Federico Castelluccio portrayed Furio Giunta on HBO's The Sopranos.  He was an Italian-born mobster who became a member of Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) crew as part of the bargain with mob boss Annalisa Zucca.  He came to New Jersey for an international car-theft operation and soon emerged as Tony's most feared enforcers.  He intimidated and beat up many people who owed Tony money, and acted as his driver and bodyguard as well.  He fell in love with Tony's wife, Carmela (Edie Falco), and as Tony's polar opposite, she was also drawn to him. Finding himself in an impossible personal predicament, he left New Jersey and went back to Italy.  His disappearance on the show made him one of the relatively few characters in the Soprano Crime Family that were written out of the series without being killed on screen.

Presently, the former Sopranos actor is leaving his mark on the big screen with a cluster of movies set to air in the coming months until 2008.  He has already finished shooting the upcoming movie Aftermath, a crime-thriller starring Tony Danza, Anthony Michael Hall and Chris Penn in his last role before his death, and is moving on to more film projects.

He'll be tapping on a lot of drama with the release of The Trouble with Cali, King of Hollywood and Thunder Doyle, where Castelluccio reunites with Sopranos costar Vincent Pastore.  All three films are expected to hit the theaters later this year.

Last but not the least, he'll be gracing the movie Lucky Days, a romantic drama starring Angelica Torn in a plot about self-discovery and her quest for freedom.  The film also includes Rip Torn and Will Patton, and is set for release in 2008.

Aside from his role on mob role on The Sopranos, Federico Castelluccio is also noted for his appearances on Dragon Dynasty, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and The Obscure Brother.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of federicocastelluccio.com)