Jay Acovone
- Actor
Jay Acovone is a versatile actor who is best known for his ability to play authoritative characters such as Mafia bosses, villains, police/military, and lawyers. He was born in NYC; his parents later moved to Mahopac, NY, where he graduated from Mahopac High School. While he was always an avid movie fan, it was a chance encounter with a friend, urging him to take part in a play, that set him on a path for a career in acting.
Acovone attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York. His break came when he was cast to play "Skip Lee", opposite Al Pacino, in the controversial movie Cruising - La Chasse (1980) (written and directed by William Friedkin). He spent the next few years working on daytime television in NYC, but moved to Los Angeles when he landed a co-starring role in Hollywood Beat.
Acovone went on to have several supporting roles in film and television including Prisonnières des Japonais (1986) and Sur le fil du rasoir (1987) before being recruited to be a series regular on La belle et la bête (1987). After Beauty and the Beast ended, he continued to have multiple supporting or lead roles in TV and films including: Justice sauvage (1991), Lookin' Italian (1994), Matlock (1986) and Friends (1994). The mid-1990s brought a role in the blockbuster hit Independence Day : Le Jour de la riposte (1996) and a major recurring role in the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997). Stargate-SG1 won multiple awards, including the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series for three different years.
The following decade led to a role in Seul au monde (2000), Terminator 3 : Le Soulèvement des machines (2003), and S.W.A.T. : Unité d'élite (2003); recurring roles in Les dessous de Palm Beach (1991), Sliders, les mondes parallèles (1995), New York Police Blues (1993), and X-Files : Aux frontières du réel (1993); guest-starring roles in Les Experts : Manhattan (2004), Monk (2002), Esprits criminels (2005), and 24 heures chrono (2001). In recent years, Acovone saw a brief return to daytime television with a recurring role on Hôpital central (1963) (Maurice Benard), and then went on to guest-star on multiple hit TV dramas including: Mentalist (2008), Leverage (2008), Les Experts (2000), Vegas (2012), and NCIS : Enquêtes spéciales (2003). In 2016, he acted in the motion capture video game Mafia III (2016), playing Mafia boss Sal Marcano.
In 2017, Acovone was asked to perform the audiobook version of George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones (2011))'s novel, "Wildcards-Dead Man's Hand", along with Adrian Paul.
Acovone lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their cat.
Acovone attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York. His break came when he was cast to play "Skip Lee", opposite Al Pacino, in the controversial movie Cruising - La Chasse (1980) (written and directed by William Friedkin). He spent the next few years working on daytime television in NYC, but moved to Los Angeles when he landed a co-starring role in Hollywood Beat.
Acovone went on to have several supporting roles in film and television including Prisonnières des Japonais (1986) and Sur le fil du rasoir (1987) before being recruited to be a series regular on La belle et la bête (1987). After Beauty and the Beast ended, he continued to have multiple supporting or lead roles in TV and films including: Justice sauvage (1991), Lookin' Italian (1994), Matlock (1986) and Friends (1994). The mid-1990s brought a role in the blockbuster hit Independence Day : Le Jour de la riposte (1996) and a major recurring role in the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997). Stargate-SG1 won multiple awards, including the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series for three different years.
The following decade led to a role in Seul au monde (2000), Terminator 3 : Le Soulèvement des machines (2003), and S.W.A.T. : Unité d'élite (2003); recurring roles in Les dessous de Palm Beach (1991), Sliders, les mondes parallèles (1995), New York Police Blues (1993), and X-Files : Aux frontières du réel (1993); guest-starring roles in Les Experts : Manhattan (2004), Monk (2002), Esprits criminels (2005), and 24 heures chrono (2001). In recent years, Acovone saw a brief return to daytime television with a recurring role on Hôpital central (1963) (Maurice Benard), and then went on to guest-star on multiple hit TV dramas including: Mentalist (2008), Leverage (2008), Les Experts (2000), Vegas (2012), and NCIS : Enquêtes spéciales (2003). In 2016, he acted in the motion capture video game Mafia III (2016), playing Mafia boss Sal Marcano.
In 2017, Acovone was asked to perform the audiobook version of George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones (2011))'s novel, "Wildcards-Dead Man's Hand", along with Adrian Paul.
Acovone lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their cat.
