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Dennis Farina Biography (Detective Joe Fontana, Law & Order)

By Rachel Thomas, About.com

Birthday: February 29, 1944
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois
Previous TV and Movie Roles: "Law & Order"
"Scrambled Eggs"
"Paparazzi"
"In-Laws"
"Stealing Harvard"
"Big Trouble"
"Sidewalks of New York"
"Snatch"
"Preston Tylk"
"Reindeer Games"
"The Mod Squad"
"Buddy Faro"
"Saving Private Ryan"
"Out of Sight"
"That Old Feeling"
"Eddie"
"Get Shorty"
"Perfect Crimes"
"Striking Distance"
"Romeo Is Bleeding"
"Another Stakeout"
"The Disappearance of Nora"
"Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel"
Trivia Fact #1: Before he became an actor, Dennis was a cop in Chicago.
Trivia Fact #2: His last name, Farina means flour in Italian.
Quoted as Saying: "Some people approach acting with all these things in their head, making it more complicated than it needs to be, way too cerebral. I don't want to know that an actor lived in a cave for 12 days so that he could prepare for a part."

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