Bobby Bacala

Background:

A former entertainment director for the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, Steve Schirripa was popular among TV audiences as the soft-hearted mobster Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri, Jr. (2000-2007) on the acclaimed HBO series, “The Sopranos,” which has earned him four nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. On the wide screen, the Italian-American actor, who made his debut film in Martin Scorsese’s mafia film “Casino” (1995), could be seen in “The Runner” (1999), “Play It to the Bone” (1999), “Detroit Rock City” (1999), “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” (2000), “Joe Dirt” (2001), “Must Love Dogs” (2005), “High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story” (2005) and will star in an upcoming romantic comedy film, “That's Amore!”

The 6' 1" tall Brooklyn native star now lives in Las Vegas with his two daughters and his wife, Laura.

Brooklyn Native

Childhood and Family:

In 1958, Steve R. Schirripa was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brooklyn College.

Schirripa and his wife, Laura, currently live in Las Vegas, along with their two daughters, Bria and Ciara.

The Sopranos

Career:

Graduating from Brooklyn College, Steve Schirripa packed for Las Vegas and found a job as the entertainment director for the Riviera Hotel. Because of his frequent interaction with entertainers, Schirripa was often offered small or unaccredited screen roles. He subsequently became interested in acting and began auditioning for film and television roles.

The newcomer landed his first film appearance, playing an unaccredited role as a man at a bar, in Martin Scorsese’s mafia film starring Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci, “Casino” (1995), which was based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. He followed it up with more small roles as a bodyguard in “Highway to Vegas” (1997), a best man in writer-director Adam Rifkin's drama comedy “Denial” (1998; starring Patrick Dempsey and Christine Taylor), a goon in Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's book, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998; starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro) and a host in Ron Moler's crime/drama/thriller ”The Runner” (1999; starring Ron Eldard and Courteney Cox).

During the rest of the decade, Schirripa continued to play small roles in writer-director Nickolas Perry's drama “Speedway Junky” (starring Jesse Bradford), Adam Rifkin's musical comedy about four teenagers in 1978 who try to scam their way into a KISS concert, “Detroit Rock City” (starring Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Edward Furlong and Sam Huntington), Evi Quaid's independent comedy “The Debtors” (starring Michael Caine, Randy Quaid and Catherine McCormack) and “Play It to the Bone” (starring Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson). He also appeared on television in an episode of the popular CBS medical drama series "Chicago Hope," CBS' Emmy-nominated sitcom "The King of Queens," the syndicated adventure/drama "Pensacola: Wings of Gold" and the WB's drama "Angel," a spin-off of the hit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

The new millennium proved to be Schirripa's breakout year when he snagged the role of Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri, Jr., the quiet, almost shy, sweet and even-tempered member of the DiMeo Crime Family and Tony Soprano's (played by James Gandolfini) brother-in-law, on HBO's hit mafia drama series "The Sopranos." He first appeared in the second episode of the show's second season in January 2000 and made his last appearance in the eighth episode of the show's sixth season in June 2007 when his character was murdered by gunfire by associates of the Lupertazzi crime family on orders from Phil Leotardo (played by Frank Vincent). For his performances, Schirripa, alongside the show's cast members, was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series four times at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

During his hefty seven-year stint in "The Sopranos," Schirripa continued to add to his acting resume with roles in Brian Levant's Hanna-Barbera animated television series "The Flintstones," “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” (2000; starring Mark Addy, Stephen Baldwin and Kristen Johnston), John Whitesell's comedy “See Spot Run” (2001; starring David Arquette), Drew Ann Rosenberg's independent drama “Alex in Wonder” (2001; starring Angela Gots) and Dennie Gordon's comedy “Joe Dirt” (2001; starring David Spade). He was also seen in writer-director A.W. Vidmer's biopic about the rise and fall of poker legend Stu "The Kid" Ungar (played by Michael Imperioli), “Stuey” (2003), Bev Land's 24-minute comedy “What Are the Odds” (2004), writer-director Matt Mulhern's drama/comedy featured in the Sundance Film Festival, “Duane Hopwood” (2005; starring David Schwimmer and Janeane Garofalo), Gary David Goldberg's adaptation of Claire Cook's romantic comedy novel, “Must Love Dogs” (2005; starring Diane Lane and John Cusack) and Larry Blamire's musical comedy “Johnny Slade's Greatest Hits” (2005; starring John Fiore).

Meanwhile, TV audiences could catch Schirripa in numerous made-for-television movies, including the dramatic thriller “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (2000; alongside Jason Priestley), the based-on-book football drama “Monday Night Mayhem” (2002; opposite John Turturro) and the dark comedy “Columbo: Columbo Likes the Nightlife” (2003; starring Peter Falk). He also starred in the four-episode sitcom "Battery Park," appeared in the pilot episode of the sitcom "Big Sound," co-hosted Spike TV’s programming block "Casino Cinema" with Beth Ostrosky, and hosted the Discovery Channel miniseries, “Mob Story” (2004). Additionally, he has appeared in such shows as Sci-Fi Channel's short-lived action series "Black Scorpion," ABC’s sitcom "George Lopez," NBC’s police procedural drama "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," ABC’s sitcom "My Wife and Kids," NBC’s "Ed," NBC’s long-running cop/legal drama "Law & Order," UPN’s sci-fi series "Star Trek: Enterprise," NBC’s sitcom "Joey" and Cartoon Network's animated series "Justice League."

As for his upcoming film project, Schirripa will star in Nick Vallelonga's upcoming romantic comedy film, “That's Amore!”

Adding to his acting career, Schirripa, who has contributed humorous film reviews to “The Showbiz Show with David Spade” (Comedy Central; 2005-curent) and has served as a special correspondent on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (NBC; 1992), has authored three books, including the best-selling “Goomba’s Guide to Life” and a children’s book titled “Nicky Deuce.” He recently appeared in a TV commercial for Dick's Sporting Goods.

Awards:
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