Movie tough guy Frank Vincent has died at the age of 78 in New Jersey.
He'll be perhaps best known to Kiwis for his role as vicious mob boss Phil Leotardo in The Sopranos, arch rival of James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano in the final two seasons.
Vincent, who also starred in Casino, Goodfellas and Raging Bull, suffered a heart attack last week before dying during open-heart surgery, according to reports.
His other films include Wise Guys, Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Last Exit to Brooklyn and Cop Land.
Gamers may be familiar with Vincent's voice after he played Mafia boss Salvatore Leone in the Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
In addition to his onscreen roles, Vincent also worked as acting coach to rappers DMX, Nas and Method Man in 1998 film Belly and in 2006, he co-wrote the book A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man's Man.
Newshub.
