Tony Ganios(1959-2024)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Brooklyn born Tony Ganios was literally forced into the film business
at the tender age of 18 when his even larger and more powerful uncle
Pete made him cut short a powerlifting workout at the Sheridan Square
Gym in Manhattan to audition for director
Philip Kaufman. As a result, Tony
made his film debut as the teen paladin "Perry" in Kaufman's cult
classic The Wanderers (1979). His
initial performance was well liked by audiences and soon he was dancing
with Sally Field in
Back Roads (1981) in a role he landed
by hurling the film's script into the chest of its director. Next, he
played a former NFL defensive end turned mountain man in the
Lawrence Kasdan scripted John Belushi
romantic comedy
Continental Divide (1981)
before being cast by writer/director Bob Clark as the well hung high
school senior "Meat" in the raunchy, but highly successful comedy
Porky's (1981). One of Tony's most
unforgettable roles was as that ill-fated member of the terrorist team
in the hit action film
Die Hard 2 (1990) who was fatally
dispatched by Bruce Willis with an eye
bound icicle. Some of his other film and television credits include
The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991),
Ring of the Musketeers (1992),
and Rising Sun (1993), where he
revisited his matchstick chewing Wanderers hero as an adversary for
Sean Connery. He is also known for his
recurring comedic role as a muscular mob lawyer on the Emmy Award
winning series Wiseguy (1987).
An ancient military history and period weapons expert, Ganios is one of Brazilian jiu jitsu pioneer and UFC founder Rorion Gracie's original students. Although retired from acting since 1993, in 2000 Tony and Police Academy veteran Leslie Easterbrook supplied voices for the low budget YouTube animated series "Bad Vlad" under the pseudonyms Nick Fury and Honour Lawrence in what he described as one of the most purely fun performances of his career. The 2014 feature film Daddies' Girls will not only mark Tony Ganios' return to the big screen, but his debut as a producer and screenwriter as well.
An ancient military history and period weapons expert, Ganios is one of Brazilian jiu jitsu pioneer and UFC founder Rorion Gracie's original students. Although retired from acting since 1993, in 2000 Tony and Police Academy veteran Leslie Easterbrook supplied voices for the low budget YouTube animated series "Bad Vlad" under the pseudonyms Nick Fury and Honour Lawrence in what he described as one of the most purely fun performances of his career. The 2014 feature film Daddies' Girls will not only mark Tony Ganios' return to the big screen, but his debut as a producer and screenwriter as well.
