October is running out and these entries do take some extraordinary effort. So I’m going with a semi-famous father-daughter acting team…well, team is a stretch, I think they’ve only done two movies together.
Paul you most likely recognize. He played the crime boss in Goodfellas, the role which probably rejuvenated his career. Most TV/Film appearances he had were as a heavy: a general, a gruff doctor, a gangster and even an appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation as a Russian. Scorsese’s casting helped him stand out somewhat. My favorite appearance was the voice of the villain in the Hey Arnold movie.
His background certainly fits the stereotype in many cop/gangster roles. Paul is a first-generation American on his dad’s side while his mother is descended from Italians too.
Mira is a somewhat different story. She is Paul’s daughter from his first marriage and not surprisingly, he discouraged her from going into acting. She put the decision a bit on hold, attended Harvard, majored in Chinese (fluent speaker of Mandarian) and then went right back into the fight. Mira had a big push of roles in the Nineties, one won her the Oscar (Mighty Aphrodite) for best supporting actress. Sadly, her career went the F. Murray Abraham route. There were a slew of movies getting attention, my personal favorite being Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion yet one’s mileage runs out after a string of flops. Lately, she appears as a guest on TV shows and small movie roles.
I did read an interview Mira gave for The Onion a couple years ago. She usually tries to balance her work against spending time with her four kids, thus staying away is often a disqualifier.