Born: January 7, 1956
Age: 68
Birthplace: Forest Hills, Queens, New York
David Stephen Caruso (born January 7, 1956) is an American actor and producer. His most prominent roles are his portrayals of Lieutenant Horatio Caine on the TV series CSI: Miami and as Detective John Kelly on the ABC crime drama NYPD Blue. He also appeared in movies such as First Blood, Kiss of Death, Jade and Proof of Life.
David Caruso was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, the son of Joan, a librarian, and Charles Caruso, a magazine and ]. He is of Irish and Italian (Sicilian) descent. His father left when he was two years of age, forcing him to "end up fathering myself", as he put it. Raised as a Roman Catholic, Caruso attended Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School in Forest Hills. He later attended Archbishop Molloy High School in nearby Briarwood, graduating in 1974.
Caruso worked as a cinema usher, where he would see up to eighty movies a week. He said that he and his coworkers would act out scenes from some of these movies while they were at the back of the theater. It was in this job he found his role models in Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G Robinson. He said:
The ethics of certain actors certainly had a power over me. These guys taught me how to be what I call a stand up kind of guy.
Caruso's first film appearance was in the 1980 film Getting Wasted as Danny. He then spent most of the next decade in film supporting roles, appearing in such films as First Blood, An Officer and a Gentleman, Blue City, Thief of Hearts and China Girl. He credits his role as Daniels, "the cadet who nearly drowned", in An Officer and a Gentleman as what got him noticed. Caruso also appeared in Twins. On television, he had a recurring role as Tommy Mann, the leader of the street gang The Shamrocks on Hill Street Blues in the early 1980s. He made a two-episode appearance on the television series Crime Story which ran from 1986 to 1988 on NBC. In 1984, he portrayed U.S. Olympian James Brendan Connolly in the NBC miniseries The First Olympics: Athens, 1896. We can see him in the video clip of the french music Voyages Voyages by Desireless in 1986.
Caruso had supporting roles as police officers in the crime films King of New York (1990) and Mad Dog and Glory (1993). While filming 1991's Hudson Hawk, he employed method acting, refusing to talk to anyone on set because his character, Kit-Kat, was mute, having had his tongue bitten off.
Caruso's first major role was in 1993 as Detective John Kelly on the series NYPD Blue, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. TV Guide named him as one of the six new stars to watch in the 1993-94 season. He made news by leaving the highly rated show the following year (only four episodes into the second season) after failing to obtain the raise he wanted. He was unable to establish himself as a leading man in films despite starring in the crime thriller Kiss of Death, which was critically well-received but did not perform well financially. He also appeared in Jade (1995), which flopped critically and at the box office. In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, his decision to leave NYPD Blue was ranked #6 on a list of TV's 10 biggest "blunders". In the first episode of South Park, ("Cartman Gets an Anal Probe") Kyle tells his brother, Ike, to "do your impersonation of David Caruso's career" to get Ike to jump out of a spaceship.
In 1997, Caruso returned to television as a New York City-based federal prosecutor in the short-lived CBS law drama series, Michael Hayes, which aired for one season.
Caruso returned to film with a supporting role as Russell Crowe's mercenary associate in the film Proof of Life in 2000. In 2001, he had a lead role in the cult psychological horror film Session 9.
From 2002 to 2012, he starred as Lieutenant Horatio Caine in the popular CSI spin-off series CSI: Miami. He was the first actor in the franchise to appear as the same character on three of the four CSI programs. On CSI: Miami, he is known for frequently using one-liners at the beginning of each episode. Many of these include him putting on his trademark sunglasses mid-sentence, then walking off-screen just as the main theme starts (finishing move). On an episode of the Late Show with David Letterman that aired on March 8, 2007, comedian Jim Carrey professed to being a fan of the show and went on to satirically impersonate him. Carrey asked for an "intense close-up" from the camera, spoke in a deep voice and put sunglasses on. Caruso later said in an interview with CBS that he was impressed with the impersonation.
Caruso is founder of DavidCarusoTelevision.tv and LexiconDigital.tv, as well as co-owner of Steam on Sunset, a clothing store in South Miami.
Caruso has a daughter, Greta with his second wife, Rachel Ticotin. He and former girlfriend, Liza Marquez, have two children together: a son and a daughter.
In April 2009, Marquez filed papers against Caruso for fraud, breach of their settlement agreement and emotional distress.
In March 2009, an Austrian woman was placed in custody in Tyrol, Austria, on charges of stalking Caruso; she had twice failed to appear in court to answer the charges before fleeing to Mexico; following her deportation from Mexico, Austrian officials took her into custody to await trial on the stalking charges.
In 1994 Caruso won a Golden Globe Award for starring in NYPD Blue as Detective John Kelly, for which he was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. In 2001, he was nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Suspense for starring in the film Proof of Life as Dino.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Getting Wasted | Danny | |
1980 | Without Warning | Tom | |
1982 | An Officer and a Gentleman | Topper Daniels | |
1982 | First Blood | Deputy Mitch | |
1984 | Thief of Hearts | Buddy Calamara | |
1986 | Blue City | Joey Rayford | |
1987 | China Girl | Mercury | |
1988 | Twins | Al Greco | |
1990 | King of New York | Dennis Gilley | |
1990 | Rainbow Drive | Larry Hammond | Television movie |
1991 | Hudson Hawk | Kit Kat | |
1991 | Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis | Wilkes | Television movie |
1993 | Mad Dog and Glory | Mike | |
1995 | Kiss of Death | Jimmy Kilmartin | Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star |
1995 | Jade | David Corelli | Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star |
1997 | Cold Around the Heart | Ned Tash | |
1998 | Body Count | Hobbs | |
2000 | Proof of Life | Dino | Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Suspense |
2001 | Session 9 | Phil | |
2001 | Black Point | John Hawkins |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981-1983 | Hill Street Blues | Shamrock Leader Tommy Mann | |
1983 | CHiPs | Charlie | Episode: "Hot Date" |
1983 | T.J. Hooker | Jennings | Episode: "Requiem for a Cop" |
1984 | The First Olympics: Athens, 1896 | James Connolly | Episode: "Part 1" |
1986-1988 | Crime Story | Johnny O'Donnell | 2 episodes |
1990 | Help | Frank Sordoni | 6 episodes |
1993-1994 | NYPD Blue | John Kelly | 26 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Drama Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series |
1997-1998 | Michael Hayes | Michael Hayes | 21 episodes |
2002 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lieutenant Horatio Caine | Episode: "Cross Jurisdictions" |
2002-2012 | CSI: Miami | 232 episodes | |
2005 | CSI: NY | Episode: "Manhattan Manhunt" |