Brian Tarantina

Acting

Brian Tarantina

Born — Died

1959-03-27 — 2019-11-02

Place of birth

New York City, New York, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

76 titles

Brian Tarantina (March 27, 1959 – November 2, 2019) was an American stage, screen, and television character actor born in New York City. He was known for his roles on such shows as One Life to Live, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Gilmore Girls.

Known for

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster
8.0

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

The Blacklist poster
7.6

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

The Blacklist

2013

Law & Order: Criminal Intent poster
7.6

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

2001

The Sopranos poster
8.7

The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.

The Sopranos

1999

Gilmore Girls poster
7.9

Set in the charming town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the series follows the captivating lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother/daughter pair who have a relationship most people only dream of.

Gilmore Girls

2000

Film credits

2010s · 8 titles

Knight and Day poster
6.2

A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.

Knight and Day

2010

BlacKkKlansman poster
7.5

Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

BlacKkKlansman

2018

The Kitchen poster
6.1

The mobster husbands of three 1978 Hell's Kitchen housewives are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia's matters into their own hands — proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition… literally.

The Kitchen

2019

Rob the Mob poster
6.1

The true-life story of a crazy-in-love Queens couple who robbed a series of mafia social clubs and got away with it… for a while… until they stumble upon a score bigger than they ever planned and become targets of both the mob and the FBI.

Rob the Mob

2014

Zarra's Law poster
2.8

Retired detective Tony Zarra is pushed into the world of crime after the murder of his younger brother.

Zarra's Law

2014

#Lucky Number poster
4.5

Made for TV movie based on a true story, an aspiring New York City sportscaster's life is on the slow track until he serendipitously gets the old cell phone number of a basketball superstar. Will the number be his ticket to success or a path to destruction?

#Lucky Number

2015

Ask for Jane poster
6.6

A group of college students develop an underground network that helps women get abortions in the pre-Roe vs. Wade Chicago.

Ask for Jane

2019

Breaking Brooklyn poster
7.8

A 12 year old boy with a passion for dance and his brother are rescued from the streets by an old showman who takes them to live with his estranged former dancing partner/brother.

Breaking Brooklyn

2018

2000s · 8 titles

The Brave One poster
6.6

A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.

The Brave One

2007

Ghost Town poster
6.5

Bertram Pincus, a cranky, people-hating Manhattan dentist, develops the unwelcome ability to see dead people. Really annoying dead people. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, a smooth-talking ghost, who pesters him into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen. They are soon entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter!

Ghost Town

2008

City by the Sea poster
5.8

Vincent LaMarca is a dedicated and well-respected New York City police detective who has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his past, but then makes the terrible discovery that his own son has fallen into a life of crime.

City by the Sea

2002

Personal Velocity poster
5.9

In a series of three vignettes, three women in turn struggle to free themselves from the men who restrict their personal freedom.

Personal Velocity

2002

A Crime poster
5.6

Vincent's life is on hold until he finds his wife's killer. Alice, his neighbor, is convinced she can make him happy. She decides to invent a culprit, so that Vincent can find revenge and leave the past behind. But there is no ideal culprit and no perfect crime.

A Crime

2006

The Photographer poster
4.8

A year after becoming the toast of New York City's art scene, photographer Max Martin has lost his ability to take a decent picture. On the night before his make-or-break gallery opening, surrounded by the trappings of success but devoid of inspiration, Max embarks on a bizarre trek through the city in search of ten mysterious photographs that could save his career. Shot in brilliant color and dramatic black and white, first-time director Jeremy Stein's industrial New York City is a wonderland, roamed by witches and magical creatures, where survival hinges on the completion of a simple quest. Accompanied by an unlikely crew of strangers he meets along the way, Max trips through a modern-day Oz and rediscovers the easily forgotten value of seeing magic reflected in everyday life.

The Photographer

2000

Duane Hopwood poster
5.9

A down-on-his-luck divorced father struggles to get his life and family back together before it's too late.

Duane Hopwood

2005

Unconscious poster
6.3

Six different people all believe an unconscious and unidentified man in a hospital is their missing person. A film about being unconscious . . . or not.

Unconscious

2006

1990s · 15 titles

The Talented Mr. Ripley poster
7.2

Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. Ripley worms his way into the idyllic lives of Dickie and his girlfriend, plunging into a daring scheme of duplicity, lies and murder.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

1999

Carlito's Way poster
7.8

Free after years in prison, Carlito Brigante intends to give up his criminal ways, but it's not long before the ex-con is sucked back into the New York City underworld.

Carlito's Way

1993

Donnie Brasco poster
7.5

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.

Donnie Brasco

1997

Jacob's Ladder poster
7.4

After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.

Jacob's Ladder

1990

The Associate poster
6.2

Laurel Ayres is a businesswoman trying to make it but unfortunately she works at a investment firm where she does all the work but all the senior investors like Frank Peterson grab all the credit. She then leaves and starts her own firm. While trying to find clients Laurel pretends that she has a male partner named Robert Cutty. And when she starts to do well all of her clients wants to meet Cutty which is difficult since he doesn't exist.

The Associate

1996

Bed of Roses poster
5.9

The seeds of love are planted when Lisa, a high-powered investment banker, receives flowers from a secret admirer. But when his fairy-tale fantasies clash with her workaholic ways, they soon find out that sometimes, it's harder than it seems for love to conquer all.

Bed of Roses

1996

Summer of Sam poster
6.5

Spike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American Northeast Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.

Summer of Sam

1999

The Saint of Fort Washington poster
6.6

Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy, a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness.

The Saint of Fort Washington

1993

Sweet Nothing poster
6.4

Angel celebrates the birth of his daughter by taking his first hit of crack cocaine. With the hesitant support of his wife, Monika, he joins a friend of his to deal drugs for a short time--enough time to get out of debt and buy some nice things for the family. Three years later, Angel is still dealing, and has not saved any money, instead spending it on crack. His addiction grows, straining his friendship and his family life, and he gradually loses control.

Sweet Nothing

1995

The Jerky Boys poster
4.4

When two unemployed telephone pranksters decide to use their vocal "talents" to impersonate a Chicago mob boss and curry favor with organized crime in New York, the trouble begins. It isn't long before Johnny and Kamal (the "Jerky Boys" of crank call fame) are wanted by the local mafia, the police, and their neighbor.

The Jerky Boys

1995

Vibrations poster
4.2

A musician who lost his hands falls for a woman whose technologically adept friends help him make a comeback.

Vibrations

1996

Firehouse poster
3.8

A film about the dealings of a crew at a firehouse. The group is attacked by an assassin and eventually must accept that the firehouse is to be consolidated with a rescue unit.

Firehouse

1996

Better Living poster
3.8

A comedy about families, the elements that bind them together, and about hope in the face of hardship.

Better Living

1998

Walking to the Waterline poster
6.3

Once a successful television sitcom star, Francis McGowan is now a struggling actor who returns to his family home on the Jersey Shore to sell it following his father's death. While there, he interacts with his agent Michael Woods, his childhood friend Duane Hopwood, and tour guide Lucy Bammer, with whom he drifts into a casual affair while his wife and children wait for him to return home.

Walking to the Waterline

1998

Roberta poster
4.2

When Jonathan Fishman, a young Manhattan computer specialist randomly encounters a prostitute he is shocked to recognize her as Roberta whom he knew when they were both children. To the dismay of his friends, his business partner and his new girlfriend Judy, Jonathan decides to help Roberta off the streets by moving her into his apartment and teaching her the skills necessary to find an office job. What begins as a seemingly altruistic gesture reveals itself as an unwavering obsession, and his life slowly unravels.

Roberta

1999

1980s · 7 titles

Born on the Fourth of July poster
7.0

Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.

Born on the Fourth of July

1989

Uncle Buck poster
6.8

Buck Russell, a lovable but slovenly bachelor, suddenly becomes the temporary caretaker of his nephew and nieces after a family emergency. His freewheeling attitude soon causes tension with his older niece Tia, loyal girlfriend Chanice, and just about everyone else who crosses his path.

Uncle Buck

1989

The January Man poster
5.0

Nick and Frank Starkey were both policemen. A scandal forced Nick to leave the force, now a serial killer has driven the police to take him back. A web that includes Frank's wife, bribery, and corruption all are in the background as Nick tries to uncover the secret of where the killer will strike next, and finally must lay a trap without the police.

The January Man

1989

The Cotton Club poster
6.5

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

The Cotton Club

1984

Resting Place poster
6.3

A television movie set in Rockville, Georgia, in 1972. Major Kendall Laird, a Survival Assistance Officer, arrives in this sleepy little town with the body of Lieutenant Dwyte Johnson, a Vietnam war hero. It's Laird's job to help Johnson's parents bury their son. But since the dead hero was black, his parents are turned away by the white racists who maintain the town's "all-white" cemetery.

Resting Place

1986

Critical Condition poster
5.5

Eddie is a con artist. When he's framed and comes before a judge, he hopes to get off the hook by claiming insanity—but instead ends up in a hospital for a mental assessment. That night, a storm causes a power failure and, in the ensuing chaos, Eddie is mistaken for a doctor and suddenly finds himself in charge of the hospital.

Critical Condition

1987

No artwork available
3.2

A young girl runs away and is forced to become a prostitute.

Runaway Dreams

1989

Series credits

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster
8.0

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

The Blacklist poster
7.6

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

The Blacklist

2013

Law & Order: Criminal Intent poster
7.6

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

2001

Law & Order: Criminal Intent poster
7.6

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

2001

The Sopranos poster
8.7

The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.

The Sopranos

1999

Gilmore Girls poster
7.9

Set in the charming town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the series follows the captivating lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother/daughter pair who have a relationship most people only dream of.

Gilmore Girls

2000

Person of Interest poster
8.1

John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars. 

Person of Interest

2011

The Good Wife poster
7.6

Alicia Florrick boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.

The Good Wife

2009

Elementary poster
7.6

A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.

Elementary

2012

Fringe poster
8.1

FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, brilliant but formerly institutionalized scientist Walter Bishop and his scheming, reluctant son Peter uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

Fringe

2008

Heroes poster
7.4

Common people discover that they have super powers. Their lives intertwine as a devastating event must be prevented.

Heroes

2006

ER poster
7.8

ER explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its overburdened emergency room.

ER

1994

Miami Vice poster
7.4

The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs is undercover in a drug cartel.

Miami Vice

1984

Crossing Jordan poster
7.2

Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Crossing Jordan

2001

Third Watch poster
7.9

The exploits of a group of men and women who serve the City of New York as police officers, firemen, and paramedics, all working the same fictional 55th precinct during the 3pm to 11pm shift - the 'Third Watch'.

Third Watch

1999

Madam Secretary poster
7.0

After years away from the CIA, Elizabeth McCord is pulled back into the political arena. The newly appointed Secretary of State is tough, fair, and smart, driving international diplomacy, wrangling office politics, and circumventing protocol as she negotiates global and domestic issues, both at the White House and at home.

Madam Secretary

2014

Homicide: Life on the Street poster
8.1

An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.

Homicide: Life on the Street

1993

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel poster
8.1

It’s 1958 Manhattan and Miriam “Midge” Maisel has everything she’s ever wanted - the perfect husband, kids, and Upper West Side apartment. But when her life suddenly takes a turn and Midge must start over, she discovers a previously unknown talent - one that will take her all the way from the comedy clubs of Greenwich Village to a spot on Johnny Carson’s couch.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

2017

Oz poster
8.0

The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorize their mutual enemies.

Oz

1997

The Equalizer poster
7.2

Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.

The Equalizer

1985

Spin City poster
7.0

Workaholic Mike Flaherty is the Deputy Mayor of New York City, serving as Mayor Randall Winston's key strategist and much-needed handler. Mike runs the city with the help of his oddball staff: an anxious and insecure press secretary; a sexist, boorish chief of staff; an impeccably groomed gay activist running minority affairs; a sharp and efficient, man-crazy accountant; and an idealistic young speechwriter. Like Mike, they are all professionally capable but personally challenged.

Spin City

1996

The Night Of poster
8.0

After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.

The Night Of

2016

Providence poster
6.7

Providence is an American television drama series.

Providence

1999

New York Undercover poster
7.3

New York Undercover is an American police drama The series stars Detective J.C. Williams and Detective Eddie Torres, two undercover detectives in New York City's Fourth Precinct who were assigned to investigate various crimes and gang-related cases.

New York Undercover

1994

Sledge Hammer! poster
8.0

Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character. Al Jean and Mike Reiss, best known for their work on The Simpsons, wrote for the show and worked as story editors.

Sledge Hammer!

1986

Law & Order: Trial by Jury poster
8.1

The inner workings of the judicial system, beginning with the arraignment, and continuing through the prosecutors' complicated process of building a case, investigating leads and preparing witnesses for trial.

Law & Order: Trial by Jury

2005

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life poster
7.3

Set nearly a decade after the finale of the original series, this revival follows Lorelai, Rory and Emily Gilmore through four seasons of change.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

2016

New Amsterdam poster
7.1

John Amsterdam is a New York homicide detective unlike any other. He is brilliant, mysterious, reckless, and immortal. In 1642 he saved a Native Indian girl during a massacre of her indigenous tribe. In return, the girl cast an ancient spell that conferred immortality upon him. Amsterdam will not age, she told him, until he finds his one true love.

New Amsterdam

2008

The Black Donnellys poster
7.6

Meet the Donnelly brothers: Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin and Sean. There is nothing these four Irish brothers wouldn't do to protect each other, and for them that means lying, cheating, stealing and, occasionally, calling the cops. Narrated by wannabe gangster Joey "Ice Cream," this gritty series bears witness to the Donnelly brothers' sudden involvement in organized crime, focusing on how they go from boys to mobsters, and showing how their new life affects their relationships with friends, family and lovers.

The Black Donnellys

2007

Deadline poster
10.0

Deadline is a television series which was shown on NBC in the 2000–2001 season. It starred Oliver Platt as Wallace Benton, who worked for the fictional New York Ledger. This was a daily newspaper which was seen in many episodes of Law & Order.

Deadline

2000

Now and Again poster
6.9

When insurance salesman and family man Michael Wiseman is killed in a subway accident, the U.S. government preserves his brain and puts it into a new, genetically bio-engineered body that's young, attractive, and can do anything a superhero can do. But as a top-secret experiment and weapon, the new and improved Michael can never let his wife Lisa or daughter Heather know his true identity. With the strict but brilliant Dr. Morris as his mentor, Michael takes on deadly terrorists, corrupt agents, killer bugs, and an extremely dangerous international criminal known as "the Egg Man." Michael can do anything...except stay away from the family that he loves.

Now and Again

1999

The Jury poster
9.0

Set in New York City, the series brings the viewer into the jury room to watch the deliberators try to answer the many questions posed during a trial. As facts are exposed through flashbacks of testimony and crime footage, viewers will form their own opinions about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Following each verdict, a final flashback will let viewers see the crime as it actually happened and reveal whether or not the jury made the right decision.

The Jury

2004

Leg Work poster
6.5

Leg Work is an American detective drama television series created by Frank Abatemarco that premiered on CBS on October 3, 1987. The show was short-lived and only 10 episodes were produced, of which only six were aired prior to the show's cancellation. The final episode aired on November 7, 1987. The cable network TV Land later aired the remaining four episodes.

Leg Work

1987

Hallmark Hall of Fame poster
8.8

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Jonny Zero poster
5.2

Jonny Zero is an action-crime drama television series that aired on the Fox network in 2005. It starred Franky G, GQ, and Brennan Hesser. It was cancelled after eight episodes. It began airing on Monday nights on ABC TV in Australia in early 2007.

Jonny Zero

2005