Paul Carafotes
Success came relatively quickly to Paul Carafotes, who made his film debut in a major motion picture at the tender age of 20, two years after setting out to study stage acting with Uta Hagen in New York City. Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, near Boston, and diehard Red Sox fan, he made his professional acting debut in the 1980 drama "Headin' for Broadway," which, not unlike "A Chorus Line," was based on the dreams and disappointments of a singing and dancing troupe going through a grueling audition process. Carafotes soon started lining up a number of impressive roles, sharing screen time with Tom Cruise (1983's "All the Right Moves"), Demi Moore in her film debut (1981's "Choices"), and Daryl Hannah (1986's "The Clan of the Cave Bear"). Television was particularly kind to Carafotes, who wound up with reoccurring appearances on three episodes of 1983's "The Greatest American Hero" and a major supporting roles as Harold Dyer on the primetime soap "Knots Landing." As his television roles became more sporadic during the 1990s, Carafotes turned his attention to filmmaking, finally succeeding with the 2006 dramatic short "Club Soda," a project he wrote, directed, and produced. It also reunited him with his 1993 "Italian Movie" co-star, James Gandolfini.