Joe Montagna

Joe Mantegna began his stage career in Chicago, making his acting debut in the musical Hair in 1969. He later debuted on Broadway in Working (1978). He co-wrote the play Bleacher Bums for Chicago’s Organic Theater Company and appeared in its original cast. Mantegna won the Tony Award for his performance as Richard Roma in David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross and developed a long-running collaboration with Mamet through stage and screen projects.

Mantegna made his feature film debut in Medusa Challenger (1977). His film credits include Compromising Positions (1985), The Money Pit (1986), Weeds (1987), Suspect (1987), House of Games (1987), Things Change (1988), Homicide (1991), The Godfather Part III (1990), Airheads (1994), and Baby’s Day Out (1994). For Things Change, he shared the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival with co-star Don Ameche. He also earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Dean Martin in HBO’s The Rat Pack (1998).

On television, Mantegna appeared in The Twilight Zone (1985), hosted Saturday Night Live during the 1990–1991 season, and starred as Supreme Court Justice Joseph Novelli in the CBS drama First Monday (2002). Since 2007, he has starred in the CBS series Criminal Minds, later directing several episodes beginning in season nine. He has also voiced mob boss Fat Tony on The Simpsons for many years.

Outside of acting, Mantegna has co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C. alongside Gary Sinise since 2006. In 2004, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival. He also participated in a 2016 event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art reading poetry by Gabriele Tinti.