Gennaro Anthony Sirico Jr.

Gennaro Anthony Sirico Jr. grew up in the East Flatbush and Bensonhurst neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Arrested twenty-eight times as a young street tough and serving two prison terms, he discovered acting while incarcerated at Sing Sing when an acting troupe of ex-convicts performed for the inmates. Upon his release in the 1970s, he pursued acting full-time, appearing in Goodfellas, Bullets Over Broadway, and The Godfather Part II.

In 1999, creator David Chase cast Sirico in HBO's revolutionary mob drama The Sopranos on the condition that his character would never become an informant ("a rat"). Over six seasons, Sirico's portrayal of Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri—with his manicured wings, tracksuit style, obsessive hand-washing, and bickering camaraderie with Michael Imperioli's Christopher Moltisanti—became one of the most quotable, iconic characters in modern television history, winning two Screen Actors Guild Awards.