William Russ in The Sopranos

Doesn't look bad for his age which must be about the same as DJ's.

2 hours ago, wolfie1996 said:

Doesn't look bad for his age which must be about the same as DJ's.

I was thinking the same thing while watching this episode last night. Looked like a guy in his early 40s not late 50s. 

28 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said:

I was thinking the same thing while watching this episode last night. Looked like a guy in his early 40s not late 50s. 

I know! I'm probably affected by his MV role but I've always liked him. He had a main part in The Long Hot Summer too, if you saw that (it's free on youtube, by the way).

https://m.cda.pl/video/2433974c5?wersja=720p&fbclid=IwAR3-056-pbi5w-AKNUZpHTPlEtNc06EUYPFCSYnuuzgLJJ0i3fPHraknsLk

Which episode of The Sopranos was this? I haven't watched the show in a while. Can't believe I didn't recognise him. 

So cool

15 hours ago, Detective_Crockett said:

Which episode of The Sopranos was this? I haven't watched the show in a while. Can't believe I didn't recognise him. 

Season 6, Episode 10 "Moe n' Joe"

Cool, I didn't know he was in "The Sopranos"! He will always be Cory's dad from "Boy Meets World" to me!

On 5/19/2021 at 6:20 PM, wolfie1996 said:

Doesn't look bad for his age which must be about the same as DJ's.

Born Oct 20th, 1950, William Russ is 10 months younger than Don Johnson, so yes, about the same age and he was 55 when this Sopranos episode first aired in May 2006

...and he has aged quite a bit since...

49 minutes ago, daytona365 said:

Born Oct 20th, 1950, William Russ is 10 months younger than Don Johnson, so yes, about the same age and he was 55 when this Sopranos episode first aired in May 2006

...and he has aged quite a bit since...

He's quite a handsome man in that first photo, mind, and still has very recognisable features in the second. Was watching a bit of Wiseguy on youtube and he seemed to take a good part in that too. Don't think it was ever shown over here. (Let's face it, I'm an "Evan" fan  )

From looking at the thumbnail it seemed Mickey Rourke for a minute 

1 hour ago, sdiegolo78 said:

From looking at the thumbnail it seemed Mickey Rourke for a minute 

How dare you, sir! I'm a big Evan and Roger Lococco fan  (but not so much Mickey in any of his roles!)

13 minutes ago, wolfie1996 said:

How dare you, sir! I'm a big Evan and Roger Lococco fan  (but not so much Mickey in any of his roles!)

I like Mickey R., one of my favorite actors. Ever seen Year of the Dragon and Harley Davisons and Marlboro men? Shame Rourke did not get along with De Niro when they filmed Angel Heart.

4 minutes ago, sdiegolo78 said:

I like Mickey R., one of my favorite actors. Ever seen Year of the Dragon and Harley Davisons and Marlboro men? Shame Rourke did not get along with De Niro when they filmed Angel Heart.

I saw Angel Heart! What a film, eh? One of these you start watching late on and end up sitting up till all hours to the end though you didn't mean to! Haven't seen the one with DJ as you can't seem to get it here as a dvd, which is how I prefer to watch them.

2 minutes ago, wolfie1996 said:

saw Angel Heart! What a film, eh? One of these you start watching late on and end up sitting up till all hours to the end though you didn't mean to! Haven't seen the one with DJ as you can't seem to get it here as a dvd, which is how I prefer to watch them.

You ought to see the one with DJ as MV fan . I guarantee you DJ was in good shape and before Nash bridges era.That's was when he could have made it really big in the movies.

Years ago I purchased a US/NTSC copy of Harley Davisons and Marlboro men from eBay by mistake. It doesn't work here in Europe. I still should have it if you are interested.

Just now, sdiegolo78 said:

You ought to see the one with DJ as MV fan . I guarantee you DJ was in good shape and before Nash bridges era.That's was when he could have made it really big in the movies.

Years ago I purchased a US/NTSC copy of Harley Davisons and Marlboro men from eBay by mistake. It doesn't work here in Europe. I still should have it if you are interested.

Well thank you for the offer but it's as I say, they won't play in the UK  either unless you have a special dvd player which I haven't, I just use my laptop. Only thing that puts me off that film is that blasted beard! One of his best features is that well shaped mouth which is invisible when bearded! I could never inderstand  why he  didn't get any really big roles after MV, films I mean. He's got his faults  but being a rubbish actor isn't one of them, from the little I've seen of him outside MV.

2 minutes ago, wolfie1996 said:

Well thank you for the offer but it's as I say, they won't play in the UK  either unless you have a special dvd player which I haven't, I just use my laptop.

oh pardon me, I assumed you were from the US ( I live in Ireland by the way, just across the water from you). You could use BitTorrent to download it or even buy it from you tube for a few quids ;-)

4 minutes ago, wolfie1996 said:

Only thing that puts me off that film is that blasted beard! One of his best features is that well shaped mouth which is invisible when bearded

Not really bothered by the beard, he was just trying to emulate PMT look in MV season 4 . PS: just before MV or in between S1 and S2, DJ shot a movie sporting a mustache a la EJO check it out!

6 minutes ago, wolfie1996 said:

I could never inderstand  why he  didn't get any really big roles after MV, films I mean. He's got his faults  but being a rubbish actor isn't one of them, from the little I've seen of him outside MV.

not at all, he's a fine actor! He just so happened to have been typecast as cop ('Dead bang' for example). And competition was a factor too. In the late 80s, early 90s there were plenty male actors and bigger stars going for Hollywood leading parts in action movies and in his age bracket at the time. I think had he left vice a couple of years earlier he then may be could have made it 'big time' in Hollywood blockbuster movies. He was offered the leading part in the untouchable as Elliot Ness which went to Kevin Costner. Had he done it his career would have taken a different direction. By the time MV was over he lost the train.

7 hours ago, sdiegolo78 said:

oh pardon me, I assumed you were from the US ( I live in Ireland by the way, just across the water from you). You could use BitTorrent to download it or even buy it from you tube for a few quids ;-)

Not really bothered by the beard, he was just trying to emulate PMT look in MV season 4 . PS: just before MV or in between S1 and S2, DJ shot a movie sporting a mustache a la EJO check it out!

not at all, he's a fine actor! He just so happened to have been typecast as cop ('Dead bang' for example). And competition was a factor too. In the late 80s, early 90s there were plenty male actors and bigger stars going for Hollywood leading parts in action movies and in his age bracket at the time. I think had he left vice a couple of years earlier he then may be could have made it 'big time' in Hollywood blockbuster movies. He was offered the leading part in the untouchable as Elliot Ness which went to Kevin Costner. Had he done it his career would have taken a different direction. By the time MV was over he lost the train.

That beautifully sculpted mouth is his best feature! Or it was once he got into his  30's. Fancy covering it up with facial hair! A big mistake. I thought PMT looked  awful with his too, and still does. Hmmm...was he  actually offered the Elliot Ness part or merely up for it? I've heard different things  about it. It's as you say, there were plenty "suitables" on offer for some of these blockbuster parts in the 80's  and they probably did have this fixed image of him as a cop (and a certain type too). Although he has done other stuff such as The Long Hot Summer, The Hot Spot (didn't like that) and that Word Of Honour (so-so)  which are the ones I've seen since. You never know, he's always had big ideas of himself, maybe his drama queen antics on MV told against him or maybe he wanted too much in salary, who knows? I see he made sure he got  $150,000 an episode for Nash Bridges. But then he had a lot to do with the production of that. It was meant to be a showpiece for him.

Aha! you thought I lived in the US! Well, is that a compliment or not  Ireland, eh? Well I hope the IRA discussion didn't offend in any way. My next door neighbour is from southern Ireland  and is back there now visiting his mum. We get on great, he's a lovely guy. You are nearly literally across the water as I live in the north west. Yeah I've thought about youtube  and  didn't know about  BitTorrent, will no doubt  be forced to use one of them eventually.. will continue to purloin from youtube meanwhile. They had the  whole series of The Master and Margarita (brilliant Russian book and series) on there once, which I acquired one by one and the subtitles on the youtube stuff are actually better than my dvd. What about those fingernails in Angel Heart, eh? I can see them to this day!

9 hours ago, wolfie1996 said:

Well thank you for the offer but it's as I say, they won't play in the UK  either unless you have a special dvd player which I haven't, I just use my laptop.

Have you ever thought about buying an external DVD drive for your laptop? You can set it to the region you want and even change it five times. You would have to spend about 20€. I have a few Region 1 titles by now and need it because of that. Some stuff I´m intersted in doesn't come in Region 2 like the complete "Nash Bridges".

And when you like to own films on DVD, do you know "Long Hot Summer" is aviable on DVD as well? Without the funny subtitles in what? language.

4 hours ago, Glades said:

Have you ever thought about buying an external DVD drive for your laptop? You can set it to the region you want and even change it five times. You would have to spend about 20€. I have a few Region 1 titles by now and need it because of that. Some stuff I´m intersted in doesn't come in Region 2 like the complete "Nash Bridges".

And when you like to own films on DVD, do you know "Long Hot Summer" is aviable on DVD as well? Without the funny subtitles in what? language.

Hi! No I didn't  even know you  could get such a thing for a laptop! I take it you live in Europe too? It's a nuisance they  didn't make this stuff easily obtainable for us non USA/Canada people. I wouldn't mind a series of Nash Bridges if only to see what it's like and as you say, it would be nice to see Long Hot Summer without the( Polish?) subtitles  Might even consider the Harley Davidson one though that bearded face puts me off. In fact I don't know why DJ  keeps that  grey facial hair, talk about ageing! It reminds me of Bjorn Andresen (who was the very handsome Tadzio in Death in Venice) and whom I know personally (ahem)....he has gone out of his way to look 10 years older than his actual age, God knows why.

Will have to consider one of them!!

You´re right, I´m from Europe, I´m German.
This would be the link to "Long Hot Summer" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flammender-Sommer-lange-heiße-DVD/dp/B00F9K3ZTE/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1622985054&sr=8-1 (Don´t bother the German title on the cover. There is a English Version without any subtitles!)
By the way, this movie is responsible for me becoming a MV Fan and joining this great forum. And Will Russ did a great job in "Long Hot Summer"!

I like DJ much more without a beard, too!

And I really enjoyed "Nash Bridges". Sure it´s not that groundbreaking like MV, but the characters a very likeable and it´s a lot about the relationships between the team and their families.

Thanks for the info! Yeah I've read some denigratory comments about Nash Bridges but daytona 365 kindly sent me a scene with William in it and I thought, this is excellent! worth buying series 1 or whatever on the strength of it! Actually you should try Wiseguy if you haven't already, I've found it really good -have watched the 11 episodes in series 1 with Will Russ in them and been massively impressed That section at least is as good as MV and I never thought I'd  write that. The relationship between Vinnie and Roger (William) is really well done.

12 hours ago, wolfie1996 said:

That beautifully sculpted mouth is his best feature! Or it was once he got into his  30's. Fancy covering it up with facial hair! A big mistake. I thought PMT looked  awful with his too, and still does. Hmmm...was he  actually offered the Elliot Ness part or merely up for it? I've heard different things  about it. It's as you say, there were plenty "suitables" on offer for some of these blockbuster parts in the 80's  and they probably did have this fixed image of him as a cop (and a certain type too). Although he has done other stuff such as The Long Hot Summer, The Hot Spot (didn't like that) and that Word Of Honour (so-so)  which are the ones I've seen since. You never know, he's always had big ideas of himself, maybe his drama queen antics on MV told against him or maybe he wanted too much in salary, who knows? I see he made sure he got  $150,000 an episode for Nash Bridges. But then he had a lot to do with the production of that. It was meant to be a showpiece for him

Well, for sure 80s DJ had a reputation of being difficult to work with and temperamental, at least in the MV circle. Word of mouth probably reached the Hollywood movie community and actors, directors etc...decided against working with him. I also know MV cast members weren't allowed by contract with Micheal Mann to do any movie other the namesake show. Yet EJO did 'Stand and deliver' between s3 and s4; DJ did 'Then long hot summer' and 'dead bang'; Olivia Brown had  a part in 'Throw Momma from the Train'. I think had DJ really walked out from VICE after s2 his career could have taken a different turn. That probably was the best time for him to do the big jump as demand for him was at the highest.

$150,000 for each Nash Bridges episode? Well, Tom Selleck earned $250000 for each Magnum PI episode in the 80s. That's only fair.

12 hours ago, wolfie1996 said:

Aha! you thought I lived in the US! Well, is that a compliment or not  Ireland, eh? Well I hope the IRA discussion didn't offend in any way. My next door neighbour is from southern Ireland  and is back there now visiting his mum. We get on great, he's a lovely guy.

Truth be told, I'm Italian. What part of Ireland is your neighbor from? I live in Dublin.

19 minutes ago, sdiegolo78 said:

Well, for sure 80s DJ had a reputation of being difficult to work with and temperamental, at least in the MV circle. Word of mouth probably reached the Hollywood movie community and actors, directors etc...decided against working with him. I also know MV cast members weren't allowed by contract with Micheal Mann to do any movie other the namesake show. Yet EJO did 'Stand and deliver' between s3 and s4; DJ did 'Then long hot summer' and 'dead bang'; Olivia Brown had  a part in 'Throw Momma from the Train'. I think had DJ really walked out from VICE after s2 his career could have taken a different turn. That probably was the best time for him to do the big jump as demand for him was at the highest.

$150,000 for each Nash Bridges episode? Well, Tom Selleck earned $250000 for each Magnum PI episode in the 80s. That's only fair.

Truth be told, I'm Italian. What part of Ireland is your neighbor from? I live in Dublin.

Well I've never seen Magnum PI though have heard of it of course but $250,000 an episode...nobody's worth  that (in my opinion). No doubt this was an incentive for DJ to ask for more cash (which he seemed to spend as fast as he got it, helicopters, body guards, private planes , hiring 25 "models" for his private parties etc) and I'm sure his expenses contributed to the  decision  that MV was no longer financially viable. Which is ironic (to quote Ira  ) And of course winning the argument re his salary gave him an even more inflated ego leading to temperaments on set etc and word spreads, as you say. I don't criticise his acting abilities at all- he gave us an unforgettable Sonny after all- but he never looked further ahead. As you say if he'd jumped ship at the end of series 2, he MIGHT have just made that successful leap to film stardom  but  don't forget, nothing's guaranteed. As I'm sure better people than him have found out, you can be flavour of the month one minute and forgotten the next. As soon as he was  successful in MV, he started throwing his weight about (it seems) with employers and colleagues, and  totally disregarded any fan base he had. Never had time for his fans and it's poetic justice that after MV, many had no time for him. That's the  snag you see. Although the films he was in, such as they were, showed he was a good actor , I think he was irretrievably bound to the Sonny Crockett identity. He WAS Sonny and that's why people loved him. Once he was no longer that person, interest waned. As you say there were dozens of leading men all suitable for  action or romantic type roles. Just my ideas anyway. It seems Nash Bridges was moderately successful but he set that up himself, as  something he  could control and star in and from what I've read, it didn't have the quality and charisma of Miami Vice.

Wow! what a screed! I've never asked Mike what part of southern Ireland his mum lives in but he did say before he set off he hoped the police  wouldn't arrest him at the border  They're back safely now anyway. Italian! I've been to Venice 17 times would you believe and stayed at the famous Hotel des Bains 5 of them ! Lovely place but as far as I know, closed now. (I'm a Death in Venice fan too......)

Here is the scene in "The Sopranos"

Warning: Contains bad language