Every gangster life enthusiast must be very well aware of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 masterpiece of a crime drama, Goodfellas, and it’d be a bit worrying to not know about Joe Pesci at all if they’ve seen the movie in which he assumes the role of the most beloved character- Tommy DeVito
Joe Pesci is also pretty well decorated in terms of personal achievements in the movie industry, having won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, as well as two further nominations for Raging Bull & The Irishman. He’s also a recurring cast member in Martin Scorsese’s gangster movies, because after all, his those nominations have come from the movies directed by Scorsese. Here’s how he made it all the way to the elite ranks of Hollywood.
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From Rags To Riches, Joe Pesci’s Rise To The Top Of Hollywood’s Elite Actors
On February 9, 1943, Angelo and Maria Pesci welcomed their newborn son Joe Pesci into the world. The Pesci family lived in the city of Newark in New Jersey, Pesci’s dad was a forklift driver as well as a bartender, and his mother was a part-time barber.
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The Home Alone actor’s career in the field of acting started quite early. He was already appearing in local radio dramas and worked on several plays in the city of New York, a place full of opportunities, and by was frequenting appearances in a variety show on TV called Startime Kids.
However, Pesci shifted his interests into another field of art as he grew older- and that was in the field of music. His first album— Little Joe Sure Can Sing!, which was a collection of song covers by him, was released in 1968. The Once Upon A Time In America actor was also a part of Joey Dee & The Starlifters, a music group/band which later recruited universally praised guitarist Jimi Hendrix after Pesci left the band.
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That One Call From Martin Scorsese Would Change His Life Forever
Joe Pesci’s acting career really began when he landed a role in the 1976 crime drama movie, The Death Collector, which had a low-budget setup. Little did he know that his performance in the movie would end up getting him a role in another Scorsese masterpiece, essentially kick-starting his rise to the top of Hollywood.
Martin Scorsese, along with Robert De Niro, wereimpressed by Pesci’s performance in The Death Collector. Both of them ended up calling Pesci in 1979, with the offer of a supporting role in Scorsese’s upcoming sports drama movie Raging Bull, he gladly accepted the offer.
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Ever since his involvement in Raging Bull, the musician-actor has appeared in lots of critically-appraised movies-the list includes Goodfellas, Moonwalker, the first two Home Alone movies, and so on. Pesci’s last appearance in a movie was in the critically-acclaimed gangster epic The Irishman, directed by Martin Scorsese yet again.
Joe Pesci’s hard-work and acting prowess have earned him the reputation of being one of the most respected actors in Hollywood, it has also given him a fortune that could last him for three centuries. The 79-year-old actor has a net-worth of $50 million, and that can keep growing.
