In his nearly 10 years in show business–with a couple dozen motion pictures under his belt–no one has ever mistaken Joe Viterelli for a comedian.
A mobster, a teamster, a dockworker, an ex-boxer. Sure. But someone who can go toe-to-toe, laugh-for-laugh with Billy Crystal? Probably not.
But that’s exactly what happens in Harold Ramis’ “Analyze This,” a delightful new comedy–not unlike HBO’s “The Sopranos”–in which a mob boss seeks psychiatric help when he loses his violent edge. Viterelli plays Jelly, the longtime friend and confidante to Robert De Niro’s conflicted don, while, Crystal, plays his reluctant shrink.
Although one would naturally expect meaty performances from De Niro and Crystal, the surprise comes in watching the veteran character actor steal the show with his nimble sense of timing and comic charm. Although he doesn’t get top billing, it’s impossible to come away from “Analyze This” without wondering who this guy is.
To find out, a visit is paid to one of Hyollywood’s show-business shrines, the venerable Friars Club, whose membership has included some of our most beloved entertainers. It’s the kind of place where no one hassles patrons for partaking in an after-dinner cigar, or where a guest should be surprised to run into a living legend like Milton Berle (who once quipped, the club’s “average age is deceased”).
“I didn’t start out to be an actor . . . I came in through the backdoor,” Viterelli explains, lighting one of the many unfiltered cigarettes he will go through during lunch.
Although he’s reluctant to discuss his age (“Just say I’m 39, but I’ve been sick . . . “) and exactly what he’s done to earn a living most of his adult life, he allows, “I’ve owned a couple of bars . . . was involved in a trucking company for a while . . . had a few music schools, which I took over.” For years, though, casting agents would approach him on the street and offer him roles based solely on his face, which looks as if it might have stopped a few bare-knuckle punches over the years.
“When I moved to California, a little more than 20 years ago, I became very friendly with a neighbor of mine who was a director–Leo Penn–and he asked me to be in some movies and TV, but I always declined,” recalled Viterelli. “I said, `For half my life, I’ve been keeping a low profile and now you want to put this mug on a 40-foot screen?’ Years later, his son, Sean, called me from New York, where he was making `State of Grace.’
“He said, `Joe, we’re looking for a character that’s from your neighborhood. We’ve seen about 50-60 people and nobody’s right.’ He said the key words, `Would you do me a favor?’ “
Viterelli got cold feet at the airport, however, and called Berle, who ordered him, “Get on the plane, dummy. . . . And don’t forget the timing.”
Viterelli grew up in a tough neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, but he always gravitated to the arts. Coming from “where I was from, on Mott Street, I had to sneak to Carnegie Hall and the theater.”
Since his debut in “State of Grace,” he’s also appeared in such films as Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway,” Penn’s “The Crossing Guard,” “The Firm,” “Heaven’s Prisoners” and “Mafia!” As Jelly, he gets to step out from behind the shadows of the lead actors, and strut his stuff.
“This was definitely a plum,” he said. “I first got called on this part almost two years ago, and I went for a readthrough of the script with De Niro and Crystal in TriBeCa to get a feel for it. Then, nothing happened.”
Casting directors changed in preproduction and Viterelli almost lost the role to a much younger actor. Eighteen months later, he flew to New York to try to convince Ramis and De Niro that he was the right choice for Jelly, and not a lesser role.
When they thanked him for making the effort, he told them, “No, thank you for keeping me in mind. I appreciate it. But, if I don’t get the part that I really want, you’re both going out the window.
“Of course, they laughed . . . but not right away.”
The next thing he knew, the casting director called to say he got the part.
“It was also nice because I could go around New York and say, `I got the Jelly role,”‘ he joked, in true Friars fashion.
If Viterelli is worried about being typecast as a mobster, he doesn’t show it.
“Stereotyping is an interesting word,” he said. “If I am being typecast, I’m in great company: Bogart, Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robert
“Some mob guys have a great sense of humor, others are funny without knowing it, some are just deadly. Some will shake your hand heartily, others hand you a dead fish . . . which shows you even more power.”
Then, he adds, “How can I hope to do comedy or a serious role, without the idea that the guy has a shady past or he’s from the docks?
“I keep telling them in Hollywood, I have a mind too. But, I have this pretty face . . . so, what am I going to do?”
