Johnny Cannizzaro is an American stage, film and television actor, screenwriter, playwright and musician. He had a role in

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

's ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and breakup of the 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons. The mus ...

''.

Early life

Cannizzaro was born in the borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He grew up in the

Bensonhurst Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22nd ...

neighborhood until the age of five with his two siblings. A sister and a twin brother. After the family relocated to Monmouth County in central

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, he discovered an interest in the arts and began participating in local

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

productions which led him to piano and dance classes.

Career

In 2009, Cannizzaro recorded an original song for Richard M. Sherman, the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winning songwriter and composer of ''Mary Poppins'' and ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

''. In 2010, Cannizzaro was cast in a warehouse production of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

's ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' in downtown Los Angeles starring ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

Anthony Geary Anthony Geary (born May 29, 1947) is a retired American actor. Geary is best known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama ''General Hospital''. He originated the role of Luke in 1978, and went on to earn a record eight Day ...

In 2012, Cannizzaro played Ronnie Fusto in ''A Ring in Brooklyn'', a stage musical by Alan Fleishman and Eric Dodson at the Noho Arts Center in North Hollywood, Ca. In 2013, Cannizzaro made his network TV debut in

Frank Darabont Frank Árpád Darabont (born Ferenc Árpád Darabont, January 28, 1959) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In his early career, he was primarily a scre ...

's 1940s gangster drama ''

Mob City ''Mob City'' is an American neo-noir crime drama television series created by Frank Darabont for TNT. It is based on real-life accounts of the L.A.P.D. and gangsters in 1940s Los Angeles as chronicled in John Buntin's book ''L.A. Noir: The Str ...

''. In 2014,

cast Cannizzaro to play Nick DeVito in the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the Tony Award-winning musical ''

''. In 2016, Cannizzaro guest starred as "Franco" in the series premiere of the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

drama ''

Colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

''. In 2018, Cannizzaro's writing was selected to be performed in the ABC Discovers Talent showcase in both New York and Los Angeles. In 2019, Cannizzaro received a screenwriting fellowship with Taliesin Nexus. In 2017, Cannizzaro produced and starred in the independent film ''The Obituary'' opposite ''

'' alum

. In 2021, Cannizzaro appeared in a fifth-season episode of '' S.W.A.T.'' In 2022, Cannizzaro guest starred in a season one episode of '' NCIS: Hawaiʻi'', a season four episode of ''The Rookie'', a season 16 episode of '' Criminal Minds: Evolution'', and a season five episode of ''

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

''. In 2023, Cannizzaro appeared in a season 1 episode of ''

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

''. In 2024, Cannizzaro appeared in a season 1 episode of '' Matlock.'' The same year, Cannizzaro was cast as

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

in Scott Cooper’s upcoming

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

biopic ''

Deliver Me from Nowhere ''Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere'' is an upcoming American biographical musical drama film about American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bruce Springsteen. Focusing on the conception of his 1982 album ''Nebraska'', the film is wri ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * www.JohnnyCannizzaro.com Living people American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Holmdel High School alumni People from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Male actors from Brooklyn 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New Jersey 1986 births American people of Italian descent {{US-film-actor-1980s-stub