More successful on the small screen, Assante subspecialized in mobster roles in the trashy miniseries 'Rage of Angels' (NBC, 1983), Jack Nicholson's 'Hoffa' (1992) and the HBO biopic 'Gotti' (1996), while proving a credible leading man in the indie 'Belizaire, the Cajun' (1986) and 'The Mambo Kings' (1991) with Antonio Banderas. Typed as a slightly unreliable romantic leading man, Assante scored with moviegoers in 'Private Benjamin' (1980) opposite Goldie Hawn and 'Little Darlings' (1980) with Tatum O'Neal, but his first star outing, as Mike Hammer in the 1982 'I, the Jury' remake, was a box office dud. Although Assante was courted by such 1970s auteurs as Francis Ford Coppola and Terence Malick, it was future action star Sylvester Stallone who gave him his first big breaks - as an extra in 'The Lords of Flatbush' (1974) and as his co-star in 'Paradise Alley' (1978).

The native New Yorker paid his dues in regional theatre and as a regular on the soap opera 'The Doctors' (NBC, 1963-1982), but work in films was longer in coming. With his ethnic name and exotic good looks, Armand Assante was often mistaken by casting agents early in his career for foreign talent.

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