Joseph R. Gannascoli (born February 15, 1959) is an American actor and chef. He is best known for his portrayal of Vito Spatafore on the HBO series The Sopranos.

Early life

Gannascoli was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. In the 1980s, he attended St. John's University for two years, majoring in communications.

Career

Gannascoli received his "big break" in acting from Benicio del Toro, whom he met on the set on Money for Nothing. After appearing in Ed Wood, Del Toro later cast Gannascoli in his directorial debut, Submission. He also introduced him to Sheila Jaffe and Georgianne Walken, who did casting work for the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Gannascoli appeared in films including Mickey Blue Eyes and television shows including Law and Order before appearing on The Sopranos as a pastry shop patron named "Gino" in the season one episode "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti". He later secured a recurring role as the nephew of Richie Aprile, Vito Spatafore, in the season two episode "The Happy Wanderer". Along with Dan Grimaldi playing identical twins Patsy and Phillip "Philly Spoons" Parisi and Saundra Santiago playing identical twins Jeannie and Joannie Cusamano, it was one of the three times that the show used a single actor for separate roles. Prior to the start of Season 6, Gannascoli was promoted to series regular. Gannascoli brought the idea to the writers of making his character gay from a true story of the Gambino crime family, in a book called Murder Machine. Gannascoli later appeared in other films including Men in Black III. He stars in the 2015 movie An Act of War. In 2019, he appeared on an episode of the cannabis-themed competition cooking show, Bong Appétit: Cook Off. He appeared with Vincent Pastore on Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back on January 21, 2020. Gannascoli appeared in the pilot episode of Bring on the Dancing Horses with Kate Bosworth.

Novel

In January 2006, Gannascoli published a crime novel called A Meal to Die For: A Culinary Novel of Crime.

Culinary career

Before beginning his acting career, Gannascoli had worked for decades in the food service industry, working at restaurants in New York City and New Orleans, and founding one in Brooklyn, which he cashed out of in 1990 due to gambling debt. Since around 2017, Gannascoli has offered catering services for small parties, often Sopranos-themed, doing most of the cooking himself.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video Game