Lillo Brancato Jr. ( born August 30, 1976) [2] is an American actor best known for playing the roles of Calogero Anello in the directorial debut of Robert de Niro's “ Bronze Story ” and the young mafioso Matthew Bevilacua in the series Clan Soprano ".
| Lillo Brancato Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Lillo brancato jr. | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | Bogota , Colombia |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Profession | actor |
| Career | 1993-2007, 2014 - present time |
| IMDb | |
In December 2005, Brancato was sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating in a house robbery and murder of police officer Daniel Enschegi in the Bronx . The actor served his sentence in several prisons and was released on parole in December 2013 [3] . Since his release, Brancato has tried to resume his acting career, but the criminal past and a tarnished reputation have significantly limited his future career prospects to such an extent that in 2018, Brancato became the hero of the documentary Wasted Talent .
Biography
The Early Years and Early Careers
Brancato was born in Bogota, Colombia on August 30, 1976. At the age of four months, he was adopted by an Italian-American couple - Lillo Sr., a builder, and Domenica, an electrolysis specialist [4] , who lived in Yonkers , New York . He studied at Mount Saint Michael Academy.
His adoptive brother, Vinnie, did not work long as a model and now works as a state employee of Yonkers [5] .
Although he was born in Colombia, Brancato said: “I consider myself an Italian. I was raised to eat pasta” [6] .
Brancato's acting career began after a scout saw him on the beach, noting the outward resemblance of the guy to Robert de Niro. Brancato was a big fan of de Niro and especially loved the movie Taxi Driver , often imitating de Niro’s habits and manner of speaking [7] . This helped him get a role in the directorial debut of the famous actor - “The Bronx Story ”, where Brankato played a teenager torn between his father, a bus driver and a local mafioso, whom he made friends with as a child [8] . According to New York magazine, Brancato received a fee of 25 thousand dollars for his role [8] . The very next year, Brancato starred in the movie " Renaissance Man " with Danny De Vito , and until 2000 managed to play in several large-budget films in supporting roles and in episodes.
Starting in 2000, Brancato began acting in the TV series The Soprano Clan as the young criminal gangster Tony Soprano. Brancato appeared in five episodes of the second season, after which his character was "killed."
Arrest and Prison
When the filming of The Bronx Story ended in 1993, Robert De Niro and Chazz Palminteri warned Brancato that when the film was released, his life would change dramatically and he would have to be very smart and careful in making decisions. But Brancato, by his own admission, being a 17-year-old teenager, whom de Niro himself chose for the role, did not take the instructions of experienced comrades seriously [7] [9] . Doubtful acquaintances, laziness and confidence in his "star" status led to the fact that Brancato began to neglect the proposed roles and became addicted to drugs. His career prospects began to deteriorate rapidly, while Brancato's drug dependence was growing stronger: he switched from soft drugs to cocaine and heroin [7] . The exhortations of James Gandolfini did not affect him during the filming of “The Soprano Clan”, which saw the young actor stepping on a slippery road [10] .
On June 10, 2005, Brankato was arrested by Yonkers patrol police on charges of possession of heroin, four bags of which were found in an actor in a pack of cigarettes.
On December 10, 2005, Brancato was arrested on suspicion of the murder of police officer Daniel Enschegie in the Bronx. [11] Enschegi prevented the robbery that Brancato and his girlfriend's father, 48-year-old Stephen Armento, tried to carry out. Enshotegi called for reinforcements, but before his arrival he entered into a shootout with robbers, during which he was mortally wounded. Brancato and Armento also received gunshot wounds and were arrested by police near the crime scene.
Armento was found guilty of the murder of Enschega and sentenced to life imprisonment without the right to review [3] . Brancato was charged with second-degree murder [12] , but the jury found him not guilty. Nevertheless, the actor was convicted of attempted robbery of the first degree and sentenced to 10 years in prison [13] [14] . In court, Brancato cried and asked for forgiveness from the family of the murdered, to which the sister of Enschegi sarcastically stated that this performance of Brancato was worthy of an Oscar .
Brancato served his sentence in Oneida Correctional Center , and was subsequently transferred to the Hudson Correctional Center [2] . On December 31, 2013 he was released on parole [16] .
Further Life
After leaving prison, Brankato tried to resume his acting career, but did not receive any noticeable roles in studio films. Chazz Palminteri openly stated that he would not help his former colleague restore his career [9] . In 2018, Brancato became the hero of the autobiographical documentary “Wasted Talent” (“Wasted Talent”), telling about his rise and fall. The name of the film is a reference to a phrase from the movie “The Bronx Story” when Lorenzo Anello (Robert De Niro) tells his son Calogero (Brancato) that “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent” [17] .
Notes
- ↑ Internet Movie Database - 1990.
- ↑ 1 2 Inmate Population Information Search . New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Date of treatment July 10, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Murder trial scheduled for 'Sopranos' actor . International Herald Tribune (November 8, 2008).
- ↑ Lillo Brancato Biography (1976-) . Film Reference.com.
- ↑ Game Theory: Lost in New York . PsycEXTRA Dataset (2006). Date of treatment September 2, 2019.
- ↑ Shooting Star // Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia. - Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005-10-14. - ISBN 0471743984 , 9780471743989.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Thomas Golianopoulos. Wasted Talent (July 11, 2017). Date of appeal May 30, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 Fishman, Steve. The Lost Soprano . New York (February 27, 2006).
- ↑ 1 2 Chazz Palminteri blasts fellow actor Lillo Brancato, involved in burglary that left cop dead (January 5, 2014). Date of appeal May 30, 2018.
- ↑ 'Sopranos' actor Lillo Brancato talks getting sober after life in jail, returning to acting (March 22, 2018). Date of appeal May 30, 2018.
- ↑ The Officer Down Memorial Page: Detective Daniel Enchautegui . The Officer Down Memorial Page.
- ↑ Wilson, Michael Did Suspects Know Victim Was an Officer? Police Say Statements Differ . The New York Times (December 13, 2005).
- ↑ Chan, Sewell . Ex-Actor Acquitted of Officer's Murder , The New York Times (December 22, 2008). Date of treatment December 22, 2008.
- ↑ John Eligon . 10-Year Sentence for 'Sopranos' Actor , New York Times (January 9, 2009). Date of treatment January 9, 2009.
- ↑ Lorena Mongelli. WHAT AN ACT - COP'S SIS: KILLER STAR DESERVES OSCAR FOR 'I'M SORRY' SOB STORY (December 30, 2005). Date of treatment May 22, 2018.
- ↑ Tom Hays. Former 'Sopranos' Actor Brancato Gets Parole Associated Press (December 31, 2013). Date of treatment January 4, 2014.
- ↑ The text of the film Bronk History, the script of the film Bronk History . vvord.ru. Date of appeal September 5, 2018.
Links
- Brancato, Lillo ( Internet ) on the Internet Movie Database