Vincent D'Onofrio Biography

Birth Name:Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio 

Date of Birth:30 June 1959

Place of Birth:Brooklyn, New York

                     USA 

Nickname:The Human Chameleon 

Height:6' 3½" (1.92 m) 

Vincent D'Onofrio is known as an "actor's actor". The wide variety of roles he has played and the quality of his work have earned him a reputation as a versatile talent.Vincent D'Onofrio  studied at the Actors Studio and the American Stanislavski Theatre. Vincent D'Onofrio debut on stage was in 1984 in the Broadway play "Open Admissions", followed by work in numerous other stage plays. As a film actor, D'Onofrio's career break came when he played a mentally unbalanced recruit in Full Metal Jacket (1987), directed by the renowned Stanley Kubrick. For this role D'Onofrio gained nearly 70 pounds. Vincent D'Onofrio had a major role in Dying Young (1991), and appeared prominently in the box-office smash Men in Black (1997) as the bad guy (Edgar "The Bug").

Other films of note in which he has appeared are Mystic Pizza (1988), JFK (1991), The Player (1992), Ed Wood (1994), The Cell (2000) and The Break-Up (2006). In 1996 D'Onofrio garnered critical acclaim along with co-star Renée Zellweger for The Whole Wide World (1996), which he helped produce. Vincent D'Onofrio also made a guest appearance in the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993) in a 1997 episode, where he played an accident victim who could not be rescued and was destined to die. For this performance he won an Emmy nomination. In 2000 he both produced and starred in Steal This Movie (2000), a biopic of radical leader Abbie Hoffman.

In 2001 D'Onofrio took the role which has likely given him his greatest public recognition: Det. Robert Goren, the lead character in the TV series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001). Goren is based on Sherlock Holmes but, instead of relying upon physical evidence like Holmes, D'Onofrio's character focuses on psychology to identify the perpetrators, whom he often draws into confessing or yielding condemning evidence.

In his career D'Onofrio's various film characters have included a priest, a bisexual former porn star, a hijacker, a serial killer, Orson Welles, a space alien, a 1960s radical leader, a pulp fiction writer, an ingenious police investigator and Stuart Smalley's dope-head brother. Vincent D'Onofrio  on-screen love interests have included Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Renée Zellweger, Marisa Tomei, Tracey Ullman, Rebecca De Mornay and Lili Taylor.

Spouse

Carin van der Donk (22 March 1997 - 2003) (divorced) 2 children

Greta Scacchi (1991 - 1993) (divorced) 1 child

Played the character of "Bill Newman" in both JFK (1991) and Malcolm X (1992).

Last name is pronounced Don-off-ree-o.

Vincent D'Onofrio bleached his hair blonde for his part in Adventures in Babysitting (1987).

Gained a world record 70 pounds for his role in Full Metal Jacket (1987).

Vincent's sister, actress Elizabeth D'Onofrio, teaches acting in Asheville, North Carolina.

Gained 45 pounds for his role in The Salton Sea (2002).

One of the founders of the River Run Film Festival (Winston-Salem, North Carolina), along with his sister, Elizabeth D'Onofrio, and their father, Gene D'Onofrio.

Daughter: Leila George D'Onofrio, born March 20, 1992. Her mother is actress Greta Scacchi.

Son: Elias Gene D'Onofrio, born in January 2000. Vincent D'Onofrio mother is Carin van der Donk.

Unhappy with his impression of Orson Welles, director Tim Burton had D'Onofrio's voice dubbed, in the film Ed Wood (1994). The near perfect Orson Welles impression was supplied by voice-over artist Maurice LaMarche.

Renée Zellweger thanked him in her Oscar acceptance speech when she won 'Best Actress in a Supporting Role' for Cold Mountain (2003).

Has played Orson Welles in two different, unrelated productions: Ed Wood (1994) and Five Minutes, Mr. Welles (2005).

"I want you to be big -- Lon Chaney big," Stanley Kubrick informed D'Onofrio during the filming of Full Metal Jacket (1987).

Uncle of Hakan D'Onofrio.

Ironically, he played Moriarty in a TV movie titled "Sherlock" while he starred as Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, whose character is based on Sherlock Holmes.

Son: Luca D'Onofrio, born February 14, 2008. Vincent D'Onofrio mother is Carin van der Donk.

Was considered for the role of Knuckles in Suburban Commando (1991).

Is left-handed.

Where Are They Now

(2002) Lives in New York to be with his family and for the filming of the show, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001)