How a person sees Paul Sorvino kind of depends on what they’ve seen him in since he’s starred in a range of movies and TV shows that have had him acting in many different ways. What is easy to see though is that he’s a man of class and has a great deal of experience. which is easy to believe since he’s been around for decades now and has been one of the most underrated actors of his time. It’s very easy to see that Paul has been used in a very stereotypical manner in a few movies thanks to his Italian heritage, but it’s also easy to see that he’s done very well with this since he knows how to lean into those stereotypes without taking it too far. In fact, it’s fair to say that he has fun with it in a few movies and goes just as far as he needs to in order to make it believable. At this point, he’s still acting, and he’s still picking up the same roles now and again that helped to make him famous.
One of his most memorable performances came in the movie Goodfellas, which was based upon the true lives of Jimmy Burke, Henry Hill, Paul Cicero, and many others that were around at that time. The movie has been heavily criticized thanks to the representation given to Hill as the lead character. Over the years many individuals have gone so far as to say that the real Henry Hill exaggerated his role in the mob world in a very big way. It’s hard to know who is telling the absolute truth in this instance, but the fact is that Paul played his role quite well since Paulie was the type of character that others respected and would never dare cross if they were in their right mind since he had too much pull and too much power within his sphere of influence. In other words, he was the man who could say a few words and royally mess people up without fail.
Paul has managed to be a part of humorous movies as well, though it’s fair to say that such roles haven’t gone that far since his time in Mr. 3000 and Money Talks were amusing, but the movies didn’t really do much and have been lost to cinematic history a time or two. If not for the costars he had in said movies it’s very likely that they would be movies that were largely forgotten. His time with Chris Tucker was pretty funny as he was required to be his smooth-talking self while dealing with Tucker’s loud and slightly obnoxious character. Acting alongside Bernie Mac was a little easier in terms of their characters since while Mac’s character was definitely a bit of an egotist, he was still far more reserved than Tucker’s character. For his own part, Sorvino has been a cool customer in a lot of his movies and hasn’t been the type that loses his cool that often, unless it’s absolutely needed of course. Watching his act as the quiet, reserved character in any movie is great since it appears to suit him in a big way.
Over the year Paul has amassed quite the career as he’s starred in flops and big hits alike as his career has continued to move forward, but it’s fair to state that he’s the type of actor that people recognize right away on sight, even if they don’t remember his name quite as well. Like many other actors, he’s built a reputation over the years and become an individual that a lot of fans can appreciate since his style only ever changes when it needs to, and even then it might be a subtle difference between one role and another. There have been a few movies and shows that people might have been surprised to see him in, such as The Rocketeer and many other roles. But that’s what is great about Paul, even though he looks like a person that might only be cast in stereotypical roles, he’s managed to diversify in his career over the years and even managed to put in several convincing performances that have kept him moving forward.
If he ever retires it’s going to be a sad day since Paul has been a big part of the industry for a long time and is kind of expected to show up every now and then since he’s one of those individuals that people love to see every now and then. Whatever he shows up in tends to use him in a role that is perfect for a man of Italian heritage, and if he has a problem with it then he’s either resolved it or doesn’t really mind. Whatever the case, he’s been a great addition to many movies over the years.
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