Jay Acovone

'Jay Acovone' (qv) 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' (qv), in the controversial movie _Cruising (1980)_ (qv) (written and directed by 'William Friedkin' (qv)). 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 _Women of Valor (1986)_ (qv) and _Cold Steel (1987)_ (qv) before being recruited to be a series regular on _Beauty and the Beast (1987)_ (qv). After Beauty and the Beast ended, he continued to have multiple supporting or lead roles in TV and films including: _Out for Justice (1991)_ (qv), _Lookin' Italian (1994)_ (qv), _Matlock (1986)_ (qv) and _Friends (1994)_ (qv). The mid-1990s brought a role in the blockbuster hit _Independence Day (1996)_ (qv) and a major recurring role in the TV series _Stargate SG-1 (1997)_ (qv). 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 _Cast Away (2000)_ (qv), _Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)_ (qv), and _S.W.A.T. (2003)_ (qv); recurring roles in _Silk Stalkings (1991)_ (qv), _Sliders (1995)_ (qv), _NYPD Blue (1993)_ (qv), and _The X-Files (1993)_ (qv); guest-starring roles in _CSI: NY (2004)_ (qv), _Monk (2002)_ (qv), _Criminal Minds (2005)_ (qv), and _24 (2001)_ (qv). In recent years, Acovone saw a brief return to daytime television with a recurring role on _General Hospital (1963)_ (qv) (Maurice Benard), and then went on to guest-star on multiple hit TV dramas including: _The Mentalist (2008)_ (qv), _Leverage (2008)_ (qv), _CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)_ (qv), _Vegas (2012)_ (qv), and _NCIS (2003)_ (qv). In 2016, he acted in the motion capture video game _Mafia III (2016)_ (qv), playing Mafia boss Sal Marcano.In 2017, Acovone was asked to perform the audiobook version of George R. R. Martin (_Game of Thrones (2011)_ (qv))'s novel, "Wildcards-Dead Man's Hand", along with 'Adrian Paul' (qv).Acovone lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their cat.::Rachel Kuchar/Robert Sieger