Underappreciated Actors: Michael V. Gazzo
Filed Under (Movies) by admin on 02-05-2009
Tagged Under : Michael V. Gazzo, The Godfather, Underappreciated Actors
This underrated actor is one of the many talented individuals who made a strong but somewhat unheralded contribution to the Godfather saga.
In The Godfather: Part II, it was Michael V. Gazzo’s character who launched a silent battle of wills with Al Pacino, one that culminated with his appearance in front of the grand jury and the obligatory final “tying up loose ends” sequence without which no Godfather film would be complete.
Several years later, Gazzo would join a cast that included The Godfather standout Sterling Hayden, as well as Eric Roberts and Susan Sarandon in King of the Gypsies, playing one of the critical roles in the underrated 1978 film.
Gazzo participated in many landmark television series as a guest star, including Welcome Back Kotter, Cagney and Lacey, Starsky and Hutch, Baretta, Magnum P.I., L.A. Law and Taxi.
Given his proficiency with playing Italian mafia types, Gazzo was cast as the silent head of a mafia family in Last Action Hero. While it was up to Arnold Schwarzenegger to prevent a mass assassination at the mafia gathering, and Gazzo had no lines, his mere presence added an authenticity to the mafia ambience of the event.
In this film, Gazzo was one of a large collection of underappreciated actors who would appear on the screen, among them F. Murray Abraham, Charles Dance, Frank McRae, Robert Prosky and Tom Noonan.
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