Bobby Cannavale

Early life

Cannavale was born on May 3, 1970, in Union City, New Jersey, where he grew up, 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. His uncle is Enzo Cannavale, an Italian actor who performed in the Academy Award–winning Cinema Paradiso. 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. From 1983 to 1986, Cannavale attended Coconut Creek High School, but during his senior year, he was expelled "for being a cutup."

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 The Guru (2002), Shall We Dance? (2004), Romance & Cigarettes (2005) and Snakes on a Plane, 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 Take (2007) as Agent Steve Perelli, alongside John Leguizamo and Tyrese Gibson.

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. Cupid premiered on March 31, 2009, but was cancelled by ABC 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 in the film The Other Guys (2010), and played the role of Terry Delfino in the film Win Win (2011). 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 seasons 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 Rosetti in 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 [for public radio and podcast] 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.

In January 2020, Cannavale appeared with his real-life partner Rose Byrne in the play Medea, written and directed by Simon Stone. In 2021, Cannavale played Tony Hogburn in the Nicole Kidman-led Hulu miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers (based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty), which also featured Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving, and Asher Keddie. In 2022, Cannavale was seen portraying Dean Braddock in the 2022 Netflix series, The Watcher.

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 has been in a relationship with Australian actress Rose Byrne since 2012. Their first son was born in 2016, and a second son in 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. . (2022-05-03). ["Today in History"](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/03/metro/today-history/). *[[Boston Globe]]*.
2. (20 July 2005). "An Emmy Surprise for 'Will & Grace'".
3. Beale, Lewis. (2004-10-24). "All the Right Moves". [[The Statesman Journal]].
4. "Bobby Cannavale, At Home On Broadway".
5. Witchel, Alex (March 29, 2013) [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/magazine/bobby-cannavale-broadways-hottest-outsider.html Bobby Cannavale, Broadway's Hottest Outsider]. ''[[The New York Times]]''
6. [https://napoli.repubblica.it/commenti/2019/10/23/news/turturro_attore_e_il_cannavale_venuto_dagli_usa-239257413/ Turturro attore e il Cannavale venuto dagli Usa]. ''Repubblica'' (2019-10-23). Retrieved 2025-11-14.
7. (June 10, 2008). "Questions For... Bobby Cannavale". [[The New York Times]].
8. D'Arminio, Aubry Anne. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090501175544/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/240595/Bobby-Cannavale/biography Bobby Cannavale: Full Biography]. ''All Movie Guide'' via ''nytimes.com''. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
9. "Bobby Cannavale". Classmates.
10. (October 13, 2004). "Cannavale's sexy screen career gets a leg up in 'Dance'". [[USA Today]].
11. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081209023613/http://www.latinheat.com/print.php?nid=182&origen=1 EMMY WATCH: Bobby Cannavale]. Latin Heat Online (08-03-2005)
12. Rappaport, Melissa. [https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2009/10/04/a-look-inside/ "A look inside"], ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', October 4, 2009. Accessed November 26, 2019. "School Business Administrator Anthony Dragona said the event brought in nearly 450 guests that included celebrities such as NFL Hall of Famer and NY Giant Harry Carson, who shared a few words about the importance of an education in his life; Union Hill graduate Bobby Cannavale, an actor; and Tito Puente Jr."
13. (30 September 2012). "ABC Medianet". ABC Medianet.
14. Bauder, David. (May 19, 2009). "New TV lineup: ABC turns to familiar comic faces for new season". [[The Seattle Times]].
15. (June 15, 2008). "2008 Tony Awards Red Carpet". CBS News.
16. "Nominations for the 2008 American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards".
17. Mitovich, Matt. (25 June 2009). "Exclusive: Bobby Cannavale Is Back on the Case".
18. "2011 Tony Nominations Announced; Book of Mormon Earns 14 Nominations". [[Playbill]].
19. "Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for 2012 – Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series". Emmys.com.
20. Andreeva, Nellie. (June 5, 2012). "Critics' Choice TV Awards Noms: 'Community' At Top Of List". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
21. Fretts, Bruce; Holbrook, Damian; Roush, Matt. "Cheers & Jeers 2012" ''[[TV Guide]]''. December 24, 2012. p 18.
22. Mogol, Allen. (23 February 2015). ""Playing On Air" Delivers Short Plays with Top Talent on Demand". Broadway Direct.
23. (2014-12-08). "Bobby Cannavale". Playing on Air.
24. (2015-07-27). "New Podcast! CRAZY EIGHTS by David Lindsay-Abaire".
25. (2016-03-20). "New Podcast! Mere Mortals by David Ives".
26. Brantley, Ben. (January 30, 2020). "'Medea' Review: Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, Torched by Love". [[The New York Times]].
27. McHenry, Jackson. (January 22, 2020). "Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale Are Lovers Playing Fighters Onstage In ''Medea'', an avant-garde take on the Greek tragedy.". [[Vulture (website).
28. Porter, Rick. (August 6, 2020). "Bobby Cannavale Boards Hulu's 'Nine Perfect Strangers'". The Hollywood Reporter.
29. Lawler, Kelly. "Review: Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy can't save Hulu's messy 'Nine Perfect Strangers'".
30. (October 23, 2008). "Bobby and Jacob Cannavale Support Theater". [[People (magazine).
31. King, Susan. (November 7, 2008). "Ditching acting, director's daughter finds role as writer". [[Knoxville News Sentinel]].
32. (2007-10-27). "Annabella Sciorra Splits From Bobby Cannavale - Starpulse News Blog".
33. Nahas, Aili. (June 4, 2015). "Rose Byrne Reveals the Best Thing About Dating Bobby Cannavale". People.
34. Stanton, Elizabeth. (December 10, 2017). "Bobby Cannavale Reveals His Newborn Son's Name & the Sweet Family Inspiration Behind It (Exclusive)". [[Entertainment Tonight]].
35. Libby, Dirk. (11 December 2017). "Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle Review". CinemaBlend.
36. Schaefer, Sandy. (20 December 2017). "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Review - The Game is Still Fun". [[Screen Rant]].
37. (January 23, 2018). "Actors dramatize sexual harassment for #ThatsHarassment film campaign".
38. Grobar, Matt. (April 5, 2023). "'MaXXXine' Adds Lily Collins, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, Halsey & More To Cast".
39. Squires, John. (April 11, 2023). "Filming Underway on Ti West's 'MaXXXine' Starring Mia Goth".
40. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (5 December 2023). "Jennifer Lopez & Jharrel Jerome Pic 'Unstoppable' From Artists Equity Returns To Filming Next Week; Don Cheadle, Michael Peña & Bobby Cannavale Join Cast As Amazon MGM Boards".
41. "PHOTO CALL: Motherf**ker with the Hat, With Chris Rock and Bobby Cannavale, on Broadway".
42. "Bobby Cannavale Will Join Al Pacino in Broadway Revival of Glengarry Glen Ross".
43. "The Verdict: Critics Review The Big Knife, Starring Bobby Cannavale".
44. "The Hairy Ape, Starring Bobby Cannavale, Begins March 25".
45. "First Look at Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, and Daniel Radcliffe in The Lifespan of a Fact".
46. "About the Artists".
47. "Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Denis O'Hare, More Will Star in World Premiere of Sondheim's Here We Are".
48. Evans, Greg. (May 22, 2025). "Bobby Cannavale, James Corden And Neil Patrick Harris To Star In Fall Broadway Revival Of Yasmina Reza's 'Art'".
49. (December 12, 2013). "'12 Years a Slave' leads female-voted AWFJ nods, as 'The Counselor' is shamed". [[HitFix]].
50. (June 5, 2012). "'Community' and NBC lead Critics' Choice Awards nominations". The Los Angeles Times.
51. (2018). "Best Supporting Actor In A Drama Series". The Los Angeles Times.
52. "Bobby Cannavale: Awards".
53. "Bobby Cannavale". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].
54. "2012 Primetime Emmy Awards".
55. "2013 Primetime Emmy Awards".
56. "The 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
57. (January 23, 2013). "Exclusive: Seating the SAG Awards". GateHouse.
58. (December 11, 2019). "SAG Awards Nominations: 'Bombshell', 'The Irishman', 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Top Film List, 'Maisel,' 'Fleabag' Score In TV – Complete List Of Noms". Penske Media Corporation.
59. "Bobby Cannavale". Playbill.
60. "2011 Tony Award Nominations".