Before becoming an actor, Dennis Farina worked with the burglary division of the Chicago Police Department. His first foray into film was as a police consultant on Michael Mann's film Thief; this later led to a minor speaking role, and eventually to several roles on the local stage. He and Mann later collaborated on the latter's shows Crime Story and Miami Vice.
Farina's best-known films include Midnight Run, Get Shorty (for which he won an American Comedy Award), Saving Private Ryan and Manhunter, again working with Mann. He also has extensive television credits, appearing in the short-lived comedy In-Laws and the HBO miniseries Empire Falls. He joined the NBC drama Law & Order in 2006, taking over from the departing Jerry Orbach, but his character's unpopularity led to his exit two years later. He currently stars in the HBO series Luck.
- American Comedy Award, Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, 1996 (for Get Shorty)
FILM
- Thief (1981)
- Code of Silence (1985)
- Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
- Manhunter (1986)
- Midnight Run (1988)
- Men of Respect (1990)
- We're Talkin' Serious Money (1992)
- Mac (1992)
- Street Crimes (1992)
- Another Stakeout (1993)
- Striking Distance (1993)
- Little Big League (1994)
- Get Shorty (1995)
- Eddie (1996)
- That Old Feeling (1997)
- Out of Sight (1998)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- The Mod Squad (1999)
- Reindeer Games (2000)
- Bad Seed (2000)
- Snatch (2000)
- Sidewalks of New York (2001)
- Big Trouble (2002)
- Stealing Harvard (2002)
- Paparazzi (2004)
- Scrambled Eggs (2004)
- You Kill Me (2007)
- Purple Violets (2007)
- The Grand (2007)
- Bag Boy (2007)
- Bottle Shock (2008)
- What Happens in Vegas (2008)
- Knucklehead (2010)
- The Last Rites of Joe May (2011)
TELEVISION:
- Miami Vice (recurring, 1984-1989)
- Crime Story (regular, 1986-1988)
- In-Laws (regular, 2002-2003)
- Law & Order (regular, 2004-2006)
- Unsolved Mysteries (host, 2008)
- Luck (regular, 2012-present)