James Russo

A Manhattan-born "tough guy" character lead and support, James (Vincent) Russo was born in New York City on April 23, 1953, to an Italian father and German mother. Raised in Flushing, New York, he graduated from the High School of Art and Design. He attended New York University where he wrote and starred in a prize-winning short film, "The Candy Store." Developing an interest in acting, he drove a cab and worked as a construction worker and gravedigger while pursuing acting jobs. Making his on-camera debut in the TV movie Chicago Story (1981), James' first film was in the thriller A Stranger Is Watching (1982). His first break came as a convenience store robber in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). It helped to give him the lead role in the highly obscure, low-budgeted noir-ish thriller Vortex (1982). Possessed with a stare that could easily bring shivers down one's back, Russo would become an accessible villain over the years, memorably portraying a number of secondary psychopaths