This Bronx-bred tough guy endured years of struggling as a theater actor/writer and bit player before hitting it big in the early 1990s with his feature lead and screenwriting debut in "A Bronx Tale" (1993). Chazz (originally Calogero) Palminteri spent much of the 80s acting in such off-Broadway productions as "The Guys in the Truck", "The Flatbush Faithful" and "Twenty-Two Years" while taking acting classes and working as a doorman at the chic Limelight disco. He also appeared in several student films, including Ang Lee's "Fine Line" (1984). Palminteri moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and began making guest appearances in numerous TV series, including "Wiseguy" (as an attorney), "Sydney" (as a kidnapper), "Hill Street Blues", "Matlock" and "The Hogan Family".

Discouraged by his inability to land "great roles" in Hollywood, Palminteri wrote the play "A Bronx Tale" (1988), a one-man showcase featuring 35 characters. This powerful story of an Italian-American boy and the struggle between his father and a local gangster for his devotion garnered great reviews and a long run. Financially aided by Limelight owner Peter Gatien, he moved the play from L.A. to New York, where it ran for four sold-out months.

After his feature debut in "An Even Break" (1989), Palminteri subsequently appeared in the unsuccessful Sylvester Stallonecomedy "Oscar" (1991), as well as supporting roles in "Innocent Blood" and "Night and the City" (both 1992). But his big break and so-called "overnight success" came with his co-starring role (as a neighborhood thug) opposite first-time director Robert De Niro in the film version of "A Bronx Tale" (1993). Woody Allen next made use of Palminteri's screen image when he cast him as the poetic gangster Cheech in his ode to the theater, "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994). For his efforts, Palminteri walked away with an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. He went from gangster to law officer in "The Perez Family" (his first romantic lead) and "The Usual Suspects" and played a lawyer in the pallid thriller "Jade" (all 1995). He also returned to TV in 1995, with the Showtime movie "The Last Word". In 1996, Palminteri was the unlucky lover of Sharon Stoneand husband of Isabelle Adjaniin the pallid remake of "Diabolique" and was a member of the 1950s "Hat Squad" with Nick Nolte and Chris Pennin the cop drama "Mulholland Falls". His second screenplay, "Faithful" (in which he also appeared as a hitman after whining wife Cher) also opened in 1996.