A veteran of film, television, and the stage, as well as being a writer, Michael Rispoli launched his acting career at New York's famed Circle in the Square. Subsequently appearing for many years on the New York stage, Rispoli was in Twelfth Night, MacBeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, among other productions. Early film and television appearances include Household Saints and Above the Rim. His penchant for humor led Rispoli to expand his cinematic territory into comedy and lighter material such as Hacks and Death to Smoochy. After a memorable supporting role in the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping, Rispoli leapt into leading man territory in the warmly regarded romantic drama, Two Family House. Other features include Mr. 3000, The Weatherman, Lonely Hearts, Invincible, The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3, Kick-Ass, The Rum Diary, Empire State, Pain & Gain, and Rob the Mob. Rispoli has made frequent appearances on various television series, including Third Watch, Big Apple, Magic City, Those who Kill, and The Good Wife. Most notably, Rispoli was on the award-winning HBO show The Sopranos. On stage, he appeared in Stephen Adley Guirgis’ new play, Between Riverside and Crazy, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2015. Rispoli is also the co-screenwriter of FRIENDS AND ROMANS.
ABOUT FRIENDS AND ROMANS
FRIENDS AND ROMANS is a classic farce about Nick DeMaio (Michael Rispoli), a frustrated Italian-American actor who is determined to rise above the typecasting that perpetually finds him playing the role of “Mobster Number 3.” When he and his thespian friends – most of them perennial extras in gangster movies – stage a production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to showcase their talents, art intersects with real-life as mobsters and federal agents mistake them for genuine “wiseguys.” With the help of his wife Angela (Annabella Sciorra), his daughter Gina (Katie Stevens), and a large ensemble that includes numerous veterans of HBO's The Sopranos (namely, Tony Sirico, Anthony DeSando, Tony Darrow, John Bianco, Armen Garo, Donnamarie Recco, and Joe D’Onofrio), Nick attempts to navigate his way through a host of comic complications both on stage and in life.