Bio

John Turturro is an American actor, writer, and filmmaker known for his versatile range of roles in film, television, and on stage. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1957, Turturro grew up in a working-class Italian-American family and attended the State University of New York at New Paltz before pursuing his acting career.

Turturro made his Broadway debut in 1985 in the play Death of a Salesman directed by Yale Repertory Theatre's artistic director, Robert Woodruff. He played the role of Happy Loman, the younger son of the protagonist Willy Loman, and received critical acclaim for his performance. Turturro's stage work continued with roles in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui before he transitioned to film and television.

Turturro's stage work continued throughout his career, and he has returned to Broadway several times. In 2011, he starred in the play Relatively Speaking, which was a collection of three one-act plays by Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen. Turturro also appeared in the Broadway revival of The Cherry Orchard in 2016, playing the role of Lopakhin alongside Diane Lane and Joel Grey.

Turturro's breakthrough film role came in 1989 when he played the eccentric bowling champion Jesus Quintana in the Coen Brothers' cult classic The Big Lebowski. He went on to collaborate with the Coen Brothers on several other films, including Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Turturro's film work also includes roles in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, and Robert Redford's Quiz Show.

In addition to his film work, Turturro has also had a successful television career, winning a 2004 Emmy for his role on “Monk,” and a recent Emmy nomination for his haunting work in the Apple+ series “Severance.” He also received critical acclaim for his role as John Stone in the HBO miniseries "The Night Of" in 2016, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Turturro has also appeared in several episodes of the hit television series "The Sopranos", and lent his voice to the animated series "The Simpsons" and "American Dad!".

In addition to his acting career, Turturro has also directed several films, including Mac, Illuminata, and Romance & Cigarettes. He has also written and directed several plays, including Italian-American Reconciliation and The Bald Soprano.