John Turturro

Overview

Born
February 28, 1957 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Birth name
John Michael Turturro
Height
6′ 0½″ (1.84 m)

Biography

Family

Spouse
Children
Parents
Relatives

Trademarks

Frequently works with Spike Lee, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.
Dramatic acting style
Raspy voice and heavy New York accent
Curly black hair

Trivia

John Turturro speaks fluent Italian, as amply demonstrated by his role in My Mother (2015).
Has appeared in more films directed by Spike Lee than any other actor. They first worked together in Do the Right Thing (1989) and as of Miracle at St. Anna (2008) has appeared in nine of Lee's films.
A native of Brooklyn and a big fan of Big Trouble in Little China (1986), John Turturro Is the second of three brothers. Older brother of Nicholas Turturro. Cousin of Aida Turturro and Ralph Turturro. Father of Arianna Turturro and Diego Z. Turturro. The Turturro family originated in Giovinazzo, Bari, Italy.
His Brooklyn, New York-born mother, Katherine Florence Incerella (born March 24, 1921 - died October 12, 2005), was a professional singer.
As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Raging Bull (1980), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Quiz Show (1994).

Quotes

I mean usually with movies, if you're dark, you're a bad guy. That's it. I turned down a million bad guy things.
I didn't want to be an actor who played Italian thugs. I'm not even interested in those guys really, unless it's a great part. And I knew that movies were predicated on how you look. But a few people gave me the opportunities to do other things, and I just took it and ran with it.
[2011, on The Nutcracker: The Untold Story (2010) ] That was a whole huge makeup job. That was an interesting experience. I'm kind of disappointed that the movie got chopped up a little bit, here and there. They didn't know what to do with it. I think when they originally tested it, boys liked it better than girls. It was a little too dark. But it was a really fun role, and I loved working with Elle Fanning and Andrei Konchalovsky. He was a taskmaster, and we butted heads many days, but I still think he's a very talented guy. I was happy with what I did in the movie, but I think, originally, it was better. And we didn't shoot it in 3-D. That was something definitely disappointing for me because I felt like I was in the realm of doing something interesting.
(2011, on his hair) Well, they said in Newsweek years ago that "John Turturro is to hair what Meryl Streep is to accents", or something like that. That was for Barton Fink (1991). It's funny, because my hair is really not that malleable, but I have done lots of crazy haircuts and had my hair straightened and this and that. I've also worn some wigs, and [Grace of My Heart (1996)] was actually a wig that I'd had made for another movie, Search and Destroy (1995). We remodeled it and, because it was long, we turned it up. That was a great job by the wig makers, the stylists. We used it long, short. So yes, hair is very important. Look at Donald Trump. Where would he be without his hair? Don King and Donald Trump are the prime examples. They've got the crowns.
[2011, on Grace of My Heart (1996)] I loved, loved doing that movie. I would put that part as one of the more successful parts I've ever played in a movie. I loved playing that role. I loved what the movie was about. I really liked working with Illeana Douglas, and I loved working with Allison Anders. I really regret that I haven't gotten to work with her again. I had a blast doing that movie. I met a guy who I based my speech pattern on - a guy who was in the music business, but he wasn't a music manager. I interviewed all these guys, and I found this one guy through a friend of mine, and he was just the key to the whole thing. Because it was well-written, but I was just trying to do something a little bit different, you know? And I basically did him in the movie. I really loved doing that movie. It's all about a lot of the music from when I was a little kid.