Antonino Paone

Italian-American actor Tony Paone was born in Bova Marina, Italy and moved to New Orleans at 18 months. The son of a tailor, Paone grew up in the French Quarter in the midst of an eclectic melting pot of New Orleans characters that surely influenced his ability to create surprising critically acclaimed specific characters on stage and on screen. By age 20, he had worked as a men's clothing salesman, a grocery clerk and taken a turn as an MP in the U.S. Army. Add a Bacherlor of Arts from the University of New Orleans, Nursing School and Classical Ballet training into the mix and one can start to understand how Paone came to be the surprising, multi-layered performer he is today. Paone's mix of sullen intensity and naive charm inspired director Francis James to write an Indy film with him in mind "Tony Bravo in Scenes from a Forgotten Cinema." He has appeared on film and TV with numerous celebrities and stars. He has worked with brilliant directors as well, most notably, John Avnet, Glen Ficarra and John Sequa, and Matt Weiner on film. In TV with directors, Ernest Dickerson, Lone Scherfig, Stefano Sollima, and Laura Belsey. A life-long resident of New Orleans, Tony spent 18 months in Los Angeles to further his career before Hurricane Katrina. Since the storm, he's lived in his home in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, spitting distance from the Mississippi River.