Please Rewind Talent Wall

Anthony DeSando

Anthony DeSando is an American film and television actor whose work has often placed him inside sharply drawn New York and New Jersey worlds. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 4, 1965, he has built a screen career that moves between crime dramas, independent films, network procedurals and comedy without losing its grounded regional character. His most prominent television role is Brendan Filone in The Sopranos. DeSando also played sports columnist Tony Amato in all 13 episodes of New York News, Mary Tyler Moore’s final television series. Elsewhere on television, he has appeared in episodes of L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, Sex and the City, Crossing Jordan, Without a Trace and CSI: Miami. In 2016, he made a cameo in the Blue Bloods episode Friends in Need as Joey Ruscoli, the cousin of Detective Anthony Abetemarco. DeSando’s film work shows a similar willingness to shift in tone and scale. He starred in Federal Hill and A Day in Black and White, and co-starred in Party Girl, Kiss Me, Guido, Cement, Beer League and The Whole Shebang. He also appeared in two films directed by Dito Montiel: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Fighting. Taken together, those projects give his career a distinctly street-level shape, built around ensembles, specific neighborhoods and characters who feel connected to their surroundings. His association with The Sopranos extended beyond television when he voiced Reggie in the video game The Sopranos: Road to Respect. DeSando is also an alumnus of The Shakespeare Lab, The Public Theater’s professional actor development program. Across film, television and voice performance, his résumé reflects the steady versatility of a character actor able to fit naturally into both heightened comedy and hard-edged drama.