Chazz Palminteri

He was initially offered $250,000, then a seven-figure amount, for the film rights to his play "A Bronx Tale," but he refused to sell out, insisting that he write the screenplay and play the lead, which he did (A Bronx Tale (1993)).

I speak as much as I can about the working man in the Italian-American community. It's the working man who makes up the heart of the community. The Italian-Americans I play are mobsters who have a heart or a positive element.