One of my personal favorite actors has passed away. Dennis Farina has died at the age of 69 at his home in Arizona. Though his career spans back to 1981, he didn’t start acting until he was 37. Since then, he has amassed 75 roles in TV and Film. He began his career being a go-to guy for random cop roles, a logical choice having spent time on the force prior to being an actor. Dennis broke through playing Lt. Mike Torello on Crime Story for 3 seasons. He would be stuck as a character actor for years until getting cast in Get Shorty, where he played ‘Bones’, a film which also featured recently passed James Gandolfini. He then co-starred with Whoopi Goldberg in Eddie and Bette Midler in That Old Feeling, finally getting “above the marquee” billing.
He branched out into more critically acclaimed work, playing Karen Sisco’s father in Out Of Sight, and joining the ensemble of Saving Private Ryan. He would also move back into TV, doing a few seasons of Law and Order, and more recently HBO’s Luck. This past year, he guest starred on The New Girl, playing Nick’s father, and was shooting the film adaptation of the stage musical Lucky Stiff.
Another interesting fact is that he was born on a Leap Year, so if you want to be technical, he was only 15.
What I’ll remember most about what Dennis Farina brought to the screen was a sarcastic charm. He was always smarter than whoever he was sharing the screen with, and it was impossible to believe otherwise. He never played stupid characters. What James Gandolfini brought to his performances with his natural honesty, Dennis Farina shared with a look. The way he could look at a co-star spoke volumes about just how smart, or stupid, he thought they were. Many would have thought this to be impossible, but I believe Hollywood is just a little less sarcastic today.
