Al Sapienza is a character actor who has been an omnipresent part of my television viewing experience since the second season of CSI where he plays the beleaguered lawyer of the murderer.
He was acting before that, of course. But CSI was the first time I connected the face to the name. And then, I began to notice him everywhere.
NCIS
Blue Bloods
Castle
Person of Interest
Elementary
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| Sapienza to the right |
TV movies
Supernatural
Sitcoms
Soap operas
Sapienza is the kind of working actor that I admire. He works hard. He works consistently. He gets small roles. He gets large roles. He tries anything. I'm rather surprised he doesn't show up in any Star Trek episodes, but honestly, that's just an oversight. And he probably is in a few because really, this guy is everywhere. (Actually, I think Hollywood is like any other field: the casting directors develop preferences and lists and referrals that keep an actor moving within particular genres. It is no mistake that Sapienza--though willing to do anything--has mostly done mystery shows.)
Sapienza has a kind of Everyman face, so he plays bad guys, good guys, lawyers, mafia dons, cops. He is instantly recognizable, but not so much that he overwhelms the role he needs to play, even if it is a five-minute role. He plays the role rather than the ego, and that is endlessly admirable.
1 comment:
Another reason is probably that Sapienza shows up on time, knows his lines, hits his marks and causes no drama. (There are several average actors who get a lot of work due to doing this, Keanu Reeves being one.)
(I made several edutainment videos in the 90s. Small time stuff, but sets are busy enough that drama or simply having actors/crews yacking too much are beyond aggravating. Having an actor not be prepared is extremely disruptive.)
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