Background
Pantoliano was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the son of Italian American parents Mary (née Centrella), a bookie and seamstress, and Dominic "Monk" Pantoliano, a hearse driver and factory foreman.
Pantoliano was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the son of Italian American parents Mary (née Centrella), a bookie and seamstress, and Dominic "Monk" Pantoliano, a hearse driver and factory foreman.
He attended HB Studio, and studied extensively with actors John Lehne and Herbert Berghof.
Pantoliano is best known for portraying Ralph Cifaretto on The Sopranos, Bob Keane in Louisiana Bamba, Cypher in The Matrix, Teddy in Memento, Francis Fratelli in The Goonies, Guido in Risky Business, Eddie Moscone in Midnight Run, and Caesar in Bound. He also played Deputy United States. Marshal Cosmo Renfro in both The Fugitive and United States. Marshals. He first grew to fame as "Guido the Killer Pimp" in Risky Business, and continued to rise in 1985 when he appeared as the villainous Francis Fratelli in teen classic The Goonies.
Pantoliano is also known for his role as Eddie Moscone, the foul-mouthed, double-crossing bail bondsman, in the Robert De Niro comedy Midnight Run, as Captain Howard in Bad Boys and its sequel Bad Boys 2", as double-crossed mafioso Caesar in Bound, as John "Teddy" Gammell in Memento, and as investigative journalist Ben Urich in Mark Steven Johnson"s 2003 Daredevil adaptation.
He also played Deputy Marshal Cosmo Renfro in The Fugitive along with Tommy Lee Jones and reprised the role in the sequel United States. Marshals. He is known for his portrayals of criminals, criminal investigators, detectives, and forensic specialists with a wisecracking touch.
In 2003, Pantoliano replaced Stanley Tucci in the Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. In 2012, Joe Pantoliano stars as the eccentric pawn broker Oswald Oswald in the film adaptation of Wendy Mass’s popular children's book Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, written and directed by Tamar Halpern.
In 2013, he was cast in the role of Yogi Berra for the Broadway production of Bronx Bombers, but he dropped out during rehearsals due to "creative differences".
When not acting, Pantoliano also writes. He"s the author of two memoirs: Who’s Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy and Asylum: Hollywood Tales From My Great Depression: Brain Dis-Ease, Recovery and Being My Mother’s Son. In the latter, he writes about his addictions to alcohol, food, sex, Vicodin and Percocet, before being diagnosed with clinical depression.