Robert Davi Biography

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Rugged, tall, and heavily pock-marked, actor Robert Davi has built a long career out of playing anonymously ethnic bad guys. Born in Queens, NY, to Italian parents, he studied opera, Shakespeare, and stage acting under the wing of Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler before becoming one of Hollywood's most recognizable villains. His big feature-film break came in 1977, playing opposite Frank Sinatra in the detective drama Contract on Cherry Street. He would go on to appear with other superstars, toting guns as a mobster, corrupt cop, or general villain in numerous action movies. One of his most noticeable roles was as a Fratelli brother in The Goonies. He also played bad guys on television, building a long list of credits in popular series like The Fall Guy, The A-Team, and Wiseguy. Mostly a supporting actor, his first lead role was as a Palestinian terrorist in the TV movie Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami. His tough guy career reached its culmination in 1989, in the role of James Bond villain Franz Sanchez in License to Kill. After that, he occasionally broke out of the pattern and appeared in comedies and dramas. His first leading good guy part was in 1996 as FBI agent Bailey Malone in the NBC drama The Profiler. He even went so far as to star in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy The 4th Tenor and Rob Schneider's The Hot Chick. In 2002, Davi appeared in The Sorcerer's Apprentice as Merlin, lent his voice to the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and gained a starring role as Nick in the thriller Hitters. - Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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