Michael Imperioli was born on March 26, 1966, in Mount Vernon, New York. After making his first appearances in the 1988 flick Alexa and Lean on Me, starring Morgan Freeman and Beverly Todd, Imperioli took on his first gangster role in Goodfellas. Nominated for Best Picture, the Martin Scorsese directed film featured Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and future Sopranos co-star Lorraine Bracco.
He has also appeared in Bad Boys, with Martin Lawrence and Will Smith; The Basketball Diaries, with Lorraine Bracco and Leonardo DiCaprio; Clockers, featuring Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, and Delroy Lindo; and Dead Presidents, starring Larenz Tate, Chris Tucker, and Keith David.
In 1999, Michael began appearing in The Sopranos, the award-winning series also starring James Gandolfini as mobster kingpin Tony Soprano, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, Robert Iler, and Jamie Lynn Sigler. Imperioli’s signature role is that of Christopher Moltisanti, also known as Chris Maccaviti. Tony is essentially a father figure to Chris, and considers him a leading candidate to take over the family business. Chris is highly loyal to the family, and also displays almost no conscience when it comes to "disposing" of problems, something that has allowed him to quickly climb the ranks in the Mafia circle. He also has his share of demons, such as battles with drug addictions, and an impulsive temper that can get him into trouble. Imperioli’s work as Moltisanti earned him five Emmy Award nominations, and he took home the honor in 2004.
Michael has also made several appearance on the crime drama Law and Order. His character, Detective Nick Falco, is used to serve as a temporary replacement for Detective Ed Green, played by Jesse L Martin. Since the end of The Sopranos, he has done voice work for an episode of The Simpsons, and recently appeared in The Inner Life of Martin Frost, alongside Sophie Auster and Irene Jacob.
Before marrying his wife Victoria, Imperioli was once engaged to actress Lili Taylor. He currently has two children with his wife Victoria: Isabella, born in 1991, and Vadim, born in 1998.
YUDDY
