Max Casella
Casella in 2016
Born	Maximilian Deitch (1967-06-06)June 6, 1967 (age 58) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Leona Robbins ​ ​ (m. 2002; sep. 2018)​ [1]
Children	2

Max Casella (bornMaximilian Deitch; June 6, 1967)^[2] is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television seriesDoogie Howser, M.D.,The Sopranos,Boardwalk Empire,Vinyl,Cro and the voice ofDaxter in theJak and Daxter video game series.^[3]

Casella was born in Washington, D.C., the son of David Deitch, a newspaper columnist, and Doris Casella, a social worker. His father is Jewish and his mother is of Italian descent.^[4][5][6] He grew up inCambridge, Massachusetts and attendedCambridge Rindge and Latin School, where his classmates includedTraci Bingham,Ben Affleck, andMatt Damon. Casella hasgrowth hormone deficiency, which accounted for his ability to play characters much younger than his actual age.^[7] His brother also shares the condition. He did not go through puberty until the age of 27 after medical intervention.^[8] His physical changes caused him to gain weight and he was dropped by his agents. He then had to completely reinvent himself as an actor.^[9]

Casella played Vincent "Vinnie" Delpino in the television seriesDoogie Howser, M.D. from 1989 to 1993 withNeil Patrick Harris.^[10] In 1992, Casella played Racetrack Higgins inNewsies, which was based upon true events in the 1899newsboys strike againstJoseph Pulitzer andWilliam Randolph Hearst. He appeared inWindRunner: A Spirited Journey, starringMargot Kidder andRussell Means asJim Thorpe's ghost. In 1997, Casella playedTimon in the originalBroadway production ofThe Lion King; a performance for which he was awarded aTheatre World Award and received aDrama Desk Award nomination. From 2000 to 2001 he returned to Broadway as Marcellus Washburn in the revival ofThe Music Man. Casella portrayed Pvt. Dino Paparelli inSgt. Bilko. He joined the cast of theHBO seriesThe Sopranos during its third season, asBenny Fazio.^[11] Casella also starred inEd Wood andAnalyze This. In 2007, Casella portrayedDick Howser in the ESPN mini-seriesThe Bronx is Burning. He also voiced Tip inThe Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, Zini in theCGI filmDinosaur and the titular character inABC'sCro. In 2008, Casella played Mack Steiner inLeatherheads and Dennis, one of the main characters inScaring the Fish. He also played Leo D'Alessio in season one of theHBO seriesBoardwalk Empire.

From 2022 to 2024, Casella portrayed Armand Truisi on the Paramount+ seriesTulsa King.

Casella married Leona Robbins in 2002, and has two daughters, Mia and Gioia. They lived inNew York City,^[12] and theyseparated in 2018.^[13]

• Max Casella atIMDb
• Max Casella at theInternet Broadway Database
• Max Casella at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• Max Casella atHome Box Office

• 1967 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male child actors
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• American male video game actors
• American male voice actors
• American people of Italian-Jewish descent
• American people of Italian descent
• American people of Jewish descent
• American Ashkenazi Jews
• Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni
• Jewish American male actors
• Male actors from Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Male actors from New York City
• Male actors from Washington, D.C.
• Singers from Massachusetts
• Theatre World Award winners
• 21st-century American Jews

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from December 2021
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• IBDB name template using Wikidata
• Internet Off-Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata