Dennis Farina Biography

Fast Facts

• In addition to his American Comedy Award for his comedic role in "Get Shorty," he was presented in 2011 with the Commitment to Chicago Award
• Born and raised in a Chicago neighborhood as the seventh child of two Italian immigrants
• Died at the age of 69 in a Scottsdale, Ariz․, hospital after suffering a blood clot in his long
• Had an interest in acting after working as a police consultant for director Michael Mann, and was casted in the film "Thief․"
• Quote: "One of the funny things in life to me is a guy who takes himself very seriously․"
• Quote: "If I'm characterized as a character actor, that's fine with me․ Whatever they want to call me is fine․ In the kind of roles I do, you can do them and walk away from it and have a really nice time․"
• Quote: "Some people approach acting with all these things in their head, making it more complicated than it needs to be, way too cerebral․ I don't want to know that an actor lived in a cave for 12 days so he could prepare for a part․"
• As a result of being a police officer before his acting career, he was known to play police officers and mobster-type characters
• He is best recognized for his "Law & Order" character, Detective Joe Fantana
• Known as a character actor who could be both charming and tough
• Shortly before passing away, he completed filming on the comedy film "Lucky Stiff․"
• While acting in "Thief," he was also working as a police officer and a security guard to supplement his income
• Prior to acting, he served for the Chicago Police Department in the burglary division for 18 years
• Only celebrated his real birthday every four years, as it fell on Leap Day