John Turturro - biography

“I think I’ve had more of a variety in what I’ve done than most actors.”

“You think of stars as ambitious or aggressive or self-oriented.”

“It’s great to watch someone get the most out of what they can do, whether they’re a beautiful performer or just a really gritty performer.  It’s something to behold.”

“If I was a criminal, stationery stores and bakeries would be the two kinds of places I would concentrate on.”

“A lot of films need planning in order to survive at all.  It’s part of the dog and pony show.”

“If a film doesn’t play, people aren’t going to be that nice.”

“In my first film, Five Corners, I played a very scary, violent crazed character, and it exposed me to a lot of directors.”

“I love to act, and I try to be challenged by what I do.”

“Al Michaels is a good announcer.  I think Keith Jackson is a terrific announcer.  I always loved him on Monday Night Football.  I never understood why they got rid of him.”

“I play chess badly and I’ve been beaten by my 10-year old son.”

“Levi is one of the best authors I’ve ever read.  It’s hard not to have an immediate personal response to his work.  He has such a quiet tone.”

“When the day’s work is over, it’s over.”

“Games sometimes can reveal things.  To watch someone in movement, unconscious movement, can be very stimulating and revealing, whether they win or not.”

“I make a list of what I have in common, and what I don’t have in common, with someone I’m playing.”

“I think you learn more from looking at how things occurred and what happened afterward, not just at the event.”

“I’ve done nudity.  I’m an exhibitionist.  It doesn’t matter.”

“My interest lies in my self-expression - what’s inside of me - not what I’m in.”

“The past has to inform the present.”

“The romance stuff is easy.  A sex scene...  that’s hard, because you don’t know what to do.  Those scenes are awkward.”

“When I see these guys write all this macho stuff I want to smash their heads.”

“When you sit down and watch something alone, you’re going to watch it for what it is.”

John Turturro has appeared in the following films:
Raging Bull (1980)
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Off Beat (1986)
The Color of Money (1986)
Gung Ho (1986)
Five Corners (1987)
The Sicilian (1987)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Catchfire (1990)
Men of Respect (1990)
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Mo’ Better Blues (1990)
State of Grace (1990)
Jungle Fever (1991)
Barton Fink (1991)
Brain Donors (1992)
Being Human (1993)
Fearless (1993)
Quiz Show (1994)
The Search for One-eye Jimmy (1994)
Clockers (1995)
Unstrung Heroes (1995)
Box of Moon Light (1996)
La Tregua (1997)
Animals with the Tollkeeper (1998)
Rounders (1998)
He Got Game (1998)
O.K. Garage (1998)
Cradle Will Rock (1999)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Man Who Cried (2000)
The Luzhin Defence (2000)
Two Thousand and None (2000)
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
Monkeybone (2001)
Collateral Damage (2002)
Mr. Deeds (2002)
Anger Management (2003)
Fear X (2003)
Opopomoz (2003)
2BPerfectlyHonest (2004)
Secret Window (2004)
She Hate Me (2004)
Secret Passage (2004)
Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
Quelques jours en septembre (2006)
The Good Shepherd (2006)
Slipstream (2007)
Transformers (2007)
What Just Happened (2008)
Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008)
The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Prove per una tragedia siciliana (2009)
The Nutcracker in 3D (2010)
Cars 2 (2011)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
In the Shadow of No Towers (2011)
Somewhere Tonight (2011)


John Turturro directed the following films:
Illuminata (1998)


John Turturro contributed to the screenplay for the following films:
Illuminata (1998)
Prove per una tragedia siciliana (2009)