Max Casella (born June 6, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.
Casella was born in Washington, D.C., son of David Deitch (a newspaper columnist) and Doris Casella (a social worker). He is of half Italian and half Jewish descent. He grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended the same school as actors Traci Bingham and Matt Damon.
Casella played Vincent Delpino in the television series Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1989 to 1993 alongside Neil Patrick Harris. In 1992, Casella played Racetrack Higgins in the movie Newsies. The movie was based upon true events in the 1899 newsboys strike against Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. He appeared in WindRunner: A Spirited Journey, starring Margot Kidder and Russell Means as Jim Thorpe's ghost. In 1997, Casella played Timon in the original Broadway production of The Lion King; a performance for which he was awarded a Theatre World Award and received a Drama Desk Award nomination. In 2000-2001 he returned to Broadway as Marcellus Washburn in the revival of The Music Man.
Casella portrayed Pvt. Dino Paparelli in Sgt. Bilko. He joined the cast of the HBO series The Sopranos during its third season, playing the role of Benny Fazio. Casella portrayed Paul Marco in Tim Burton's biopic, Ed Wood. He is also in the 1999 mob movie Analyze This. In 2007, Casella plays Dick Howser in the ESPN mini-series The Bronx is Burning. He also voiced in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea as a penguin named Tip who is searching for the chance to be a hero, in the CGI film Dinosaur as a lemur named Zini, and in Cro, a 1993 cartoon that aired on ABC, as the title character. In 2008, Casella also appeared in the movie Leatherheads as Mack Steiner. He starred as one of the main characters in the 2009 film Scaring the Fish in which he played Dennis. He also has a role in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire as Leo D'Alessio.
He is married and lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Filmography Max Casella