Dominic Chianese (born February 24, 1931) in Bronx, New York, is an American actor and performer. He is perhaps best known as Soprano family patriarch Corrado Soprano otherwise known as "Uncle Junior" on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos, a role that netted him two Emmy Award nominations.

Chianese worked as a bricklayer with his father and attended night school during the 1950s, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Speech and Theater from Brooklyn College in 1961. His earliest stage work occurred in 1952 with a Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company of singers, actors, and musicians called The American Savoyards, under the direction of Dorothy Raedler.

After a decade of doing theatre, both in college and off-Broadway shows, Chianese attended his first professional acting class at HB Studios, with renowned teacher Walt Witcover in Manhattan. Acting became Chianese's passion, along with musical theater. His first Broadway show was Oliver! in 1965. Since then he has worked at regional theatres, off-Broadway and on Broadway all through the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. To supplement income in the dry periods, he sang and played rhythm guitar in saloons and restaurants. Chianese's first television credit was due to George C. Scott recommending him for his acclaimed series East Side, West Side. In 1974, Francis Ford Coppola cast him as "Johnny Ola" in The Godfather, Part II, which set a film career in motion, culminating with several films (and plays) with Al Pacino.

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