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IMDbPro

James Russo(I)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Director
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James Russo
Teaser Trailer for Condition of Return
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Condition of Return (undefined)
48 Videos
61 Photos
A Manhattan-born "tough guy" character lead and support, James (Vincent) Russo was born in New York City on April 23, 1953, to an Italian father and German mother. Raised in Flushing, New York, he graduated from the High School of Art and Design. He attended New York University where he wrote and starred in a prize-winning short film, "The Candy Store."

Developing an interest in acting, he drove a cab and worked as a construction worker and gravedigger while pursuing acting jobs. Making his on-camera debut in the TV movie Chicago Story (1981), James' first film was in the thriller A Stranger Is Watching (1982). His first break came as a convenience store robber in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). It helped to give him the lead role in the highly obscure, low-budgeted noir-ish thriller Vortex (1982). Possessed with a stare that could easily bring shivers down one's back, Russo would become an accessible villain over the years, memorably portraying a number of secondary psychopaths and gangsters, among other urban lowlifes, in such 80's films as Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and The Blue Iguana (1988).

Surprisingly, Russo is not a name or commodity, yet an intense and dependable "tough guy" performer he has proven to be. One only needs to be reminded of his sadistic sexual animal role in "Extremities" on stage (in which he won a 1983 Theatre World) and in the film version Extremities (1986) (in which he terrorized poor Farrah Fawcett), to recall how chillingly effective he could be. Other potent roles in films include We're No Angels (1989), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Illicit Behavior (1992), Da Vinci's War (1993), Condition Red (1995), Kevin Costner's The Postman (1997), No Way Home (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997) and Open Range (2003). Russo appeared opposite Johnny Depp in Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate (1999).

On stage, James has to his credit, powerful roles in "Welcome to Andromeda," "Deathwatch" and "Marat/Sade." On TV he appeared as a guest on such crime series as "The Equalizer," "Miami Vice," "Crime Story," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Dellaventura."

His looks hardening into the millennium, the veteran "bad guy" offered a penetrating cameo as Frank Sinatra in Stealing Sinatra (2003) and Rocky Graziano in The Bronx Bull (2016), plus rare-anti-hero parts in The Box (2003), which he also wrote, and Dreams and Shadows (2009). Back in "bad guy" form, Russo offered manly malice and menace in such low-budget indies as Pendulum (2001), Kings of the Evening (2008), The House Next Door (2002), The Hit (2007), Dark World (2008), Django Unchained (2012), Samuel Bleak (2013) and Badland (2019).

He is divorced and has two children.
BornApril 23, 1953
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BornApril 23, 1953
IMDbProStarmeter
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  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos61

Eddie Murphy and James Russo in Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Eddie Murphy and James Russo in Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Vanessa Marcil and James Russo in Las Vegas (2003)
Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, and James Russo in Donnie Brasco (1997)
Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Bruno Kirby, and James Russo in Donnie Brasco (1997)
Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, and James Russo in Donnie Brasco (1997)
Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, and James Russo in Donnie Brasco (1997)
Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, and James Russo in Donnie Brasco (1997)
Al Pacino and James Russo in Donnie Brasco (1997)
James Russo and Helena Mattsson in Code of Honor (2016)
James Russo and Helena Mattsson in Code of Honor (2016)
Dennis Quaid, Michael Chiklis, and James Russo in Sons of Nevada (2013)

Known for

Not a Stranger (2018)
Not a Stranger
6.5
  • Bob Madden
  • 2018
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, and Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained (2012)
Django Unchained
8.4
  • Dicky Speck
  • 2012
Kevin Costner in Open Range (2003)
Open Range
7.4
  • Sheriff Poole
  • 2003
Johnny Depp in The Ninth Gate (1999)
The Ninth Gate
6.7
  • Bernie
  • 1999

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • MobKing
    • Completed
  • Abused
    • Post-production
  • Undying
    • Post-production
  • Replica
    • Post-production
  • Down by the Water
    • Pre-production
  • Horizon
    • In Production
  • The Gemini Lounge
    • Completed
  • A Family's Fury
    • In Production
  • Merchandise
    • Pre-production
  • USA Motel
    • Pre-production
  • Mark David, Caroline Macey, Erik Fellows, and Kacy Owens in Starf*cker (2022)
    Starf*cker
  • Pig Killer (2022)
    Pig Killer
  • Owen Beckman and Gretchen Lodge in The Allnighter (2022)
    The Allnighter
  • William DeMeo and James Russo in Gravesend (2020)
    Gravesend
  • Sean Penn and Dylan Penn in Flag Day (2021)
    Flag Day
  • Cerebrum (2021)
    Cerebrum
  • Take Back (2021)
    Take Back
  • Eric Roberts, Michael Potts, James Russo, Jordan Tisdale, Gore Abrams, and Chloe Hurst in Welcome Home (2020)
    Welcome Home
  • The Penitent Thief (2020)
    The Penitent Thief
  • Chronicle of a Serial Killer (2020)
    Chronicle of a Serial Killer
  • Woe (2020)
    Woe
  • Neal Bledsoe in A Soldier's Revenge (2020)
    A Soldier's Revenge
  • 5th Borough (2020)
    5th Borough
  • Final Kill (2020)
    Final Kill
  • Valente Rodriguez, James Russo, Kavan Reece, John Hennigan, Kali Muscle, and Raquel Pomplun in Bullet Ride (2020)
    Bullet Ride

Writer

  • John Cusack, Robert De Niro, and Rebecca Da Costa in The Bag Man (2014)
    The Bag Man
  • The Box (2003)
    The Box

Director

  • Not a Stranger (2018)
    Not a Stranger
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos53

Code of Honor
Clip 0:57
Code of Honor
Code of Honor
Clip 1:13
Code of Honor
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:33
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:29
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:04
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:29
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:11
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:45
Official Trailer
Official Trailer 2
Trailer 1:54
Official Trailer 2
Trailer [EN]
Trailer 1:40
Trailer [EN]
Never Surrender
Trailer 1:36
Never Surrender
Public Enemies
Trailer 2:33
Public Enemies

Personal details

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    • Twitter
    • YouTube channel
    • April 23, 1953
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • Bettina RussoApril 1995 - April 2020 (divorced, 2 children)
    • (Sibling)
  • Appeared in a stage version of "Extremities".
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Worked as a cab driver for three years and a gravedigger before becoming an actor.

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