Born in Mt. Vernon, New York on March 26, 1966, actor Michael Imperioli is an Emmy Award-winning actor. His best known role is as Christopher Moltisanti on the hit HBO series The Sopranos, but he is also famed for his performance on the popular drama series Law & Order. The Italian-American has long been active in the New York theater world, and is famed for having written, directed, produced and starred in a number of plays. He is a co-founder of the theater group Machine Full, and is also credited as a writer several episodes of The Sopranos and on Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam.
Michael Imperioli began his film work during the late 1980s, earning small parts in films like Alexa and Lean on Me. He gained recognition when he was cast in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas in 1990, working alongside the psychopathic character of Joe Pesci. Throughout the 1990s, Imperioli was cast on several independent features, later becoming a regular on the films of acclaimed director Spike Lee. He was seen performing on Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Clockers and Girl 6. Some of his Hollywood movies included Bad Boys in 1995 and Last Man Standing in 1996. He didn’t neglect the small screen, however, as he made appearances in shows like NYPD Blue and New York Undercover.
Later, Imperioli was cast in The Sopranos, becoming a real highlight of the series and earning an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Imperioli later became the temporary replacement of Det. Ed Green on Law & Order, and is even known for voicing a character in The Simpsons. Soon, he found himself joining the cast of the series Life on Mars, playing the character Det. Ray Carling. Some of his other films include The Inner Life of Martin Frost, The Lovebirds, and the adaptation of the Alice Sebold novel, The Lovely Bones. His other movie credits include Nine Scenes About Love, Hamlet, and Summer of Sam.