Bobby Cannavale Movies
Growing up in Union City, NJ, Bobby Cannavale participated in the school play because his mother wanted him off the streets. Today, he is a recognizable New York-based character actor with roles in the city's best theater, television, and film productions. Television writer/producer John Wells and the legendary Sidney Lumet frequently rely on Cannavale's talents; he can usually be found rounding out their ensemble casts, and is married to Lumet's daughter, Jenny.Cannavale was born in New Jersey to an Italian father and a Cuban mother. His parents insisted that he attend St. Michael's Catholic School in Union City where he took part in almost every after school activity, from the alter boys to the chorus. When he was eight, Cannavale secured the plum role of "the lisping boy" in his school's production of The Music Man and a part in Guys and Dolls. Ever since then, he wanted to do nothing but perform.
Cannavale's parents divorced when he was 13 and his mother moved the family to Puerto Rico. After two years in Latin America, they returned to the United States and settled in Coconut Creek, FL. Cannavale returned to New Jersey after graduating high school in the late '80s -- he needed to be closer to New York in order to begin his acting career. Forgoing acting lessons for actual performance experience, Cannavale became involved with Manhattan's prestigious Circle Repertory Theater. He served as a "reader" for several plays and was eventually cast as Mark Linn-Baker's understudy in Georges Feydeau's French farce A Flea in Her Ear. Cannavale soon ended up replacing Baker for two weeks. His first-rate performance secured him a role in the company's next play, Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Television powerhouse John Wells attended one of the shows and cast Cannavale in his television series Trinity. Cannavale's character, a tugboat operator, was supposed to appear in only three episodes of the show, but starred in nine.
Trinity was canceled in 1998, but Wells immediately secured Cannavale for his next television venture, 1999's Third Watch. As dedicated and lovesick paramedic Robert "Bobby" Caffey, Cannavale struck a cord with female audiences. The show was renewed for a second season, but Cannavale felt that Caffey's character was not being developed. He asked Wells to let him exit the series and to make sure he exited "big." The producer obliged his friend: Caffey left the show mid-season after being fatally shot in the chest. The dramatic two-part episode even included a "beyond the grave" meeting between Caffey and his deceased dead-beat dad. In 2001, Cannavale joined the cast of his father-in-law, Sidney Lumet's heralded television courtroom drama, 100 Centre Street. Cannavale's brazen, ambitious prosecutor, J.J. Jellinek, is a far cry from the softhearted paramedic he portrayed on Third Watch. Debuting on the show at the beginning of its second season, Jellinek shook up 100 Centre Street -- immediately romancing a fellow lawyer and shamelessly advancing his career in any way possible.
Cannavale's television career has not kept him away from theater or film. He appeared on-stage throughout the '90s, participating in productions such as Lanford Wilson's Virgil Is Still the Frog Boy and Noel Coward's In Two Keys. His movie credits include Herbe Gardner's I'm Not Rappaport (1996) with Walter Mathau and Ossie Davis, Lumet's Night Falls on Manhattan (1997), and Gloria (1999), John Irvin's HBO original film When Trumpet's Fade (1998), Phillip Noyce's The Bone Collector (1999) with Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington, Spike Lee's 3 A.M. (2001) with Danny Glover, Alec Baldwin's The Devil and Daniel Webster (2002), and Daisy Von Scherler Mayer's The Guru (2002). Cast as friendly and outgoing lunch truck vender Joe in the critically acclaimed 2003 indie hit The Station Agent, Cannavale provided the perfect contrast to Peter Dinklage's introverted protagonist. WIth subsequent small screen roles in Kingpin and OZ that same year, the up and coming actor would become a familiar face to television viewers before once again returning to the silver screen for supporting roles in Shall We Dance?, Haven, and Romance and Cigarettes.
A recurring, Emmy-winning role on Will and Grace ensured Cannavale's continued presence on the small screen right through to the final episode of the series aired in May of 2006, with a slew of supporting performance in such the features The Night Listener, Fast Food Nation, Snakes on a Plane, 10 Items or Less, and Dedication that same year proving that Cannivale was the go-to guy for producers in search of quality supporting players. This trend would continue for the actor in the coming years, as he turned up in everything from the quirky Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, to the family friendly Paul Blart: Mall Cop. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
John Irvin directed this gripping and effective WWII drama set amid the carnage and slaughter of the Hurtgen Forest battle when the Allies moved on toward Germany in the fall of 1944. Private Manning (Ron Eldard) hopes for a Section 8 switch away from the frontline combat, but when he's the only survivor of his platoon, Captain Pritchett (Martin Donovan) is so impressed he upgrades Manning to sergeant. This irritates Sgt. Talbot (Dylan Bruno) who views Manning as a coward. Manning is put in charge of a group of awkward recruits, including the clumsy Sanderson (Zak Orth), as the Allies prepare to take a key location, a well-defended bridge. Shown at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival, this television production had its HBO premiere on June 27, 1998. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Eldard, Zak Orth, (more)
Every second counts. Every detail matters. Every 3-11 p.m. third-watch shift brings a rush of risk, fear, and lives in the balance. From producers John Wells (ER, The West Wing) and Edward Allen Bernero (Criminal Minds) comes this action-packed drama about the brave and dedicated people who serve as police, paramedics, and firefighters. For them, keeping the streets safe and answering cries for help is all in a day's work. The 22-episode debut season of Third Watch rolls out on six discs, capturing all the kinetic intensity of its 1999-2000 debut season. Hit the streets with these professional rescuers -- and experience day-in, day-out heroism at its most exciting and intense.
- Starring:
- Skipp Sudduth, Michael Beach, (more)
Filmed on location in Montreal and New York, The Bone Collector is a suspense thriller that combines Rear Window and Seven. Two cops on the trail of a brutal serial killer must see as one, act as one, and think as one before the next victim falls. Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) is an intelligent forensics detective who was paralyzed in the line of duty. The author of several books, he has a keen eye for detail and nose for clues that have made him a legend in the law enforcement community. Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) is a street-smart policewoman in her twenties. On her last day as a street cop, before being transferred to a desk job, Amelia discovers a badly mutilated corpse. Rhyme is asked to investigate the case, but he declines. To him, it is an open-and-shut case not worth his time. But when he takes a close look at the evidence, he is intrigued, as the photos reveal complex messages in their details. The lunatic, who might be a taxi driver (a Scorsese allusion), amuses himself by paying homage to legendary murders in his own gruesome acts. Amelia is assigned to assist Rhyme, and she must be the eyes and ears of the quadriplegic detective. And they must capture the killer before he strikes again. Written by Jeremy Iacone and based on a book of the same title by Jeffrey Deaver, The Bone Collector was directed by the Australian thriller specialist Phillip Noyce, who directed such films as Clear and Present Danger and Dead Calm. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, (more)
Carlos (Manny Perez) is a talented artist who draws comics for a living. He's desperate to move out of his Washington Heights neighborhood. His girlfriend, Maggie (Andrea Navedo) feels more connected to the neighborhood. She's not so eager to leave. Carlos's best friend, Mickey (Danny Hoch), works as a super in the building his father owns, but he dreams of being a professional bowler. He's scheming to raise three grand to enter an open tournament in Las Vegas. Carlos's father, Eddie (accomplished Cuban-born actor Tomas Milian, who starred in Michelangelo Antonioni's Indentificazione di una donna), owns a neighborhood grocery store, and is well-liked in the neighborhood for his friendly way of doing business. Despite his advanced age, he's also a ladies' man, and was so even before Carlos's mother passed away. His philandering ways account for a lot of the tension between father and son. Carlos wants to draw his own comic book, but his boss, David (David Zayas) tells him that while he's got technical ability, his work is soulless. But Carlos's plans for the future are disrupted when Eddie is shot and critically wounded during a robbery at the store. Carlos resentfully takes care of his ailing father, and runs the store until Eddie can go back to work. Carlos's growing understanding of his community, and his father's importance to it, is reflected in his work, and he has a creative breakthrough. Meanwhile, Mickey's moneymaking schemes get him into trouble with Angel (Bobby Cannavale), Maggie's gangster brother. Washington Heights was directed by Alfredo De Villa, who wrote the script with Nat Moss. Novelist Junot Diaz (Drown) wrote additional dialogue. The film was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival, and at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tomas Milian, Manny Perez, (more)
- 2002
Rosatti, a New York contractor with mob connections, is found murdered in his own brownstone apartment. At first the killing seems to have been the end result of a botched robbery, but Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) have reason to believe that Rosatti died in a professional hit ordered by the victim's trophy wife Sherri (Gretchen Egolf) and her paramour Tony Darrow (Bobby Cannavale). Just when the noose seems to be tightening around the alleged perpetrators, ADA Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) unearths a startling new piece of evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actor and playwright Tom McCarthy makes his feature film debut as a writer/director with the quirky comedy drama The Station Agent. In New Jersey, Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) is a four-foot-tall lonely man who chooses to live the life of a hermit in an abandoned train yard following the death of his friend. While he is there, he unexpectedly meets and befriends a couple of fellow loners. Troubled Olivia (Patricia Clarkson) is an artist devastated by the loss of her son and separation from her husband, while carefree and friendly Joe (Bobby Cannavale) runs a hot dog stand. The three unlikely friends each deal with their urge to connect compared with their individual need for isolation. Also starring Raven Goodwin, Paul Benjamin, and Michelle Williams. The Station Agent won the Audience award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, (more)
Widely touted as NBC's answer to The Sopranos, the six-episode series Kingpin also drew heavily from the British mini-series Traffik. The nominal protagonist in this seamy, violent tale of a Mexican drug-trading family was Yancey Arias as Miguel Cadena, the Stanford-educated heir apparent to the Cardena criminal dynasty. Together with his icy, coke-addicted wife, Marlene (Sheryl Lee), Miguel coolly guided the destinies of his worldwide family business, eliminating enemies, friends, and loved ones alike to maintain his empire. Others in the cast included Bobby Cannavale as Miguel's vicious "enforcer" brother, Chato; Ruben Carbajal as Miguel and Marlene's disillusioned eight-year-old son, Joey; Angela Alvarado Rosa as relentless DEA agent Delia Flores; Brian Benben as the Cardenas' personal plastic surgeon, Dr. Heywood Klein; and Shay Roundtree as Texas-born torpedo Junie Gatling, who acted as a sounding board for the other characters. Among the creative contributors to the series was Allen Coulter, who direct several episodes of The Sopranos. Originally slated for a March 2003 debut, Kingpin was moved up to February 2, 2003 to take advantage of a traditional network "sweeps week." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yancey Arias, Sheryl Lee, (more)
Directed by Peter Chelsom, this film is the English-language remake of Masayuki Suo's 1995 romantic comedy of the same name; the Japanese version earned a record-breaking 9.5 million dollars in United States box offices. Shall We Dance? revolves around John Clark (Richard Gere), a workaholic Chicago lawyer who, despite a respectable paycheck and loving family, is unable to shake the feeling that something in his life is missing. On a whim, John disrupts his normal evening commute to attend a dance class in hopes of meeting Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), a beautiful dance teacher he would occasionally spot gazing out of the studio windows. Though Paulina quickly lays to rest any preconceived romantic notions John may have had about her, she nonetheless forms a bond with him that goes beyond those normally held by a teacher and student. Invigorated with his new hobby, John focuses his newfound enthusiasm into training for an upcoming dance competition; however, he chooses not to let his wife (Susan Sarandon) in on his plans. Unaware that dance may be, in fact, saving her marriage, John's wife becomes suspicious of all the time he spends away from home and hires a private investigator to find out whether or not her husband is having an affair. Ultimately, John is forced to examine how his old dreams fit in to his new life. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, (more)
When a corrupt Miami businessman flees to the Cayman Islands with his daughter and a million dollars in dirty money, the resulting inferno threatens to consume father, daughter, and even a few unsuspecting innocents in a sun soaked crime drama starring Bill Paxton, Orlando Bloom, and Agnes Bruckner. Carl Ridley (Paxton) was desperate to escape the law when he boarded an airplane for the Cayman Islands, but as the heat starts to rise in paradise, he's about to realize that there are some fates far worse than prison time. As Carl attempts to cleanse his ill-gotten gains with a little help from crooked British investment banker Mr. Allen (Stephen Dillane), his resentful daughter Pippa (Bruckner) sets out to explore her exotic new surroundings on the arm of native bad boy Fritz (Victor Rasuk). A low-level thug whose connections to a powerful local crime lord threatens to spell doom for all involved, Fritz draws Pippa in to disastrous chain of events sparked by the forbidden desires of unsuspecting lovers Shy (Bloom and Andrea (Zoe Saldana). Now, as the West Indies threatens to explode into violence, Carl must choose between the safety of his daughter and fortune he's trying to hide. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orlando Bloom, Bill Paxton, (more)
Adapted by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen from their own off-Broadway play, The Exonerated dramatizes the real-life stories of six innocent citizens who spent anywhere from three to 20 years on death row until DNA testing proved that they had all been falsely convicted. Each of the six stories is related in the first person, using free-flowing flashbacks to highlight selected events. Some critics felt that, by using such A-list actors as Susan Sarandon, Aidan Quinn, Danny Glover, Brian Dennehy, and Delroy Lindo to play the unfairly condemned protagonists, the text of the original play was thrown off balance; this may be the reason why the relatively unknown David Brown Jr., cast as the sixth main character, received some of the best reviews. In the tradition of Schindler's List, the actual people whose experiences are enacted in the film show up on camera for the final scene. Directed by veteran Broadway and Hollywood actor Bob Balaban (Seinfeld, A Mighty Wind), The Exonerated was produced for the Court TV cable channel, and was first broadcast on January 27, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Sarandon, Aidan Quinn, (more)
Three loosely interrelated stories of dysfunctional relationships are played for edgy laughs in this dark comedy drama from writer and director Don Roos. An unexpected assignation between stepsiblings Mamie and Charley results in Mamie becoming pregnant, with the child being put up for adoption shortly after birth. Twenty years later, Mamie (Lisa Kudrow) is approached by Nicky (Jesse Bradford), an aspiring filmmaker with an abrasive personality who claims to know where her long-lost son is living. However, there's a catch -- Nicky wants to shoot the reunion for the student film he's working on, and won't tell her about her child unless she agrees, though her lover, Javier (Bobby Cannavale), attempts to work out a compromise. Meanwhile, Charley (Steve Coogan), now out of the closet, has a longstanding relationship with Gil (David Sutcliffe), and the couple are involved in a legal battle over whether or not Gil's donated sperm produced a baby who has been adopted by a lesbian couple they know (Laura Dern and Sarah Clarke). And finally, Jude (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a bohemian malcontent who becomes involved with Otis (Jason Ritter), a sexually ambiguous rock musician. Otis has a difficult relationship with his father, Frank (Tom Arnold), but when Jude meets Frank, she likes him fine -- in fact, she soon falls in love with him and leaves Otis for his dad. Happy Endings had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, (more)
- 2005
Worn to a frazzle by her job at trendy "Glow" magazine, straitlaced J.J. Jenner (Carly Pope) is gratified when her boss offers her the job of writing an important food column--but only if she can finish a decent article within a two-week deadline, which will fall upon Christmas Eve. Impeding J.J.'s potential success is the breakup of her current romance, and especially the unannounced arrival of her freewheeling mother Lee (Christine Baranski), former hippie and lifelong chorus girl. To get her well-meaning but annoying mom out of her hair, and to assure that the food-column job will definitely be hers, J.J. enters into an arrangement with publicity-hungry restaurant owner Alex (Bobby Cannavale), wherein he will date Lee in exchange for a glowing review of his eating establishment. Suffice to say that things don't quite turn out as either J.J. or Alex originally planned. Produced for the Lifetime cable channel,Recipe for a Perfect Christmas debuted December 5, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actor and filmmaker John Turturro wrote and directed this emotionally resonant blend of music and drama. Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is an ironworker who has been married for years to Kitty (Susan Sarandon), who works as a seamstress and is the mother of Nick's three daughters. While Nick loves his wife, his head is turned by Tula (Kate Winslet), a sexy salesgirl at a lingerie shop, and soon they're having a passionate affair. When Kitty finds out about Nick's infidelity, she becomes enraged and kicks him out of the house, forcing him to decide what he really wants out of life and what is most important to him. Along the way, many of the characters in the film periodically turn to their favorite songs to explain and amplify their emotions, lip-synching along with the original recordings. Romance & Cigarettes also stars Steve Buscemi, Mandy Moore, Christopher Walken, Eddie Izzard, and Elaine Stritch. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, (more)
A man whose life has been touched by tragic illness is drawn into the life of another victim whose story has an unsettling twist in this drama. Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) is a radio talk show host who has developed a loyal following for his deeply personal on-air monologues, many of which deal with his relationship with his companion Jess (Bobby Cannavale), who is HIV-positive and struggling with his health. When Jess' condition improves, he surprises Gabriel by announcing he needs his space and has decided to break up with him. Gabriel is shaken and feels creatively blocked until Ashe (Joe Morton), a friend in the publishing business, gives him an advance copy of a memoir by Pete Logand (Rory Culkin), a 14-year-old boy living with AIDS. Pete's book is a harrowing memoir of a childhood fraught with abuse of all sorts meted out at the hands of his parents, and Gabriel is deeply moved by his story. One night, Gabriel gets a phone call from Pete, who claims to be a big fan of his radio show, but the call is cut off by Donna (Toni Collette), Pete's stern and protective stepmother. While Gabriel admires Pete's book, he begins to question its veracity, and with the help of Anna (Sandra Oh) tries to research the facts behind the story. As he uncovers more loose ends, Gabriel begins to suspect that Pete isn't the true author of the work, and that Donna has created his terrible past in the name of literary celebrity. The Night Listener was adapted from the novel by Armistead Maupin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Toni Collette, (more)
Inspired by author Eric Schlosser's New York Times best-seller of the same name, director Richard Linklater's ensemble drama examines the health issues and social consequences of America's love affair with fast food and features an all-star cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke, Kris Kristofferson, Patricia Arquette, and Luis Guzman. Mickey's is the most popular fast-food chain in America, and The Big One is the top-selling burger that put them on the map. When the higher-ups at Mickey's corporate offices learn that the frozen meat patties used to make the wildly popular burger have somehow been tainted with contaminated meat, they send marketing executive Don Henderson (Kinnear) on an urgent mission to ensure quality control and find out precisely how their product became compromised. It's a long way from the Southern California boardroom to the immigrant slaughterhouses, though, and the further Henderson works his way through the bustling feedlots and toward the ubiquitous restaurant sites that have become a staple of modern culture, the more he begins to realize just how dangerous convenience can become when it leads to blissfully ignorant complacency. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, (more)
A aging Hollywood icon whose fear of failure has smouldered his once-luminous star strikes up an unlikely friendship with an acid tongued checkout clerk while researching his latest role in City of Angels and Moonlight Mile director Brad Siberling's intimate drama. Crippled by his own, all-consuming fears, the man who was once Hollywood's hottest icon (Morgan Freeman) is forced to consider a role in a low-budget independent after a series of more lucrative prospects wither away on the vine. When his driver abandons him during a trip to Carson to research his upcoming role, the one-time showbiz supernova strikes up a lively conversation with Scarlet (Paz Vega), the outspoken check-out girl at a Latino community market. Now, stuck on his own far from Brentwood, the actor must rely upon the kindness of a common stranger to help him get back on his feet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morgan Freeman, Paz Vega, (more)
Forget terrorists or hijackers -- there's a handful of deadly assassins aboard a jet liner and they don't even have arms or legs in this airborne thriller. Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) is an FBI agent handling what seems like a routine assignment -- serving as bodyguard for Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips), a Hawaiian surfer dude who is flying to California to testify in a high-profile criminal trial after witnessing mobster Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson) murdering one of his underlings. However, Flynn's job gets a lot more challenging when he discovers Kim's associates don't want Jones to talk, and have devised a unique way to ensure his silence. A cache of highly dangerous poisonous snakes has been hidden on board the jet, and is released using a timed mechanism once the flight is well underway. The snakes quickly attack several members of the flight crew and are eagerly eying the passengers when Flynn decides its time to get medieval on the reptiles. Also starring Rachel Blanchard, Benjamin McKenzie, and Mark Houghton, Snakes on a Plane was produced under the title of Pacific Air Flight 121, but in several interviews Samuel L. Jackson expressed his enthusiasm for the script's original title, Snakes on a Plane, and the high-concept moniker quickly made the film's title and theme a favorite with bloggers and on Internet fan sites all over the world. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, (more)
Much of the group responsible for MTV's The State -- including director/actor David Wain and performers Ken Marino, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Joe Lo Truglio -- reunite for this outrageous, irreverent, and raunchy sketch comedy, which skewers the Ten Commandments. In the framing sequences, comedian Paul Rudd (who collaborated with much of the cast on Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter) stands on a black stage with giant Biblical tablets projected behind him and promises to deliver ten mini-stories, each loosely based on one of the commandments, from "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me" through "Thou Shalt Not Covet." For all of the storyteller's efforts, however, he is constantly, comically distracted by interferences, particularly those emanating from intrusions by his multiple girlfriends. The stories are nonetheless told one by one in short-film form, beginning with a sketch in which Stephen (Adam Brody) goes skydiving with his intended, Kelly (Winona Ryder), but forgets to wear his parachute and gets stuck in the mud, waist-deep, which draws gawkers, media, and in time, worshipers. Several of the subsequent stories consist of raunchy, jet-black riffs on sexual perversion, including one about a virginal librarian (Gretchen Mol) entangled in a sultry and messy affair with a Mexican, and another memorable bit about a nutty surgeon who plays a prank by burying a pair of scissors in a patient's stomach and is then sent to prison -- where he experiences brutal sexual abuse at the hands of other men. As an added bonus, the picture packs in a fully animated sequence, narrated by several crack-smokers, entitled "The Lying Rhino." ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Famke Janssen, (more)
Actor Justin Theroux (Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Mulholland Dr.) steps behind the camera for his directorial debut with this irreverent romantic comedy. Billy Crudup is Henry, a cynical children's book writer who holds little more than disdain for his pint-sized target audience. Artist Rudy (Tom Wilkinson) is both Henry's illustrator and the only friend in his miserable life. But when Rudy's health fails, Henry unwittingly finds himself paired with a new illustrator, played by Mandy Moore, who proves to be the oil to his water. Dedication also stars Mia Farrow and Bob Balaban. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, (more)
