Vincent Dominic Pastore (; July 14, 1946 – August 1, 2026) was an American actor. Often cast as a mafioso, he was perhaps best known for his portrayal of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on the HBO drama series The Sopranos (1999–2007) earning a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Pastore started his career taking small parts in films such as Goodfellas (1990), Carlito's Way (1993), and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). He then made notable appearances in the HBO film Gotti (1996), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), DreamWorks's Shark Tale (2004) and Revolver (2005).
On television, he took early small roles in Law & Order from 1992 to 1996, followed by recurring roles in the drama series Bull (2000), the sitcom Son of the Beach (2000–2002), the legal drama The Practice (2004), and the adult animated comedy series Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2008–2012). His final roles were in the Showtime satirical series The Curse (2024) and the thriller series Yellowjackets (2025).
On stage, he made his Broadway debut in Chicago (2007) followed by a role in the Woody Allen musical Bullets Over Broadway (2014).
Early life Vincent Dominic Pastore was born on July 14, 1946, to an Italian-American family in the Bronx, New York City, and grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood in New Rochelle, New York. Following his graduation from high school in 1964, he enlisted as a sailor in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He completed his basic training at Naval Station Great Lakes and was later assigned to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Base San Diego. He was honorably discharged in 1967. He then received a degree in drama from Pace University. Pastore worked in the club business and as a chauffeur before eventually going into the acting industry after befriending Matt and Kevin Dillon.
Career 1988–1998: Early roles Pastore made a career of portraying Italian-American gangsters in film and television. He began with small parts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in films such as Goodfellas (1990) and Carlito's Way (1993). In Goodfellas, he is briefly seen rolling a coat rack through the kitchen of the Bamboo Lounge and is credited as "Vinny Pastore" playing "Man with Coat Rack". In Carlito's Way, he portrays one of the friends of the Italian man that dances with Gail, whom Kleinfeld insults. He is listed in the credits as "Vinny Pastore" playing "Copa Wiseguy". He also appeared in Flodders in America (1992), Money Train (1995), A Brooklyn State of Mind, The Last Don (both 1997), Witness to the Mob, Mafia! (both 1998), The Hurricane (1999), and The Deli. He appeared on Law & Order in various roles from 1992 to 1996.
Pastore got a bigger role in the comedy/crime film The Jerky Boys: The Movie (1995) as Tony Scarboni, one of the three gangsters and Lazarro's (played by Alan Arkin) clients. In the 1996 HBO television movie Gotti, Pastore played the character of Angelo Ruggiero, alongside future The Sopranos cast members Tony Sirico, Frank Vincent, and Dominic Chianese.
1999–2007: Breakthrough with The Sopranos and Broadway debut
In 1999, Pastore got his biggest role in the HBO series The Sopranos, where he played the character Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero.
In addition to The Sopranos, he appeared in Mickey Blue Eyes, Two Family House (with The Sopranos castmates Michael Rispoli, Kathrine Narducci, Matt Servitto, Michele Santopietro, and Sharon Angela), Under Hellgate Bridge, Riding in Cars with Boys, Deuces Wild, Made, Serving Sara, American Cousins, A Tale of Two Pizzas, This Thing of Ours, Remedy, Shark Tale, Bachelor Party Vegas, Johnny Slade's Greatest Hits, and Guy Ritchie's Revolver.
Pastore's other television credits include Grounded for Life, character Vinnie Fellachio in Son of the Beach, the soap opera One Life to Live, host of Repo-Men/Stealing for a Living, Ed, Queens Supreme, Las Vegas, and Everybody Hates Chris.
Pastore lost on the fourth season of the VH1 reality show Celebrity Fit Club, which ran from August 6 to October 1, 2006.
On February 20, 2007, ABC announced that Pastore would participate in the fourth season of the American version of the competitive dance series Dancing with the Stars. He withdrew from the competition after only one week. Pastore said that he found the necessary training and preparation too physically demanding. John Ratzenberger took his place in the competition.
In 2007, Pastore starred in the independent feature film P.J.: A Journey of the Heart. Also in 2007, he made his Broadway debut in the musical Chicago as a replacement playing Amos Hart.
2008–2026: Return to Broadway and reality show roles
In 2008, Pastore joined the cast of General Hospital as Maximus Giambetti, the father of two other characters on the show. On this program he once again played a mobster. He had roles in 2008's College Road Trip and Our Last Days as Children. He also starred in the 2008 film Dough Boys and served as associate producer on the film.
Pastore was featured as a contestant on the January 2008 edition of Celebrity Apprentice. In the second week, he participated in raising $52,286 by selling hot dogs on a Manhattan street for the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Research. In a task of selling Broadway show tickets, with Pastore as project manager, he led his team to raise $33,300 for charity. In the fifth week, he got into a faked, blow-out conflict with the project manager of the task, Piers Morgan, to see if he could get the women to let him on their team to spy on them. The episode had played out like an episode of The Sopranos, with Pastore switching allegiances multiple times. Pastore was deliberately "ratted out" to the women by Morgan in the end, to make Pastore look bad to the women. While Pastore and the men then lost their task, before Trump even lifted a finger to fire anyone that week, Pastore resigned from the show and Trump eventually accepted Pastore's resignation after trying to convince him to stay. The show ended with a sequence based on the series finale of The Sopranos, ending abruptly before Pastore could give the customary end-of-show interview in the cab. The week-6 episode begins with Pastore meeting his ex-wife Nancy in a restaurant and presenting her the check he received for being project manager for $50,000, in memory of her husband Mitchell Burke's memorial fund with the Lustgarden Foundation.
On July 1, 2008, Pastore appeared on NBC's new show, Celebrity Family Feud, as part of a family team trying to win $50,000 for their favorite charity. He first competed, with his friends and family, against the cast of The Girls Next Door. Then, Pastore's team made it to the finals against Kathie Lee Gifford's family, but did not win. Pastore and his team picked up a $10,000 consolation prize for their charity researching a cure for pancreatic cancer.
In 2009, Pastore starred in Pavaline Studio's debut short film, Alienated. In 2010, he starred in the award-winning indie mob-comedy Pizza with Bullets. On April 8, 2011, Pastore and a business partner appeared on Shark Tank for an investment in "Broccoli Wad", a money clip. All the "Sharks" wanted out, and Barbara Corcoran said, "this is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on this show". She later had the idea of putting Pastore's face and name on the box, and labeling it "Vinnie's Wad". She offered $50,000 for a 40% stake in the company, and would give half of her ownership to Pastore in exchange for his name and face on the packaging; Pastore and his partner agreed. A year later, Pastore made an appearance on an episode of truTV's World's Smartest Inventions after his commercial for "the Broccoli Wad" aired on the show.
On July 10, 2011, he appeared on the VH1 Marc Cronin-produced reality show Famous Food. In the show, contestants are assigned the task of opening a restaurant on the Sunset Strip. Pastore played Mayor Avenoso in the 2012 indie feature Surviving Family. He also appeared in the TV series Blue Bloods, The Making of the Mob: Chicago, and an uncredited voice role in the television program Aqua Teen Hunger Force as Terry. He featured in the 2013 films The Family, Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn, and I'm in Love with a Church Girl. In 2014, he returned to Broadway as Nick Valenti in the Woody Allen musical Bullets Over Broadway opposite Zach Braff. He appeared with Joseph R. Gannascoli on Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back on January 21, 2020.
Other ventures Radio and podcast Pastore hosted The Wiseguy Show on Sirius Satellite Radio on the now defunct Raw Dog channel 104. Described as a "weekly three-hour celebration of Italian-American culture." Produced by Sopranos co-star Steven Van Zandt, it aired on Wednesdays from 6–9 pm ET. He also had stints as a radio host on the New Rochelle, New York, station WVOX in 2004 and 2012, with guest appearances in between.
In September 2020, Pastore started a podcast with Goumba Johnny called Fuhgeddaboudit with Vinny Pastore.
Vincent Pastore's Italian Sauce In 2019, Pastore launched a tomato sauce business under the name of Vincent Pastore's Italian Sauce. The sauce is made with San Marzano tomatoes, is not GMO, and has no added sugar.
Personal life and death Pastore was divorced from Nancy Berke with whom he had a daughter. He befriended Berke's subsequent husband and donated the winnings from his stint on The Apprentice to a charity in his name. Pastore was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014. He served as the grand marshal of the Columbus Day parade in the Bronx the same year. He lived on City Island in the northeastern Bronx.
Pastore was found dead at his City Island residence on August 1, 2026. He had last been seen three days prior, and had last made contact with his neighbor via phone on July 31. He was 80 years old. His funeral was held in New Rochelle on August 6.
Acting credits
Film Year Title Role Notes 1988 Black Roses Tony's Dad 1989 True Love Angelo 1990 Q & A Man Sitting at Bar Uncredited Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Man in Art Gallery Backstreet Dreams Fat Tony State of Grace Borelli's Man Uncredited Goodfellas Man with Coatrack Men of Respect Sammy Awakenings Ward #5 Patient #6 1991 New Jack City Mobster Uncredited 1992 Flodders in America Man without Petrol 1993 Who's the Man? Tony 'Clams' Como Manhattan Murder Mystery Man in Restaurant Carlito's Way Copa Wiseguy 1994 The Ref State Trooper It Could Happen to You Bowling Team Member #1 Who Do I Gotta Kill? Aldo "Birdman" Badamo 1995 The Basketball Diaries Construction Worker The Jerky Boys: The Movie Tony Scarboni Money Train Gambler 1996 Walking and Talking Laura's Devil-Seeing Patient Sunset Park Charlie the Super Joe's Apartment Apartment Broker #2 Night Falls on Manhattan Cop #3 1997 All Over Me Don The Deli Lou Six Ways to Sunday Uncle Max 1998 A Brooklyn State of Mind Vinnie "D" Mafia! Gorgoni 1999 Mickey Blue Eyes Al The Hurricane Alfred Bello 2000 Blue Moon Joey Two Family House Angelo 2001 Made Jimmy Corky Romano Tony Riding in Cars with Boys Uncle Lou 2002 This Thing of Ours Skippy Deuces Wild Father Aldo Serving Sara Tony 2003 American Cousins Tony 2004 The Cookout Poo Salesman Shark Tale Luca (voice) 2005 Remedy Casper Black Revolver Zach 2006 Bachelor Party Vegas Carmine / Mr. Kidd Video Last Request Father Patton 2008 College Road Trip Freddy Return to Sleepaway Camp Frank Direct to video 2009 Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!! Carmine Ferraro 2012 Surviving Family Mayor Avenoso 2013 Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn Luigi Leone The Family Fat Willy Torture Chamber Dr. Fiore I'm in Love with a Church Girl Nick Halston 2015 Staten Island Summer Leo Manicucci 2016 The Eyes Harry Calico Skies Vincenzo 2017 Pitching Tents Tony 2018 Papa Frankie Vincent 2019 Vault Frank Bottom of the 9th Cosmo 2021 The Birthday Cake Vito 2023 Spinning Gold Big Joey 2026 Bad News on the Doorstep Jerry Posthumous release
Television