Frank Crudele

Frank Crudele is likely best known to American audiences as "Big Jim Colosimo", one of the main characters establishing the story line in the pilot episode of "Boardwalk Empire" directed by Martin Scorsese which among its many awards went on to win a Golden Globe and SAG award for best ensemble. His most recent project is the to be released American feature film: "Step Up 5" playing a Bulgarian dance instructor and mentor to Ryan Guzman. Born in Triggiano (near Bari, Italy),the family moved to Montreal when Frank was 10 years old and two years later to Toronto where he spent his formative years He returned to Montreal to study modern languages where in 1977 he received a B.A in Italian Literature from Concordia University. Soccer was a big part of Frank's life in his youth. He played in rep-leagues and for the University Canadian defending champion varsity team but his most cherished memories in this sport was winning twice the Ontario soccer championship with Toronto's Downsview Secondary School. In New York City he trained under Stella Adler with a Canadian scholarship and she had the biggest influence on his method of work. His childhood upbringing in Italy until the mid 60's influenced his ability to flawlessly inhabit the skins of many European archetypes. As an actor Frank Crudele is respected by his peers for his large range and his special talent with foreign languages has gifted him the possibility to also work in Italian, Spanish and French Frank's first decade as an actor was devoted to the theatre. Some standout theatre roles are that of "Jake La Motta" in a Toronto production of "Square Garden" with Company Theatre, directed by Steven Rumbelow and the title role in "La Nona" playing a 102 year old woman in a Vancouver production of this multi award-winning Argentinian play. A special highlight was the 1986 North American premiere of the Russian play; "Theatre in The Time of Nero and Seneca" by Edward Radzinsky at Toronto's TWP which won him a trip to Russia where he was invited to the Moscow opening of the same play. In Leningrad he attended a production of "The Bench" by Alexander Gelman by the renown Mali Theatre which he would two years later perform in english at Toronto's Theatre Centre.Playing Shakespeare's Richard ii, Richard iii, Petruchio, Macbeth and King Lear and alternating these from English to Italian is what Frank however credits as his most technically challenging theatre experience In French-Canada he worked in the Genie and Jutra award winning Quebecois films directed by Paul Tana; "La Sarrazine" & "La Deroute" for which he would be submitted and be short listed for best supporting actor for a Genie award /Canadian Oscars). Having substantially worked in film and tv in Canada, (a special mention as Annette Funicello's dad in; "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes") along with his fair share of mobster roles from; "Albert Anastasia" in "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" to Armand Assante's brother-in-law in HBO's "Gotti" and as the alcoholic "Roberto Panzoni" in one of French Canada's most popular tv series; "Omerta' La Loi Du Silence", after approximately ten years of of work in Canadian theatre where he played a large variety of characters Frank was however concerned of saturating himself with too many "ethnic" film and tv roles so he bet on the fluency of his foreign languages to stretch himself in a wider range of roles in the European film & TV industry and moved to Rome with his then wife and 3 young children. Some highlights of this period was co-starring with Rachel McAdams in her first feature film in the 2002 Venice Festival winner; "My Name is Tanino" directed by Paolo Virzi' who is considered as Italy's Woody Allen. Frank Crudele's tragic-comic role as the family patriarch in this film is fondly remembered in Italian cinema. He went on to play a leading role as a naive friar in the RAI tv mini-series: "Un Posto Tranquillo" which was the great Nino Manfredi's last project before his death.He was Hellen Mirren's trusted personal driver "Peppo" in a remake of "The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone", directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and starring Ann Bancroft. Still in Italy he played the town priest in a co-production of "Lives of the Saints" starring Sofia Loren.He returned to New York City in 2002 to shoot the Italian comedy film "The Legend of Al John and Jack" with the popular Italian comedy trio of Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo. In 2004 he was one of the leading characters in an Italian adaptation of the popular British tv series; "Footballers Wives" as the seductive & sleazy "Carmine Caradia" the owner of a fictional professional soccer team that seduced & slept around with his star player's wives. One of Crudele's most endearing proud moments is to be referred -to as "maresciallo" by the Chief Admiral of Italy's Coast Guard and the Italian coast guard at large because from 2004 to 2007 he so realistically and charmingly interpreted one of their own; "Pietro Melluso" a Calabrian coast guard marshall who was one of the leading characters in Sony International's highly popular Italian co-produced tv series: "Gente Di Mare,/aka"People of The Sea" and for which Frank also credits as one of his favourite personal life experiences A Spanish film about bullying; "Cobardes" and winner of the critics award at the Malaga film festival was where Frank Crudele interpreted a criminal on the lam disguised as a nice restaurant owner. Here he was the mentor to the story's bullied young teenager and for which the directors submitted him for and was again short listed as best supporting actor for Spain's 2008 prestigious Goya film awards. Still in Spain, the following year he went on to play a violent criminal in one of the country's most popular tv series:"Los Hombres De Paco" and also in Spain he was cast as"Pope Alexander VII" in the 2011 adventure film; "Aguila Roja" aka "Red Eagle". In returned to english language playing the mad Texan corporal in the italian comedy film; "Missione Di Pace" which opened at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival. The english language feature film "The Mercury Factor" that was shot in Hong Kong and Rome with a 2013 theatre release in Italy and co-starring with British actor Gary Lewis (father in "Bill Elliot") was where Frank Crudele played a corrupt VIP food industry wheeler-dealer in Asia. Other recent tv roles in Italy have been as the corrupt town mayor in "All the Music of The Heart", a mini-series about a music conservatory for Casanova Multimedia and was also directed by Emmy winner; Christian Duguay (Rise of Hitler) with a co-starring role as the love interest to Cinderella's maid in an Lux-Vide produced adaptation of "Cinderella"set in Rome in the 1950's Frank is divorced with 3 children that live in Canada's Vancouver area and divides his time between Canada (Toronto & Vancouver), Rome & Spain.