And I have been able to establish this sort of decent reputation as being a decent character actor.
And then, as the years went on, I just kept moving along, busting into doors and getting roles, until I started to actually believe that what these other people were saying was true.
At our best, it's a good experience but we do 22 episodes a year, so there are some clunkers.
But the one thing that I did do was establish myself as a good actor.
I can carry that feeling around with me when I'm doing a part like that where I don't want anyone to know what I'm going to do.
I found my niche as a character actor, and I've never felt like a movie star or teen idol and never wanted to.
I think that being a producer is business and being an actor is art.
I took a route of acting, rather than starmaking, so it cost me a lot financially.
I want every episode to feel like we still haven't done this right yet.
I'll be working the rest of my life because I'm a character actor and don't have to worry about box office.
I'm a character actor, and I made a choice when I was young, after Mystic Pizza, not to go for the mainstream stuff, and to do a more eclectic kind of route.
I'm totally against that. I hate the idea of bad guys walking away at the end of movies - because I have a family and stuff.
I've never tried to be something I'm not.
If you try to go beyond your interests just for the sake of pretensions or wealth, your art becomes less legitimate.
Interviewing Novalyne was a trip, because she's a woman with a lot of integrity. She only said what she wanted to say; there was no way she was going to get specific about that moment.
It doesn't need to be a No 1 show, it just needs to be good.
It was good for me to learn that I can be an artist and a businessman simultaneously.
It was nice to learn that I could do business and art simultaneously, but the art is always much more interesting to me.
It was something I was reluctant to do because there have been performances about serial killers in the past that have done pretty well.
It's like why people read scary books or go see scary movies. Because it creates a distance. They're scared, but they're not going to get hurt.
It's not one of my favorite parts, but Nancy Savoca is one of my favorite directors.
It's pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people's first impressions of people are really a big mistake.
Like De Niro. He's one of the best character actors we have ever had.
Look, all you can do when you find your niche is go with it.
My partner Dan Ireland wants me to direct, and I read a lot of scripts - some good enough that I could see myself... . But then it's like, so what? Who cares? Let someone else direct it.
No, I knew when I was doing theater in New York that this was what I was supposed to be doing.
Our show is different, because it's not about law and order, it's about psychology, the intent of somebody.
People who are extremely inside their head, like he was, are caught in a neurosis that goes round and round. Then something will hook them and take them to their end and they can't control it.
So a failed movie is not going to ruin my career.
So I moved to Europe and only came back when directors like Robert Altman would call me after they'd seen my work in Full Metal Jacket.
The minute you start feeling like you've got it down, you know what you're doing, you're dead in the water.
The more you are known, the more difficult it is to hide behind characters.
The only thing I do worry about is that the more films I do the more visible I am going to become as a personality because of press and because of the sheer quantity of films.
The Whole Wide World is the first movie I've ever produced.
Then I did Mystic Pizza, just to do something I wasn't fat in.
They were all interested in what I was going to do, because I'd never worked in televsion before.
This haunting idea of becoming a celebrity doesn't settle well with me at all.
To me the definition of true masculinity - and femininity, too - is being able to lay in your own skin comfortably.
Unless you look like Brad Pitt, it's really hard to have full control of your character.
What kind of recognition do I deserve? I don't deserve any recognition.
When I was younger I used to pick things just to face the fear.
When you are a character actor they trust you will go in and give them a full character and leave.
With Altman, he does discuss everything with you, but then leaves you to it and gives you full rein and lets you improvise and create a character while the camera is rolling.
Vincent and Vince Vaughn are good friends and he refers to Vince as a brother. They have been in three movies together: The Cell, Thumbsucker, and The Break Up.
Vincent is left-handed.
In 2005 D'Onofrio and Joe Pantoliano began work on a small film titled "Little Victories" about a 12-year old boy whose perceptions of the world are forever changed when his gangster uncle comes to live with him. The film is still shrouded in mystery and there have been talks of plaguing production problems.
In 1984, D'Onofrio became a full member of the American Stanislavsky Theatre. Before this breakthrough, he had been acting in New York University student films and was working as a bouncer.
Vincent is a smoker.
His full name is Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio.
He won the Saturn Award in 1998 as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Men in Black.
He was nominated for a Blockbuster Award in 1998 as Favorite Supporting Actor for his role in Men in Black.
He and Law & Order: Criminal Intent co-star Kathryn Erbe (Det. Alexandra Eames) were both guest stars on Homicide: Life on the Street in episodes that aired a week apart.
Vincent's trademark "Goren lean" for Criminal Intent orignated from the pilot when he leaned over in an effort to meet the eyes of a seated guest actor. Creator Dick Wolf was on set and loved the move that became a staple of the show.
He lives in New York both to be with his family and for the filming of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 1994 as Best Male Lead for his role in Household Saints.
He has two children: daughter Leila George D'Onofrio, born in March 1992, from his marriage to Greta Scacchi, and son Elias D'Onofrio, born in 2000, from his marriage to Carin Van Der Donk.
His nickname is The Human Chameleon.
He gained 45 pounds for his role in 2002's The Salton Sea.
He gained 70 pounds, a world record, for his role as Private Gomer Pyle in 1987's Full Metal Jacket.
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