John Ventimiglia

John Ventimiglia
Ventimiglia in 2019
Born	1963 or 1964 (age 60–61) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Belinda Cape (m. 1991)
Children	2

John Ventimiglia (/vɛntɪˈmiːljə/, Italian: [ventiˈmiʎʎa]; born 1963 or 1964)^[1] is an American actor. He portrayed Artie Bucco in the HBO television series The Sopranos and had a recurring role as Dino Arbogast, an Organized Crime Control Bureau Chief for the NYPD, on the American police procedural/drama series Blue Bloods on CBS.

Early life[edit]

Ventimiglia was born in Ridgewood, Queens to Sicilian immigrants from Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey.^[2][3] Ventimiglia grew up speaking Sicilian at home with his parents and still speaks fluent Sicilian to this day.^[2][4] He graduated from Teaneck High School in 1981 where he played on the football team.^[5] In the 1980s he lived in the East Village with Michael Imperioli, who would later play Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos.^[6]

Career[edit]

Ventimiglia has had parts in feature films such as Cop Land, Jesus' Son, The Iceman, The Funeral, The Wannabe, and Mickey Blue Eyes and has appeared in numerous television shows including Law & Order and NYPD Blue. He also made a brief cameo in the made-for-television movie Gotti.

In August 2007, Ventimiglia and the David Amram quartet presented a musical and oral homage to sociologist C. Wright Mills and beat author Jack Kerouac. They continued with a Kerouac show in Denmark in autumn of 2007. Ventimiglia starred in the comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead (2008), playing the role of Theo Horace. In 2008, he played a small role as a police officer in Notorious. In 2011, he appeared as "Weinstein" in the film Flypaper.

In 2011, he starred in a small indie film, PONIES.^[7] In 2012, he guest starred in the short lived CBS series Made in Jersey. In 2012, he starred as General Humberto Delgado in the Portuguese film Operation Autumn,^[8] a film about Delgado's brutal assassination in Spain by the Portuguese fascists.

In 2016, he played Harry Magarac on the episode of Elementary, entitled "Murder Ex Machina", first aired on January 21, 2016. He also did narration for the Nat Geo television documentary series Inside the American Mob.

Legal issues[edit]

On May 24, 2001, actor Vincent Gallo successfully sued Ventimiglia for assault and battery. The New York Supreme Court decided the case in Gallo's favor in Gallo v. Ventimiglia (2001).^[9]

In May 2006, Ventimiglia was arraigned on drunken driving, drug possession, and other charges. Police officers allegedly spotted Ventimiglia weaving in and out of traffic, and tested his blood-alcohol content at 0.12 (above the legal limit of .08); while also finding a zip-lock bag with cocaine residue in his possession. He was released on bail.^[10] In June, Ventimiglia pleaded guilty to drunk driving; he was fined $500 and had his license suspended for 90 days. His drug possession charges were dropped by prosecutors, as part of a plea deal.^[11]

Personal life[edit]

Ventimiglia is married to his wife Belinda, with whom they have a daughter, Lucinda and granddaughter Shiloh. His youngest daughter, Odele Cape, died in 2023 two months after giving birth to her daughter and Ventimiglia's first grandchild.^[12]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• John Ventimiglia at IMDb
• John Ventimiglia on HBO.com