The actor’s latest role comes in third season of ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ on Netflix.
Courtesy Of Netflix
After 30 years in the film and TV industry, John Pirruccello isn’t quite sure he’s “made it” in Hollywood yet. The San Antonio-born actor has an impressive résumé, including blockbusters like Godzilla vs. Kong and acclaimed TV series like Barry, but Pirruccello admits his definition of success has evolved for him over time.
“I think [making it] used to be measured by whether people knew who I was, but then it moved to having a pension and health care,” Pirruccello, 60, told MySA during a recent interview.
Courtesy Of Netflix
Pirruccello landed his role in the third season of The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix without having to audition, which many would consider a level of success all its own. The legal series stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (A Man Called Otto) as a criminal defense attorney, who works out of his SUV. In season 3, which is based on the novel The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly, Pirruccello plays a prosecutor named William Forsythe.
“For so long, I’ve been down in the trenches clawing for any kind of attention and saying, ‘Please hire me!’” Pirruccello said. “So, when your agent calls and tells you someone wants to hire you without an audition, it’s just surreal. It’s like, ‘OK, I guess we’re doing this!’”
Pirruccello was born at Fort Sam Houston in 1964. His father was stationed in San Antonio as an Air Force fighter pilot. Pirruccello was still a baby when his family left San Antonio, but he remembers returning to the area as a child.
“I have memories playing at a cousin’s house pretending to be a bull and running head first into a cactus,” he said. “I remember having to sit down as my mother patiently pulled out every little thorn from my head.”
Pirruccello said he visits San Antonio at least once every couple of years because his longtime girlfriend’s sister now calls it home. Although his time in San Antonio was short-lived, Pirruccello is “grateful” whenever he is claimed by the city.
“I do feel like a tourist when I visit, but I also feel like [San Antonio] is my town,” he said. “There’s two things going on there. I don’t really know my way around, but it’s my town.”
Today, Pirruccello lives in Santa Monica, California, where he’s built a solid career. He was discovered by director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Mamet (The Verdict) while starring in the Horton Foote play Harrison, Texas. That led to Mamet casting him in the 2013 HBO film Phil Spector alongside Oscar winners Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman).
Courtesy Of Netflix
“Doing Phil Spector was a big leap for me,” Pirruccello said. “I remember the HBO executives were like, ‘You want to hire who?!’ The casting director sent them a reel of stuff I had done, and I guess I convinced them.”
Some other well-known talent Pirruccello has worked with include acclaimed filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola (Jack), Ron Howard (EDtv) and David Lynch (Twin Peaks) and actors like Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), JD Pardo (Mayans M.C.) and Bill Hader (Barry). Pirruccello is also technically part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since he starred in one episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Maybe on an alternative timeline somewhere in the future, it’s Pirruccello who gets exposed to high levels of gamma rays.
“[The MCU] is not the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning,” Pirruccello said laughing. “What really fires me up now is working with good people and having good material. Whether I’m making $100, or I’m on the set of a $300-million movie, my job is always the same. For me, it’s really all about the work.”
The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
