Vincent Piazza

Vincent Piazza is an American film, television and stage actor best known for his role in the 2007 film "Rocket Science".

Biography

Born and raised in Queens, New York and of German-Italian descent, Piazza was originally a Division I-AA ice hockey player representing Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until a recurring shoulder injury forced him to quit playing and leave the university after only a year.] He then featured in the 2007 film "Rocket Science" as Earl Hefner, the kleptomaniac older brother of the film's protagonist. After auditioning at a casting session held at a New York acting school, he ended up being one of the first actors cast, writer-director Jeffrey Blitz saying: "Vince brought just the right combination of humor and threat to the part ... [I] kept many of the rest of the choices Vince brought to Earl. He’s a very physical actor and a very funny one, too." He went on to appear in the independent films "Goodbye Baby", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" and "Apology", as well as guest-starring in an episode of "Law & Order", before he landed the recurring role of Tony in "Rescue Me"'s fourth season.

Piazza will appear in the 2008 film "Assassination of a High School President" in the role of Ricky Delacruz. He had originally unsuccessfully auditioned for a different part, but Brett Simon, the film's director, was fond of his performance "Rocket Science" and so suggested that he take on another role. In order to master an Hispanic accent for the role, he visited a woman he knew who runs a Puerto Rican theatre in Manhattan and usually coached Puerto Ricans to adapt American accents, to have her coach him to read his lines in a thick Puerto Rican accent. He has also completed a television pilot directed by Brett Ratner, "Blue Blood", for which he has a seven-year contract if the series is picked up by NBC.

Filmography

References

External links

*imdb name|1842344