Max Casella

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Max Casella
Max Casella (28754172591).jpg
Casella in August 2016
Born
Maximilian Deitch

(1967-06-06) June 6, 1967 (age 54)
OccupationActor
Years active1981–present
Spouse(s)
Leona Robbins
(m. 2002)
Separated in 2018.[1]
Children2

Max Casella (born Maximilian Deitch; June 6, 1967)[2] is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Doogie Howser, M.D., Vinyl, Cro and the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.[3]

Early life[]

Casella was born in Washington, D.C., the son of David Deitch, a newspaper columnist, and Doris Casella, a social worker. His father is Jewish and his mother is of Italian descent.[4][5][6] He grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, where his classmates included Traci Bingham, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon. Max has pituitary dwarfism, which accounted for his ability to play characters much younger than his actual age. [7]

Career[]

Casella played Vincent "Vinnie" Delpino in the television series Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1989 to 1993 with Neil Patrick Harris.[8] In 1992, Casella played Racetrack Higgins in Newsies, which was based upon true events in the 1899 newsboys strike against Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. He appeared in WindRunner: A Spirited Journey, starring Margot Kidder and Russell Means as Jim Thorpe's ghost. In 1997, Casella played Timon in the original Broadway production of The Lion King; a performance for which he was awarded a Theatre World Award and received a Drama Desk Award nomination. From 2000 to 2001 he returned to Broadway as Marcellus Washburn in the revival of The Music Man. Casella portrayed Pvt. Dino Paparelli in Sgt. Bilko. He joined the cast of the HBO series The Sopranos during its third season, as Benny Fazio.[9] Casella also starred in Ed Wood and Analyze This. In 2007, Casella portrayed Dick Howser in the ESPN mini-series The Bronx is Burning. He also voiced Tip in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, Zini in the CGI film Dinosaur and the titular character in ABC's Cro. In 2008, Casella played Mack Steiner in Leatherheads and Dennis, one of the main characters in Scaring the Fish. He also played Leo D'Alessio in season one of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

Personal life[]

Casella married Leona Robbins in 2002, and has two daughters, Mia and Gioia. They lived in New York City;[10] and they separated in 2018.[11]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Newsies Racetrack Higgins
1994 Ed Wood Paul Marco
1996 Sgt. Bilko Spc. Dino Paparelli
1997 Trial and Error Dr. Brown
1999 Analyze This Nicky Shivers
1999 Freak Talks About Sex Freak's High School Friend
2000 The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea Tip (voice) Direct-to-video
2000 Dinosaur Zini (voice)
2005 The Notorious Bettie Page Howie
2006 Bristol Boys Donny
2008 Leatherheads Max Steiner
2008 Revolutionary Road Ed Small
2011 Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Anthony Canetti
2011 Somewhere Tonight Fred
2012 Killing Them Softly Barry Caprio
2013 Inside Llewyn Davis Pappi Corsicato
2013 Blue Jasmine Eddie
2013 The Last of Robin Hood Stanley Kubrick
2013 Fading Gigolo Guy at Counter
2015 Oldboy James Prestley
2015 Wild Card Osgood
2015 Applesauce Les
2015 Christmas Eve Randy
2016 Jackie Jack Valenti
2016 Live by Night Digger Pescatore
2017 Wonder Wheel Ryan
2018 Night Comes On Mark
2019 Late Night Burditt
2020 The Rhythm Section Leon Giler
2020 Paper Spiders Gary
TBA This Is The Night Post-production
TBA The Tender Bar Post-production

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1983 Don't Look Now! Max Deitch 3 episodes
1988 The Equalizer Streak Episode: "The Child Broker"
1989 Kate & Allie Mike Sheridan Episode: "Chip's Notes"
1989–1993 Doogie Howser, M.D. Vinnie Delpino 97 episodes
1993–1994 Cro Cro (voice) 20 episodes
1995 The Cosby Mysteries Simon Cosler Episode: "Comic Book Murder"
1995–1996 The Adventures of Hyperman Studd Puppy (voice) 13 episodes
1996 Hey Arnold! Tony B. / Philly D. (voices) Episodes: "Benchwarmer/Cool Jerk"
1998 Working Quinten McCracken Episode: "Greenery"
2001–2007 The Sopranos Benny Fazio 28 episodes
2002 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Nicky Episode: "Shandeh"
2002 Courage the Cowardly Dog The Beaver (voice) Episode: "A Beaver's Tale"
2007 Queens Supreme Christopher Schiffer Episode: "Case by Case"
2007 The Bronx Is Burning Dick Howser 4 episodes
2009 Medium Joel Tiernan Episode: "Soul Survivor"
2010 Hawaii Five-0 Joey Episode: "Malama Ka Aina"
2010 Boardwalk Empire Leo D'Alessio 7 episodes
2011 The Confession Eddie 2 episodes
2016 Vinyl Julian "Julie" Silver Main cast; 10 episodes
2016 The Night Of Edgar Episode: "The Art of War"
2016 Crisis in Six Scenes Barber Episode #1.1
2017–2019 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Michael Kessler 4 episodes
2017–2018 The Detour Joe Delicious 13 episodes
2018 Shades of Blue Capt. Daniel Pines 2 episodes
2018 Ray Donovan Emerson Lake 6 episodes

Video games[]

Year Title Role
2001 Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Daxter
2003 Jak II
2004 Jak 3
2005 Jak X: Combat Racing
2006 Daxter Daxter, Hotelier
2007 Pain Daxter
2009 Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
2009 Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony Union Official
2011 PlayStation Move Heroes Daxter
2012 PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

References[]

  1. ^ "Filmcraziest Podcast". Filmcraziest. 3 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Search: Maximilian Deitch". Family Search. March 3, 2015.
  3. ^ "Gaming 2003". Spin. December 2003. p. 90. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  4. ^ "NJ.com's Printer-Friendly Page". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29.
  5. ^ Ducker, Eric (December 10, 2013). "Q&A: Inside Llewyn Davis and Oldboy's Max Casella on the Coens, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, and Surviving The Sopranos and Child Acting". Grantland.
  6. ^ Jewish Community Centers and Federation of Tampa: "Jews in the News: Kirk Douglas, Natalie Portman and Max Cassella" by Nate Bloom. December 5, 2016
  7. ^ Showbiz Cheatsheet: "‘The Sopranos’ Actor Max Casella Looked So Young In His Twenties Police Accused Him of Stealing Cars" by Brandi Yetzer. February 7, 2021
  8. ^ Rathe, Adam (3 May 2008). "Edge of his seat". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  9. ^ Lavery, David; Howard, Douglas L.; Levinson, Paul (2011). The Essential Sopranos Reader. University Press of Kentucky. p. 320. ISBN 9780813130125.
  10. ^ Hassan, John (July 6, 2007). "Lights, cameras, action at "The Bronx is Burning" premiere". Page 2. ESPN.
  11. ^ ""Scenes from an Empty Church"" (Podcast). .

External links[]

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