The Only Actor in ‘The Godfather,’ ‘The Sopranos,’ and ‘Goodfellas’—And the Oscar-Winning Movie About His Life!

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For his completion of the trifecta of totemic mafia stories, Tony Lip will forever live in the annals of Italian-American history. Only one actor has appeared in The Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos, and it’s someone you only see in the background behind a crowd of other mobsters. It’s no accident that Lip, whose early years as a bouncer and chauffeur were the subject of the Best Picture-winning Green Book, was continuously cast in stories about the New York gangland set in New York or the Tri-state area.

Living on the periphery of where organized crime gathered socially at the Copacabana, Lip symbolized the gritty realism that directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese aimed for when making their masterpieces. When Lip was given an opportunity for a speaking role with dramatic stakes by David Chase, he proved his untapped acting chops in an unsung role as Carmine Lupertazzi Sr.

Tony Lip Brought Italian-American Authenticity to ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Goodfellas’

As dramatized in Green Book, Tony Lip, known by his birth name, Anthony Vallelonga, worked as a bouncer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City during the 1960s. Lip, played by Viggo Mortensen in the Peter Farrelly film written by his son, Nick Vallelonga, was hired to transport pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) through the segregated Jim Crow South. Before ever appearing in a film, Lip’s life was storied enough to be the focus of a feature-length, Oscar-winning dramedy.

Not everyone at Paramount Pictures supported the decision to hire the exacting and stubborn Francis Ford Coppola to direct their coveted adaption of a best-selling novel, The Godfather, which led to the film’s infamously troubled production. However, Coppola brought an invaluable asset in his Italian-American heritage, which is infused into the legendary 1972 mob epic, from the distinct mannerisms of Sonny (James Caan) to the rich family traditions, exemplified in the iconic opening wedding sequence. In this prolonged scene, Lip can be seen in the background smoking a cigar as patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) greets his friends and associates. While working at the Copacabana, where illustrious figures like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin frequented, Lip met the director, and he took enough of a liking to him to cast him in a non-speaking role in The Godfather. Even as a background day player, Lip’s presence adds verisimilitude that can’t be faked.

After his initial discovery, Lip, who died in 2013, developed a steady career as a character actor, primarily playing wiseguys. After The Godfather, it was only natural he would show his face in Goodfellas, a film often compared to Coppola’s film for its subject and artistic brilliance. During Henry Hill’s (Ray Liotta) rapid-fire introduction of the array of colorful characters in his mob family, the camera glances at an old-timer named Frankie “The Wop,” played by Lip. Once again, Lip’s contributions are minimal, but Scorsese’s Goodfellas oozes with gritty, documentary-like authenticity, and having non-Hollywood faces fill the scenery is essential to the film’s atmosphere. It’s a testament to Coppola and Scorsese’s shrewdness as directors that they can turn day players (such as the easily quotable Jimmy “Two Times” in Goodfellas) into indelible figures.

Who Was Tony Lip in ‘The Sopranos’?

Of course, it wasn’t until he was cast as Carmine Lupertazzi Sr., the New York boss who is both a friend and a foe to Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), that Lip truly shined as an actor. The Sopranos is filled with Goodfellas alumni, notably Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli, but Lip might be the ultimate revelation as the old-school mobster who Tony longs to model himself after. Always mending fences between the New York and New Jersey families, Carmine demands that business matters be dealt with professionally as the hot-headed egos of Tony and his underboss, Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola), threaten to collapse everything. Where Tony is haunted by his inner demons, which hinder his ability to embody the archetypal tough and unflinching mob boss, Carmine is unflappable. Carmine is so much of a foil to Tony that he guides him through the proper etiquette of mob culture, as he famously told him, “A Don doesn’t wear shorts.” In a series full of slick wisecracks and witty, (usually botched) metaphors, Carmine is a rich source of dry humor in The Sopranos.

Robert Altman once remarked that “80 percent of making a film is the casting.” More than their clever writing and imaginative filmmaking, the casting choices made by Coppola, Scorsese, and Chase proved to be the backbone of their legendary artistic achievements. Tony Lip may have never been the star, but his sense of period and setting authenticity cannot be matched by any classically trained actor.

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