Dennis Farina (Chicago, Illinois, USA, 29 February 1944 - Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, 22 July 2013)


American film and television actor and a former policeman from Chicago. He had worked in the police force for eighteen years before, from 1967 to 198, and became an actor in his late thirties. He worked mostly in the theft unit and that was the reason director Michael Mann hired him as a police consultant for his crime drama Thief (1981). Noting his talent, Mann gave him his first smaller role in the film. After that, Farina continued appearing in minor roles in various television movies and series. He made his theatrical debut in 1982 in the play A Prayer for My Daughter, directed by John Malkovich. In 1985, he left the police and worked with Mann again on the thriller Manhunter (1986), which was followed by the lead role in the very popular television series Crime Story, thanks to Mann who was the executive producer. Between 1986 and 1988, he played a cop in series. He had a great role in Martin Brest’s crime comedy Midnight Run (1988). In the beginning of his career he was almost always playing cops or gangsters. He later had engagements in various television series, films and low-budget films such as Men of Respect (1990) by William Reilly, Mac (1992) by the actor and director John Turturro and Another Stakeout (1993) by John Badham. He played in major film productions such as Striking Distance (1993) by Rowdy Herrington, Get Shorty (1995) by Barry Sonnenfeld, crime drama Out of Sight (1998) by Steven Soderbergh and Saving Private Ryan (1998) by Steven Spielberg. He starred with Whoopi Gooldberg in the sports comedy Eddie (1996) by Steve Rasha, and with Bette Midler in the romantic comedy That Old Feeling (1997) by Carl Reiner. He starred in Guy Ritchie's thriller Snatch (2000), and then appeared in the television series In-Laws (2002 to 2003). After the crime film Paparazzi (2004) by Abascala Paul, in 2005 he made his first appearance in the role of Detective Joe Fontana in the television series Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005). He played the same character in the series Law & Order between 2004 and 2006. This was followed by a role in the detective comedy You Kill Me (2007) by John Dahl. He also starred in comedies Grand (2007) by Zak Penn and What Happens in Vegas (2008) by Tom Vaughan. From 2008 to 2010, he hosted the television show Unsolved Mysteries. He had a successful leading role in the drama The Last Rites of Joe May (2011) by Joe Maggio. In 2011, he again collaborated with Michael Mann, starring with Dustin Hoffman in the TV series Luck (2011), with Mann as executive co-producer and one of the directors.







Filmography:

Lucky Stiff (in production)

Authors Anonymous (2014)

The Last Rites of Joe May (2011)

Knucklehead (2010)

What Happens in Vegas (2008)

Bottle Shock (2008)

Bag Boy (2007)

The Grand (2007)

Purple Violets (2007)

You Kill Me (2007)

Scrambled Eggs (2004)

Paparazzi (2004)

Stealing Harvard (2002)

Big Trouble (2002)

Sidewalks of New York (2001)

Snatch (2000)

Preston Tylk (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

The Mod Squad (1999)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Out of Sight (1998)

That Old Feeling (1997)

Eddie (1996)

Get Shorty (1995)

Out of Annie's Past (1995) (video)

Little Big League (1994)

Striking Distance (1993)

Romeo Is Bleeding (1993) (uncredited)

Another Stakeout (1993)

Street Crimes (1992)

Mac (1992)

We're Talkin' Serious Money (1992)

Men of Respect (1990)

Midnight Run (1988)

Manhunter (1986)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)

Code of Silence (1985)

Thief (1981)