Armand Assante

American actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]][[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description added by PearBOT 5]]

**Armand Anthony Assante, Jr.** (Template:IPAc-en; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film  *Gotti*, as Nietzsche in *When Nietzsche Wept*, and as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer in 1982's *I, the Jury*. His performance in *Gotti* earned him a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award.

## Early life

Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Armand Anthony Assante Sr. (August 5, 1922 – August 25, 2017), a painter and artist, and Katharine (née Healy) (October 16, 1921 – June 29, 2011), a music teacher, English teacher and poet. He is of Italian and Irish descent.

## Career

During the 1970s, Assante was a regular on two NBC soap operas, *How to Survive a Marriage* as Johnny McGee and *The Doctors* as Mike Powers. His first film was *The Lords of Flatbush* (1974), although his work did not appear in the final cut of the film and the end credits misspelled his last name as Assanti. His first on-screen role was playing Sylvester Stallone's brother in *Paradise Alley* and a role that brought him greater attention came in 1980's *Private Benjamin* as a handsome Frenchman who becomes the love interest of a U.S. soldier played by Goldie Hawn. In 1984 he portrayed the playboy violin virtuoso Maximillian Stein in the Dudley Moore comedy vehicle *Unfaithfully Yours*.

Assante's somewhat sinister look has made him a popular choice for tough-guy heroes, as in his acclaimed starring role as private eye Mike Hammer in the film *I, the Jury* (1982) or as Mafia gangsters such as Michael Moretti in *Sidney Sheldon's Rage of Angels*. In 1990 his role as Roberto Texador in Sidney Lumet's film *Q&A* garnered him a Golden Globe nomination, and the following year he portrayed the notorious Bugsy Siegel in Neil Simon's *The Marrying Man* (1991). The following year he was seen as mafia boss Carol D'Allesandro in *Hoffa* (1992) starring Jack Nicholson, and crime kingpin John Gotti in the 1996 made-for-television biopic *Gotti*, for which he won his Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.

In addition to mafia and "tough-guy" roles, Assante has distinguished himself in historical dramas, such as Napoleon Bonaparte in 1987's *Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story* opposite Jacqueline Bisset, the heroic Odysseus in *The Odyssey*, Friedrich Nietzsche in the film adaptation of Irving Yalom's novel *When Nietzsche Wept*, and as Sanchez, Queen Isabella's Minister of State, in *1492: Conquest of Paradise*.

Other notable film appearances include one as a Cuban bandleader in *The Mambo Kings* opposite Antonio Banderas and in the adaptation of the science-fiction story *Judge Dredd* with Sylvester Stallone, his co-star in *Paradise Alley*. He appeared in the 2007 film *American Gangster* with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. He had a recurring guest star role in several episodes of *NCIS*, playing the international arms dealer René Benoit. He has also appeared in the 2009 horror film *Smile* as the mysterious Tollinger. Outside of the U.S., he has participated in several film projects and humanitarian endeavors in Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

## Other work

In 2013, Assante became a partner in his own premium cigar brand known as Ora Vivo Cigars.

## Awards and nominations

### Emmy Awards

* 1989: **Nominated** Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Miniseries or a Movie for his portrayal of Richard Mansfield in *Jack the Ripper*
* 1996: **Won** Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie for his portrayal of Mafia Don John Gotti

### Golden Globe Awards

* 1989: **Nominated** Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for *Jack the Ripper*
* 1991: **Nominated** Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for *Q&A*
* 1997: **Nominated** Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for *Gotti*
* 1998: **Nominated** Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for *The Odyssey*

### Screen Actors Guild Awards

* 1997: **Nominated** Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for *Gotti*

### Annie Awards

* 2000: **Nominated**  Male Voice Acting in a Feature Production for *The Road to El Dorado*

In 2010, Assante received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

## References

1. ↑ "Armand Assante, Sr. - Friday, August 25, 2017". http://www.quigleybros.com/book-of-memories/3079119/assante-sr-armand/obituary.php.
2. ↑ Armand Assante Biography (1949-)Template:Dead link
3. ↑ Cutting Edge Voices Presents an Interview with Kathy Haggerty Template:Webarchive
4. ↑ Template:Cite journal
5. ↑ Broeske, From Pat H. (6 May 1990). "Assante: Versatile, but Not French". http://articles.latimes.com/1990-05-06/entertainment/ca-138\_1\_armand-assante.
6. ↑ William Cooper, "Cigar Preview: Ora Vivo Armand Assante by Victor Vitale," *Cigar Coop,* July 11, 2013.
7. ↑ "Inductees 2010". Italian Walk of Fame. http://www.italianwalkoffame.com/inductees/inductees-2010/.

## External links

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