Four years ago, just after making his bones with his one-man gangster epic, “A Bronx Tale,” Chazz Palminteri was asked whether he considered himself an actor or a writer.
“I’m an actor first,” he said.
Now, “A Bronx Tale” has been turned into Robert De Niro’s ballyhooed directorial bow. And as both screenwriter and De Niro’s co-star, the 41-year-old Palminteri is no longer a struggling actor scraping by.
“OK, I’m an actor and a writer,” he says with a sly smile. “But I have to be one of the stars.”
Palminteri’s “once in a lifetime” role was born of frustration in 1988. After kicking around off- and off-off-Broadway stages, Palminteri moved to Hollywood and did no better than some wiseguy bits. “Finally, I just said, `If they don’t give me a great part, I’ll just write myself one.’ “
Palminteri came up with a monologue based on a shooting he witnessed. That incident grew into the 1960s Bronx tale of Calogero, a 9-year-old who observes the mob code of silence, instead of fingering the Sonny character. Forever grateful, Sonny becomes a surrogate dad, setting up the conflict with Calogero’s real father.