James Russo Movies and Career Information

James Vincent Russo (born April 23, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 90 films in three decades. Russo was born in New York City, New York. A graduate of New York University (NYU), of Italian descent, he wrote and starred in the prize-winning short film, The Candy Store. Before his first break in acting, he drove for a cab company and was also a gravedigger. Russo's first role in his acting career was in the 1981 made-for-television movie Chicago Story. He would then go on to star in many hit films of the 1980s. His big break (but small role) came in the 1982 cult classic comedy film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as a convenience store robber. In 1984, his other big role came in the hit film Beverly Hills Cop as Mikey Tandino, the friend of Axel Foley who gets murdered. Also in 1984, he starred in The Cotton Club, and played small-time hood Bugsy in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America. Russo's other big role was as a brutal rapist in the 1986 drama Extremities, opposite Farrah Fawcett. He also starred in the 1988 drama-suspense-thriller film Freeway. Russo's film roles in the 1990s include State of Grace (1990), A Kiss Before Dying (1991)