Robert Michael Cannavale (/ˌkænəˈvɑːli/; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor known for various stage, television, and film roles, including regular or recurring roles in Third Watch, Boardwalk Empire, Vinyl, Will & Grace, Mr. Robot, and Master of None. Cannavale had a recurring role on the NBC comedy series Will & Grace as Will Truman’s long-term boyfriend Officer Vincent “Vince” D’Angelo, for which he won the 2005 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He also portrayed Gyp Rosettiduring the third season of the HBO drama series Boardwalk Empire, for which he won the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 2016, he starred in the HBO drama series Vinyl, produced by Martin Scorseseand Mick Jagger. In 2017, he joined the cast of the USA Network drama series Mr. Robot during its third season. The following year, Cannavale portrayed Colin Belfast in the Prime Video psychological thriller series Homecoming (2018–present). For his roles in Mauritius and The Motherfucker with the Hat, Cannavale was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, respectively. He has appeared in Tom McCarthy’s The Station Agent (2003), Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine (2013), Paul Feig’s Spy (2015), Marvel’s Ant-Man (2015), I, Tonya (2017), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (2019).
Early life
Cannavale was born and raised in Union City, New Jersey, the son of Isabel and Salvatore “Sal” Cannavale. His father is of Italian descent, while his mother is Cuban and moved to the U.S. in 1960. He was raised Catholic and attended St. Michael’s Catholic School, where he participated in a number of extracurricular activities, including being an altar boy and member of the chorus. When he was eight, Cannavale secured the plum role of the lisping boy, Winthrop, in his school’s production of The Music Man and later played a gangster in Guys and Dolls, which cemented his love for performing. Cannavale’s parents divorced when he was 13 and his mother moved the family to Puerto Rico. After two years in the American territory, they settled in Margate, Florida. After being kicked out of his high school in Florida during his senior year, Cannavale returned to New Jersey in order to be closer to New York to launch his acting career and went to summer school to earn a diploma from Union Hill High School.
Career
Cannavale began his acting career in the theater – with no acting training – and gained early film roles in Night Falls on Manhattan (1997) and The Bone Collector (1999), Cannavale became well known when he starred as Bobby Caffey for two seasons on Third Watch. Following this, in 2001, he starred with Alan Arkin in 100 Centre Street – which was written and directed by Sidney Lumet, his then-father-in-law.
In 2002, he joined the cast of Ally McBeal for the last five episodes, but the show was then cancelled. Following this, he starred with Yancey Arias and Sheryl Lee in the miniseries Kingpin. In 2003, Cannavale briefly appeared on the last two episodes of Oz. He also appeared in the film The Station Agent as a man who befriends a little person removed from society. From 2004 to 2006, he had a recurring guest role on Will & Grace as Vince D’Angelo, the boyfriend (and eventual husband) of Will Truman (Eric McCormack). However, in the reboot, they are revealed not to be married. For this role, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005. He has also appeared in the films Snakes on a Plane, The Guru (2002), Shall We Dance? (2004) and Romance & Cigarettes (2005), and guest starred in Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, Oz, Law & Order– and its spin-off series Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He appeared in “The Other Guys” 2010 The Take (2007) alongside John Leguizamo and Tyrese Gibson, as Agent Steve Perelli.
Cannavale serves as the voice of Corado R. Ciarlo, known as “Babe”, in the Ken Burns PBS film series The War (the story of World War II) from the perspective of the men who fought in combat and their loved ones at home. He also read the audiobook versions of Richard Price’s 2008 novel Lush Life and Ed Falco’s 2012 novel The Family Corleone. On August 25, 2008, ABC ordered his pilot Cupid, a remake of the 1998 program which had starred Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, to series. In the new version of the series, Cannavale starred opposite Sarah Paulson with script development overseen by original series creator Rob Thomas. ABC debuted Cupid on March 31, 2009, but cancelled the series after less than two months, on May 19, 2009.
In 2008, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role as Dennis in the Broadway play, Mauritius. In 2009, CBS announced Cannavale would reprise his role of Det. Eddie Saccardo on the television show, Cold Case, for three episodes, starting with the third episode of Season 7. Cannavale was also in the film Win Win in 2011, as Terry Delfino. He later starred in the Broadway play The Motherfucker with the Hat alongside Chris Rock and Annabella Sciorra. On May 3, 2011 (his 41st birthday), he was nominated for a Tony Award for his leading role in that production.
In 2012 and 2013, he guest starred in the fourth and fifth season of Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, for which he was nominated twice again for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012 and 2013, as well as joining the cast of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, portraying the psychopathic Sicilian gangster Gyp Rosettiin the third season. His performance on Boardwalk Empire won critical acclaim, earning him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2013. That same year he also played Lewis, a vengeful clown on Modern Family during the third season, for which he was nominated for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series at the 2nd Critics’ Choice Television Awards in 2012. TV Guide, in its “Cheers & Jeers 2012” issue, praised Cannavale for this “trifecta of great performances”, commenting, “This guy is so good at playing bad, it’s scary.” He played what Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com called a “heroically moving” lead role in Danny Collins in 2015.
Since 2015, Cannavale has been involved with voice-over work for Playing On Air, a non-profit organization that “records short plays written by top playwrights and performed by outstanding actors.” He has starred in three short plays, including Crazy Eights by David Lindsay-Abaire, co-starring Rosie Perez and John Leguizamo; Mere Mortals by David Ives; and 2 Dads by David Auburn.
Cannavale will appear with Rose Byrne in the play Medea, written and directed by Simon Stone, in 2020.
Personal life
From 1994 to 2003, Cannavale was married to actress/screenwriter Jenny Lumet – director Sidney Lumet’s daughter and performer Lena Horne’s granddaughter – with whom he has a son, actor Jake Cannavale. Cannavale and Jake were cast as father and son in season four of Nurse Jackie.
Since 2012, Cannavale has been in a relationship with actress Rose Byrne. Cannavale and Byrne’s first child, Rocco Robin Cannavale, was born on February 1, 2016.He and Byrne had their second child together, a son named Rafa, in November 2017.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | I’m Not Rappaport | Parking Lot Customer | |
| Night Falls on Manhattan | Vigoda Assistant #1 | ||
| 1999 | Gloria | Jack Jesus Nunez | |
| The Bone Collector | Detective Steve | ||
| 2000 | 3 A.M. | Jose | |
| 2002 | Washington Heights | Angel | |
| The Guru | Randy | ||
| 2003 | Shortcut to Happiness | Cop | |
| The Station Agent | Joe Oramas | ||
| 2004 | Fresh Cut Grass | Billy Pecchio | |
| Haven | Lieutenant | ||
| Shall We Dance? | Chic | ||
| The Breakup Artist | Neighbor | ||
| 2005 | Happy Endings | Javier Duran | |
| Romance & Cigarettes | Chetty Jr. / “Fryburg” | ||
| 2006 | The Night Listener | Jess | |
| Fast Food Nation | Mike | ||
| Snakes on a Plane | Special Agent Hank Harris | ||
| 10 Items or Less | Bobby | ||
| 2007 | The Ten | Marty McBride | |
| Dedication | Don Meyers | ||
| 2008 | The Take | Agent Steve Perelli | |
| Diminished Capacity | Lee Vivyan | ||
| The Promotion | Dr. Mark Timms | ||
| 100 Feet | Lou Shanks | ||
| 2009 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Commander James Kent | |
| The Merry Gentleman | Michael Elkhart | ||
| Brief Interviews with Hideous Men | Subject #40 | ||
| Louis C.K.’s Last Chance | Porn Producer | Short film | |
| 2010 | F—K | Bobby | Short film |
| The Other Guys | Jimmy | ||
| Apples | Nino | Short film | |
| Weakness | Joshua Polansky | ||
| 2011 | Win Win | Terry Delfino | |
| Roadie | Randy Stevens | ||
| 2013 | Movie 43 | Superman | Segment: “Super Hero Speed Dating” |
| Parker | Jake Fernandez | ||
| Lovelace | Butchie Peraino | ||
| Blue Jasmine | Chili | ||
| 2014 | Chef | Tony | |
| Adult Beginners | Danny | ||
| Annie | Guy Danlily | ||
| 2015 | Danny Collins | Tom Donnelly | |
| Spy | Sergio De Luca | ||
| Ant-Man | Jim Paxton | ||
| Daddy’s Home | Dr. Emilio Francisco | ||
| 2016 | The Fundamentals of Caring | Cash | Uncredited |
| 2017 | Hair | Bobby Cannavale | Short film |
| The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature | Frankie (voice) | ||
| I, Tonya | Martin Maddox | ||
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | Professor John Hardin Van Pelt | Credited as Van Pelt | |
| Ferdinand | Valiente/Valiente’s father (voices) | ||
| The Photographer | Photographer | Short film | |
| 2018 | Boundaries | Leonard | |
| Ant-Man and the Wasp | Jim Paxton | ||
| 2019 | Motherless Brooklyn | Tony Vermonte | |
| The Irishman | Felix “Skinny Razor” DiTullio | ||
| The Jesus Rolls | Petey | ||
| Martha the Monster | Kevin / Doormat (voice) | Short film | |
| 2020 | Superintelligence | George Churchill | |
| 2021 | Tom & Jerry | Spike (voice) | |
Thunder Force  |
The King | Completed | |
| Sing 2 |
Jimmy Crystal (voice) | In production | |
| Blonde |
Joe DiMaggio | Post-production | |
| TBA | This Is the Night |
TBA | |
| Jolt |
Detective Vicars |
|
Denotes films not yet released |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | When Trumpets Fade | Capt. Thomas Zenek | Television film |
| 1999–2001 | Third Watch | Roberto Caffey | 38 episodes |
| 2000 | Sex and the City | Adam Ball | Episode: “Easy Come, Easy Go” |
| 2001–2002 | 100 Centre Street | Jeremiah Jellinek | 5 episodes |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Kyle Novacek | Episode: “Monogamy” |
| Ally McBeal | Wilson Jade | 5 episodes | |
| Law & Order | Randy Porter | Episode: “Hitman” | |
| 2003 | Kingpin | Chato Cadena | 6 episodes |
| Mickeypalooza | Himself | Television special | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Julian Bello | Episode: “The Gift” | |
| Oz | Alonzo Torquemada | 2 episodes | |
| 2004 | Six Feet Under | Javier | 3 episodes |
| 2004–2006, 2018 | Will & Grace | Vince D’Angelo | 17 episodes |
| 2005 | N.Y.-70 | Det. Niko Corso | Pilot |
| The Exonerated | Jesse Tafero | Television film | |
| Recipe for a Perfect Christmas | Alex Stermadapolous | ||
| 2006–2007 | The Days of Pets | Burke Zuko | Recurring cast |
| 2007 | The War | Corado R. “Babe” Ciarlo (voice) | 2 episodes |
| The Knights of Prosperity | Enrico Cortez | ||
| Law & Order | J.P. Lange | Episode: “Murder Book” | |
| M.O.N.Y. | Joe Capanelli | Pilot | |
| 2008–2009 | Cold Case | Eddie Saccardo | 7 episodes |
| 2008 | Lipstick Jungle | Chris “Parks” Parker | Episode: “Chapter Seven: Carpe Threesome” |
| 2009 | Cupid | Trevor Pierce | 7 episodes |
| 2010 | American Dad! | Detective Chaz Miglachio (voice) | Episode: “Cops and Roger” |
| Louie | Chris | 2 episodes | |
| Marry Me | Adam | Episode(s): Part 1 & 2 | |
| 2010–2011 | Blue Bloods | Charles Rosselini | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Modern Family | Lewis | Episode: “Send Out the Clowns” |
| Boardwalk Empire | Gyp Rosetti | 11 episodes | |
| 2012–2013 | Nurse Jackie | Dr. Mike Cruz | 12 episodes |
| 2014 | Robot Chicken | Various (voice) | Episode: “Super Guitario Center” |
| 2016 | Vinyl | Richie Finestra | 10 episodes |
| 2017 | Master of None | Chef Jeff | 4 episodes |
| Comrade Detective | Petre Bubescu (voice) | Episode: “Two Films for One Ticket” | |
| 2017–2019 | Mr. Robot | Irving | 9 episodes |
| 2018 | Angie Tribeca | Angela “A.J.” Giles Jr. | 10 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | BoJack Horseman | Vance Waggoner (voice) | 2 episodes |
| Big Mouth | Gavin the Hormone Monster / Nick’s Agent (voice) | 3 episodes | |
| 2018–present | Homecoming | Colin Belfast | 11 episodes |
| 2019 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Tony (voice) | Episode: “Shell Games” |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Tom Snyder | Episode: “Phyllis & Fred & Brenda & Marc” |
| 2021 | Nine Perfect Strangers | Tony | Main cast |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told | Steve | Williamstown Theatre Festival | |
| 2003 | Fucking A | The Mayor | The Public Theater, Off-Broadway | |
| 2005 | Hurlyburly | Phil | Acorn Theater, Off-Broadway | |
| 2007 | Mauritius | Dennis | Biltmore Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2010 | Trust | Morton | Second Stage Theater, Off-Broadway | |
| 2011 | The Motherfucker with the Hat | Jackie | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2012 | Glengarry Glen Ross | Richard Roma | ||
| 2013 | The Big Knife | Charlie Castle | American Airlines Theater, Broadway | |
| 2016 | White Rabbit Red Rabbit | (solo) | Westside Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 2017 | The Hairy Ape | Robert “Yank” Smith | Park Avenue Armory, Off-Broadway | |
| 2018 | The Lifespan of a Fact | John | Studio 54, Broadway | |
| 2020 | Medea | Lucas | Harvey Theatre, BAM, Brooklyn |
Awards and nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Won | |
| 2012 | Nurse Jackie | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | Nominated | |||
| Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Boardwalk Empire | Won |
Tony Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Mauritius | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Best Actor in a Play | The Motherfucker with the Hat | Nominated |
Other Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Gotham Awards | Breakthrough Award | The Station Agent | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Ensemble | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | The Motherfucker with the Hat | Won | |
| 2011 | Outer Critics Circle | Best Actor in a Play | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | Critics’ Choice Television Award | Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Nurse Jackie | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Boardwalk Empire | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Supporting Actor | Blue Jasmine | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | The Hairy Ape | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Broadcast Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Mr. Robot | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | The Irishman | Nominated |