Vincent Gallo (born April 11, 1961) is an American actor, director, writer, producer, musician, and model. He has won several accolades, including a Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and has been nominated for numerous more, including the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, and the Bronze Horse.
Following a childhood working for the local mafia, Gallo began his professional career as a Formula II motorcycle racer. He went on to become a successful painter and musician, working with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Lukas Haas. Gallo later transitioned into the film and television industry, receiving small roles in works including The Equalizer (1985) and Goodfellas (1990). Gallo soon starred in films including Arizona Dream (1993), The House of the Spirits (1993), Palookaville (1995), The Funeral (1996), Stranded (2001), Tetro (2009), Metropia (2009), Essential Killing (2010), and The Legend of Kaspar Hauser (2012). As a filmmaker, he directed, wrote, and starred in three independent films: Buffalo '66 (1998), The Brown Bunny (2003), and Promises Written in Water (2010). Gallo has also directed and starred in numerous short films, including The Agent (2010), and several music videos, such as Going Inside and Cosmopolitan Bloodloss.
In the early 2000s, Gallo also released several solo recordings on Warp Records, including the album When. As a model, he has been photographed for several fashion houses and brands including Calvin Klein, H&M, Supreme, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Gallo's films possess a cult following, especially in Japan. His work has proven largely polarizing among film critics, but has been highly praised by many filmmakers and actors.
Early life
Vincent Gallo was born on April 11, 1961, in Buffalo, New York to Vincent Gallo Sr. and Janet Gallo. He is the second of three children, having an older brother, Charles, and a younger sister, Janine. Gallo was raised Catholic, and underwent his First Communion in 1969.
Gallo's parents are Sicilian and worked as hairdressers, with his father having retired to be "a gambler." Gallo has described his parents as dishonest people, saying "If it was my birthday, I knew my mother took me to the K-Mart and she stole my toy. She'd put it in the shopping cart and we'd walk out. I was raised with that." Growing up, Gallo's father was abusive and beat him on several occasions, including one instance where Gallo's father broke his nose. He has said that while growing up, his father was "this kind of dark, raging figurehead...That's not who he is today, but when I was a child there wasn't a day...when he didn't hit me, punish me, yell at me or tell me something I did wrong." Gallo's mother also forbade him from decorating his own room, which he shared with his siblings and grandfather, and from owning a guitar, leading Gallo to secretly hide the latter underneath his bed. Gallo has attributed his childhood experiences to his self-described controlling and perfectionist nature as a filmmaker.
At the age of 12, Gallo worked for the local mafia in Buffalo, helping them to perform small crimes, such as carjacking and shoplifting. Gallo worked for the mafia for approximately one year, and desired to continue down a life of crime and become a powerful gangster. However, he was eventually convinced by a mafia member, who felt that Gallo was wasting his potential, to abandon it in favor of a legitimate career.
After graduating from Sweet Home High School in 1978, Gallo left his home in Buffalo and ran away to New York City at the age of 16. He took up various jobs, including ones working in a hi-fi guitar shop and as a restaurant dishwasher.
Gallo went on to race motorbikes professionally, without training, in Formula II. Gallo performed at a professional level in Grand Prix racing, racing for Yamaha, but never won a national championship. In the 1980's, he raced 125cc and 250cc WERA bikes; and later performed his own racing scenes in his 2004 film The Brown Bunny. In the film, Gallo rides a gold Honda NSR250, which he personally designed. He also went on to become a successful painter.