Nick Sandow (born August 3, 1966) is an American character actor, writer, producer and director, best known for his role as Joe Caputo in the Netflix comedy-drama series, ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...

'' (2013–2019).

Early life

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent, Sandow grew up in the Italian neighborhood of Van Nest in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He moved to Manhattan around age 19 to study acting under William Esper Studio in the Two-Year Professional Actor Training Program and work in theater.

Career

Sandow made his debut appearing in an episode of television series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' in 1992 and worked as a bartender while taking small acting jobs in New York City. He appeared in a number of films, such as ''

Grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from Blade#Knife blade profiles .28Patterns.29, blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and ...

'' (1997), '' A Brooklyn State of Mind'' (1998), '' Return to Paradise'' (1998) and '' On the Run'' (1999). Sandow performed in the 1999 off-Broadway production of ''Halfway Home''. He played mobster

Henry Hill Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testi ...

in the 2001 made-for-television crime drama film, '' The Big Heist''. Sandow guest-starred on ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'', ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', '' How to Make It in America'' and ''

Blue Bloods ''Blue Bloods'' is an American police procedural drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from September 24, 2010, to December 13, 2024, across 14 seasons and 293 episodes. Its main characters were members of the fi ...

.'' He began his directing career in theater on Off-Off-Broadway directing ''Dark Yellow'', ''Chicken'' and ''From Riverdale to Riverhead''. In 2011 he directed the immigrant drama film, ''Ponies'' based on play with the same name. In 2013, Sandow was cast in the Netflix comedy-drama series, ''

'', as prison administrator Joe Caputo, was originally supposed to have been for a handful of episodes for the show's first season. Instead, his role was expanded during the second season, and Sandow was made a series regular with the start of the third season. He received three

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Comedy Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works ...

with the cast. In 2015 he wrote, directed and acted in '' The Wannabe.'' The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and later got a wider release. In 2017 he received

News and Documentary Emmy Awards The News & Documentary Emmy Awards, or News & Documentary Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Scien ...

nomination for producing the documentary series, '' Time: The Kalief Browder Story''. In 2021 he was regular cast member in the short-lived CBS crime drama series, '' Clarice''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

* ''Halfway Home'', Theatre at St. Clements, New York, 1999 * ''Baptism By Fire'', Studio Dante, New York City, 2004 * ''Henry Flamethrow'', Studio Dante, New York City, 2005 (Director)

References

External links

*
Movie Reviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandow, Nick Living people 1966 births American people of Italian descent Male actors from the Bronx American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Television producers from New York City Writers from the Bronx American television directors People from Van Nest, Bronx