Photo: Montclair Film Festival / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What I admire most about John Turturro is how completely he disappears into roles that lesser actors would play for easy laughs. His Jesus in The Big Lebowski occupies only minutes of screen time, yet it is burned into film history — that, to me, is the mark of a true character actor. Winning Best Actor at Cannes for Barton Fink proved the craft beneath the eccentricity. I also respect that he writes and directs; he is a complete filmmaker hiding inside a supporting player's career. Hollywood runs on stars, but craftsmen like Turturro give movies their texture, and I would take one of his ten-minute scenes over many leading performances.
Overview
John Michael Turturro ( tər-TOOR-oh, Italian: [turˈturro]; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, as well as his frequent collaborations with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for three Golden Globe Awards. He achieved his career breakthrough with Five Corners (1987).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- John Turturro
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョン・タトゥーロ
- Reading
- じょん・たとぅーろ
- Born
- February 28, 1957 (age 69)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Rooster
- Origin
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / film director / writer / screenwriter / character actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- State University of New York at New Paltz
Awards & achievements
- 1985 Theatre World Award
- 1991 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor
- 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
- 1992 Caméra d'Or
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Big Lebowski | — | |
| Notable work | Barton Fink | — | |
| Notable work | Quiz Show | — | |
| Notable work | The Night Of | — | |
| Notable work | Transformers | — |
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Film director — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.