Paul Sorvino Biography

Paul Sorvino was an actor of stage and screen, best known for his role as Paulie the crime boss in Goodfellas (1990, directed by Martin Scorsese).

Sorvino grew up in Brooklyn and took singing lessons from the age of 8, hoping to be an opera singer.

Instead he found his way to the New York stage, first appearing on Broadway in 1964. He began getting film and television work by the end of the decade, and in 1972 he was on Broadway for That Championship Season.

Sorvino did some film and TV work in the 1970s, but was more successful in the advertising business. But by 1980 he was back in acting, appearing in Warren Beatty’s Reds (1981), I, the Jury (1982), and the film version of That Championship Season (1982).

He worked steadily in television also, his big frame usually put to use as either a cop or a criminal.

Sorvino’s best known criminal role on the big screen came as the kindly/deadly mob boss in Goodfellas, and TV audiences got to know him as Sgt. Phil Cerreta in the early seasons of Law & Order (1991-92).

His other television credits include the series That’s Life (2000-02) and Godfather of Harlem (2019-21).

Sorvino’s many film credits include The Panic in Needle Park (1971, starring Al Pacino); The Gambler (1974, starring James Caan); Oh, God! (1977); Dick Tracy (1990); Nixon (1995, as Henry Kissinger); William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996, directed by Baz Luhrmann); and Bulworth (1998).