Nicholas Turturro

Last updated
Nicholas Turturro
Born
Nicholas Turturro Jr.

(1962-01-29) January 29, 1962 (age 63)
OccupationActor
Years active1989–present
Relatives
Awards See below

Nicholas Turturro Jr. (born January 29, 1962) [1] [2] is an American actor. He is known as one of the frequent collaborators of Spike Lee, and his roles as Detective James Martinez on NYPD Blue and Sergeant Anthony Renzulli on Blue Bloods. He was nominated twice for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on NYPD Blue. He is also a Screen Actors Guild Award winner and a Independent Spirit Award nominee.

Contents

Early life

Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Katherine Florence (née Incerella), was an amateur jazz singer, who worked in a Navy yard during World War II, and was born in the U.S., to Italian parents, with roots in Sicily. [3] His father, Nicholas Turturro Sr., was a carpenter and shoemaker who emigrated from Giovinazzo, Apulia, Italy, at the age of six and later fought as a US Navy serviceman on D-Day. [4] [5] He is the younger brother of John Turturro and the cousin of Aida Turturro.

Career

He received two Emmy Award nominations for playing James Martinez on the television series NYPD Blue . [6] He was on the series for its first seven seasons. He was a guest ring announcer at WrestleMania XI for the main event of Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel. His list of credits include portraying Al Capone in an episode of George Lucas's The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and playing the role of Brucie in The Longest Yard and Renaldo in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry . In July 2009, Turturro began co-starring in the comedy web series Dusty Peacock on Crackle. He played Sgt. Anthony Renzulli on Blue Bloods from 2010 to 2016.

He is a frequent collaborator with Spike Lee, appearing in six of his films.

Personal life

Turturro is an avid New York Yankees fan and is known for his passionate videos on social media supporting the team. [7]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1989 Do the Right Thing Policeman
1990 Mo' Better Blues Josh Flatbush
1991 Men of Respect Bingo
Jungle Fever Vinny
1992 Mac Tony Gloves
Malcolm X Boston Cop
1994Men Lie-
Federal Hill Ralph
The Search for One-eye Jimmy Junior
1997 Shadow Conspiracy Grasso
Excess Baggage Stick
2000 Hellraiser: Inferno Det. Tony Nenonen Direct-to-video
2001 Recess: School's Out Cop #1 (voice) [8]
The Shipment Eddie Colucci
2002The BizAnthony
2003Purgatory FlatsJohnny Ramos
2004 The Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono
2005 The Longest Yard Brucie
2006 World Trade Center Officer Colovito
2007 I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry Renaldo Pinera
2008 First Sunday Officer D'Agostino
Remembering Phil Phil Winters
Phantom Punch Caesar Novak
2009Street BossJimmy Calone
The DeportedGianni de Carlo
2010 Shoot the Hero! Grant
Takers Franco Dalia
2011 Fancypants Randy
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star Antonio
Zookeeper Manny
2012Super CycloneTravis VerdonDirect-to-video
Here Comes the Boom Referee
2015 Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Nick Panero
SubterraneaRemy
2017 Justice League Dark Boston Brand/Deadman (voice) [8] [9]
The Eyes Charlie
A Chance in the WorldMike Silvia
2018 Honor Up Detective Kean
BlacKkKlansman Walker
2019Las Vegas Vietnam: The MovieThe Governor
Dear FrankFather Quinn
2020Angels FallenNewton
Shooting Heroin Reverend John [10]
Escape: Puzzle of FearKeith
2021The PenthouseDetective Martinez
Overrun Doc [11]
Four Cousins and A ChristmasTommy
Escape from Death Block 13Renda
Pups Alone Benny
2023 Call Her King Jerry Spencer [12]
The CrusadesCoach Krieger
Murder MotelCrystal Bobby
Leo Anthony's Dad (voice) [8]
Hopeless RomanticSoprano Short film
2024The BouncerDoctor Esposito
2025 Highest 2 Lowest Frankie Da Lunatic

Television

TV series

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991 Another World BartenderEpisode #1.6982
1992 Law & Order PolettiEpisode: "Blood Is Thicker..."
1993 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Big Al BrownEpisode: "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues"
L.A. Law AnthonyEpisode: "Book of Renovation, Chapter 1"
1993–2000 NYPD Blue Detective James Martinez Main cast (seasons 1–7)
1997 The Drew Carey Show Episode: "New York and Queens"
1998 Hercules MeleagerGuest cast (seasons 1–2; voice role)
2001 The District Officer Robert TurnerEpisode: "Thursday"
2002 Touched by an Angel RolandoEpisode: "The Word"
The Twilight Zone SpeedEpisode: "Chosen"
2003 Tremors FrankRecurring role
2003–04 Third Watch Aloysius "Allie" NardoRecurring role (season 5)
2004 The Hollow Sheriff DuncanTV movie
2005 Sex, Love & Secrets DetectiveEpisode: "Protection"
Three Wise Guys VincentTV movie
2006 Celebrity Fit Club Himself/Cast MemberMain cast (season 4)
2007 The King of Queens Vince DinelliEpisode: "Single Spaced"
2008 Just Jordan Big GEpisode: "Boogie Toasties"
Days of Our Lives Officer Darrell2 episodes
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation GoyaEpisode: "Let It Bleed"
2009 Burn Notice Tommy D'AntonioEpisode: "Fearless Leader"
2010–16 Blue Bloods Sergeant Anthony Renzulli Recurring role (seasons 1–3), guest (seasons 4–6)
2011 The Protector -Episode: "Beef"
2012 White Collar DelancyEpisode: "Compromising Positions"
2014 Hit the Floor -Episode: "Winner Takes All"
2016The Crossroads of HistoryFrancesco del GiocondoEpisode: "Mona Lisa"
The Night Of DetectiveEpisode: "Subtle Beast"
2017 Doubt Art CamstonEpisode: "I'm In If You Are"
Kevin Can Wait VinnieEpisode: "Kevin Goes Nuts"
2018 I Feel Bad KevinRecurring role
The NeighborhoodRay ScarsEpisode: "The Mezuzah"
2018–20 The Family Business Councilman Ronald SimsRecurring role (season 1), guest (season 2)
2019–20 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Detective Frank BucciGuest (season 20), recurring role (season 21)
2020GravesendRay ScarsEpisode: "The Mezuzah I & II"
2022 Duncanville -Episode: "The Sharent Trap" (voice role)
2024 Extended Family Petey D.Episode: "The Consequences of Helping People"
2025 The Family Business: New Orleans TBA [13]
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation HimselfEpisode: "Happy Anniversary"

TV movies and miniseries

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991Dead and Alive: The Race for Gus FaraceDanny D'Arcangelo
1994Cosmic SlopFather Carlos
1995 Falling from the Sky: Flight 174 Al Williams
In the Line of Duty: Hunt for JusticeMike Garret
1998 Witness to the Mob Sammy "The Bull" Gravano
Mercenary II: Thick & ThinMajor Ray Domino
2002 Monday Night Mayhem Chet Forte
Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus BookieJoe Jr.
2004 The Hollow Sheriff Duncan
2005 Three Wise Guys Vincent
2006Trapped!Travis
2007 McBride: Semper Fi Officer Pierce
2012Nick the DoormanNick
TalhotBlondDetective Moretti
2019 The Name of the Rose Pedro Lopez de Luna

Awards and nominations

AwardYearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2005Best Supporting Actor The Hillside Strangler Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards 1995 Best Supporting Male Federal Hill Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards 1994 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series NYPD Blue Nominated [14]
1997Nominated [14]
Screen Actors Guild Awards 1995 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series NYPD BlueWon
1996Nominated
1997Nominated
1998Nominated
1999Nominated
2000Nominated

References

  1. "Nick Turturro - Biography". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  2. Martone, Eric (2016). Italian Americans: The History and Culture of a People. p. 431.
  3. Stated on Finding Your Roots , October 31, 2017
  4. "John Turturro Biography - Yahoo! Movies" . Retrieved Apr 2, 2021.
  5. "Actor and director John Turturro's Dirty Dozen: 12 movie favorites that have a special place in his heart. - Review - movie review". Film Comment. 2001. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  6. "Nicholas Turturro". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  7. FOX Sports: MLB [@MLBONFOX] (2024-10-20). "😂 @NickTurturro1's reaction to Juan Soto's home run last night is INCREDIBLE | He's been waiting for the Yankees to make the World Series for a long time 🍾" (Tweet). Retrieved 2025-04-23 via Twitter.
  8. 1 2 3 "Nick Turturro (visual voices guide)". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved July 19, 2024. [note: this source uses a green check mark to indicate that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information]
  9. Schaefer, Sandy (November 15, 2016). "Justice League Dark Animated Movie Trailer: Walk on the Dark Side". Screen Rant . Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  10. Scheck, Frank (April 13, 2020). "'Shooting Heroin': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  11. Butler, Karen (August 17, 2021). "William Katt's 'Overrun' detective is a nod to Robert Culp". United Press International . Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  12. Foertsch, Rachel (June 27, 2023). "Naturi Naughton Fights For Her Life In Call Her King Clip [Exclusive]". Screen Rant . Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  13. Petski, Denise (March 6, 2024). "Lela Rochon, Yvette Nicole Brown, Orlando Jones, Pooch Hall Among 16 Cast In Carl Weber's 'The Family Business' New Orleans-Set Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Nicholas Turturro". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-09-07.