing career, Mantello was offered a prominent role in Tony Kushner's acclaimed award-winning two-part drama "Angels in America". As Louis Ironson, a nervous, garrulous left-leaning clerical worker afraid of commitment yet coping with life and love in the age of AIDS, he demonstrated impressive range and likability. He received a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination for "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches". Despite a growing profile as a stage actor, Mantello landed relatively few other acting roles. Like many New York-based performers, he made the requisite guest appearance on NBC's "Law & Order" (1991), as a public defender. His other small screen credits include a guest shot on "Sisters" (NBC, 1993) and a recurring role as an unscrupulous theatrical producer on "Central Park West" (CBS, 1995).

Mantello's secondary career as a director accelerated with his sensitive staging of Jon Robin Baitz's two character drama "Three Hotels" in both NYC (1993) and L.A. (1995). He made his Broadway directing debut with Donald Margulies' black comedy "What's Wrong With This Picture?" (1994), which folded quickly. Only a month earlier, he had successfully helmed Terrence McNally's award-winning play about eight gay men spending summer weekends together, "Love! Valour! Compassion!" off-Broadway. When the production moved to the Great White Way, it received critical praise for its elegiac staging and earned Mantello a Best Director Tony nomination. He has continued to oversee theatrical productions including a 1995 revival of Craig Lucas' "Blue Window".

When the feature adaptation of "Love! Valour! Compassion!" was to be made, Mantello was tapped to direct. A conflict with original cast member Nathan Lane caused a delay in filming. Jason Alexander was selected to replace him, joined by the other original cast members (including John Glover and Stephen Spinella). The finished product premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film festival.


Profession(s):
director, Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
Joseph Mantello
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Companion(s)
Jon Robin Baitz , Companion , ```..met in 1989; together since November 1990


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Education
North Carolina School of the Arts Winston-Salem, North Carolina acting 1984
Awards (Back to top)
Tony Award Best Direction of a Play "Assassins" 2004
Tony Award Best Direction of a Play "Take Me Out" 2003
Special OBIE Citation "Another American: Asking and Telling" 1999 - 2000
OBIE Award Direction "Love! Valour! Compassion!" 1994 - 1995
Clarence Derwent Award "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches" 1993
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches" 1993

Milestones (Back to top)
2005 Directed the high-octane revival of David Mamet's play "Glengarry Glen Ross," about a dog-eat-dog real estate office in Chicago; earned a Tony nominatio for directing
2004 Directed "Assassins," the dark musical by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman about Americans who dream of killing their country's presidents
2003 Directed the award winning musical "Wicked" starring Kristin Chenoweth
2002 Directed "Take Me Out", Richard Greenberg's play about a baseball player who discloses his homosexuality; premiered at England's Donmar Theatre, then played in NYC at The Public Theater
2001 Staged the Broadway revival of "Design for Living"
2000 Directed the Off-Broadway production of "The Vagina Monologues"
2000 Was the director of the San Fransisco Opera premiere of "Dead Man Walking", with a libretto by Terrence McNally
1999 Directed "bash", an evening of three one-act plays by Neil LaBute
1999 Staged "The Vagina Monologues" by Eve Ensler
1999 Helmed the one-person vehicle "Another American: Asking & Telling", starring Marc Wolf
1998 Collaborated again with Terrence McNally as director of the playwright's controversial "Corpus Christi"
1997 Feature film directorial debut, "Love! Valour! Compassion!"
1995 Played recurring role of producer Ian Walker on CBS sudser "Central Park West"
1994 Broadway directing debut, "What's Wrong With This Picture?"
1993 Broadway acting debut, "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches"
1991 Joined the Naked Angels theater troupe
1991 Network TV acting debut, guest appearance on NBC drama "Law and Order"
1989 Made stage directing debut with "Imagining Brad" at Circle Rep
1989 Film acting debut, "Cookie"
1984 Moved to NYC
1984 Co-founder of Edge Theater in NYC with Mary-Louise Parker and Peter Hedges
Raised in Rockford, Illinois
Appeared off-Broadway with the Circle Repertory Company

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