Actor / Director Profile

Federico Castelluccio is a driven and talented individual maintaining two careers as a professional artist and established actor. As an actor, Federico is best famous for his role as Furio Giunta--imported hitman and object of Carmella Soprano's affections--on the HBO TV series "The Sopranos" (1999).Born in Naples, Italy, Federico moved with his family to Paterson, New Jersey, in 1968. In 1982 he was awarded a full scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he earned a BFA in painting and media arts.Federico began his career as an actor in 1986. Some of his film credits include Made (2001) with Jon Favreau, Fire (1996) with Robert Klein and Diary of a Hitman (1991) with Danny Aiello. In television, Federico's credits include "NYPD Blue" (1993). Debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) received two awards - one for best dramatic directing and best dramatic ensemble headed by Robert Downey Jr., Chazz Palminteri and Rosario Dawson. Federico's recent film projects include the biographical _Cantante, El (2006)_ starring Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez; Aftermath (2002), a crime-thriller starring Anthony Michael Hall and Chris Penn and directed and written by Thomas Farone; Dark Illness (1990), filmed in southern Italy, a short film that Federico executive-produced and in which he acted; Capers (2008), a comedy, is due for release in 2007 and stars Danny Masterson. Lucky Days (2006) recently completed filming in New York City. In television, Federico was seen as the lead role in Dragon Dynasty (2006) (TV), which aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.Castelluccio is a serious artist. His fine-art paintings have drawn praise for their high level of technical ability, finding influence in the Renaissance and 17th-century Italian and Dutch baroque masters. Over the years he has exhibited his paintings in galleries in New York City, Washington DC and Santa Fe, New Mexico. His works are held in the collection of the Yale Fine Art Museum and Kresge Art Museum as well as private collections throughout the United States, South America and Europe. In 2006 Federico and Paul Sorvino were privately commissioned for artwork to be donated for permanent installation to a new wing of the Boca Raton Community Hospital in Florida.