Stanley Tucci was born on November 11, 1960 in Peekskill, New York. He is an American Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor, film producer, writer and director, and has had his share of Screen Actors Guild and Tony Awards nominations. He grew up in New York, born with Italian descent, and studied at John Hay High School and attended SUNY Purchase. He primarily played on the soccer team, and was also temporarily on the baseball team of John Jay. His main interest was in the drama club, where he was well-received in his performances in school productions. Initially, he starred on Broadway in The Queen and the Rebels. He made his film debut in the 1985 crime drama Prizzi's Honor and followed this up with movies like Kiss of Death, Road to Perdition and Big Night, which he co-wrote and co-directed. This won him and his co-writer/cousin, Joseph Tropiano, the Independent Spirt Award for Best First Screenplay when the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Tucci was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards for playing the title role in Winchell, and a supporting role in Conspiracy. Both of them were films by HBO. His Tony Award nomination came when he portrayed the character Johnny in the 2002 revival of Terence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. In 2006, Tucci made a guest appearance on the acclaimed series of the USA Network, Monk. He earned an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series. He was next cast in his own television drama, 3 lbs, a medical series on CBS. He played Dr. Douglas Hanson, a brain surgeon perceived to be arrogant and abrasive in nature. The show was soon cancelled due to low ratings, but Tucci returned to a career on TV, in the series ER. His other film credits include Swing Vote, Blind Date, and the film adaptation of the Alice Sebold novel, The Lovely Bones.