- Born
- Birth nameAntonino Giovanni Ribisi
- Nicknames
- Vanni
- Vonni
- Height5′ 7½″ (1.71 m)
- Antonino Giovanni Ribisi is an American actor who was born in Los Angeles, California. His parents both have careers in the entertainment industry. His mother, Gay Ribisi (née Landrum), is a talent manager for actors and writers, and his father, Albert Anthony Ribisi, is a musician. He has a twin sister, actress Marissa Ribisi, and another sister, Gina. Giovanni is of Italian (from his paternal grandfather), English and German ancestry.
His mother helped to launch his acting career, which began with an appearance on two episodes of the television series Highway to Heaven (1984). This followed with numerous roles on television. In 1996, he gained the role of Phoebe Buffay's half-brother on the high profile sitcom Friends (1994), which boosted his career. He became involved in films, which included roles in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do! (1996) and Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998). He appeared in James Cameron's Avatar (2009), Contraband (2012), Gangster Squad (2013), Ted (2012) and Ted 2 (2015).- IMDb Mini Biography By: Kad
- SpousesAgyness Deyn(June 15, 2012 - November 26, 2015) (divorced)Mariah O'Brien(March 18, 1997 - November 3, 2001) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenLucia Ribisi
- ParentsAlbert Anthony Ribisi
- RelativesGina Ribisi(Sibling)Marissa Ribisi(Sibling)
- He went to school for many years, studying computer graphics, and during production of Avatar (2009), he partnered with Stereo D, a company who converts 2D images into stereoscopic 3D images. Giovanni helped spearhead his company's efforts to win bids to do some of the images for Avatar, unknown to James Cameron at the time. Stereo D has since gone on to do the 3D post-conversion on such films as Titanic (1997), Jurassic Park (1993), The Avengers (2012), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Pacific Rim (2013), among others.
- Clashed with filmmakers on the Basic (2003) set because of the inclusion of a female Special Forces operative. Women are not eligible for combat in the US military. He felt it compromised the integrity of the story.
- First appeared (uncredited) in the ending of the episode The One with the Baby on the Bus (1995), as the guy who had dropped a condom in Phoebe's guitar while she was singing in front of Central Perk Coffee Shop (because the manager hired a professional musician). Later that season, he came back in The One with the Bullies (1996) as Frank Buffay Jr., Phoebe's younger half-brother, a character that stayed for eight episodes over several seasons.
- He is 15 minutes older than twin sister Marissa Ribisi.
- Made the cover of "Vanity Fair" after receiving critical kudos for Saving Private Ryan (1998).
- For me, acting is all about the aesthetic. I just want to keep honing my craft. Not that I'm taking myself too seriously, but every artist should consider himself Picasso. Otherwise, you're doing yourself an injustice.
- My mother told me I was begging her to be an actor when I was four. My father and my grandfather saw at least one or two movies a week; they were film buffs, so I guess it just rubbed off on me. And now it's kind of become a way of life for me. I could almost say it is my religion. I guess that sounds pretentious. But I want to live and breathe cinema. - Reel Interview, 2000.
- [on being recognized for his Friends (1994) episodes] I did "Friends" usually always while I was doing another movie. I would literally have to get off the set and rush to Warner Bros. and look at the script and have to do it right there in front of an audience. It's like a blip in my memory where I was stressed out, trying to remember lines. So people come up and say, "The guy who melts stuff!" and I don't even remember it. Like, what are you talking about?
- [on getting into character] I do have a certain technique that varies from part to part because everybody is different. But I don't want to have a viewpoint in terms of fame or being a leading man. I feel like I'm on a certain path as far as my technique and I'm trying to get better and better and better. I want to maintain that and be more committed every time out and learn more about myself.
- [2007] I just consider myself a committed actor. If a movie is a success, that's great; I'm happy for that. But I've learned just to concentrate on my job and do the best that I can.
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