Biography for
Michael Imperioli More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

26 March 1966, Mount Vernon, New York, USA

Birth Name

James Michael Imperioli

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Imperioli was born James Michael Imperioli in Mt. Vernon, New York on March 26, 1966. His film work began in the late 1980s. An early part that brought him recognition was in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990), as Spider, a local kid who works for the gangsters and has a run-in with a psychopathic mob soldier played by Joe Pesci. He worked throughout the 1990s in the New York independent film industry, especially as a regular in Spike Lee's movies, appearing in Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Clockers (1995), Girl 6 (1996) and Summer of Sam (1999), generally playing working-class Italian-Americans from the "outer boroughs." While rooted in the New York movie scene, Imperioli also worked in Hollywood in the mid-'90s, in the formulaic movies Bad Boys (1995) and Last Man Standing (1996).

In 1999, Imperioli was cast in "The Sopranos" (1999) as Christopher Moltisanti, a low-ranking soldier in the Soprano crime organization whose family connections to street boss Tony Soprano move him up the ladder in the organization. Imperioli's multi-layered portrayal of such an unappealing character is a real highlight of the series and earned him an Emmy and a SAG award.

Imperioli has long been active in the New York theater scene as well, having written, directed, produced or starred in numerous plays. He was a founder, along with Lili Taylor (his then-girlfriend and co-star in Household Saints (1993)) of the downtown theater company Machine Full. He has also written several episodes of "The Sopranos" and was a writer on Lee's "Summer of Sam," which he also executive-produced. Although most famous for his prominent part in "The Sopranos," Imperioli has worked on other television programs as well, including "Law & Order" (1990), "New York Undercover" (1994) and "NYPD Blue" (1993). He is married and has two children and one stepdaughter.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Larry-115

Spouse

Victoria Chlebowski

(1995 - present) 2 children

Trade Mark

Bushy Eyebrows

New York/New Jersey accent

Trivia

Has two children, Vadim (b. 1997), and David (b. 2001) with wife Victoria, and a stepdaughter, Isabella.

Played 'Spider' who gets shot in the foot in Goodfellas (1990) and he plays a mobster named Christopher in "The Sopranos" (1999) who shoots someone in the foot as an inside tribute to his earlier role.

Grew up in Mount Vernon, New York.

Has a brother, John, who attended Mount Vernon High School.

Italian-American

Graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers, New York

Although he often portrays violent Mafia characters, and has appeared in other violent movies and TV shows, he claims to despise on-screen violence.

Was engaged to Lili Taylor.

Studied acting at New York City's Stella Adler Conservatory.

Played characters named "Jo Jo" in two films released in 1995 - 'Clockers (1995)_ and Bad Boys (1995).