Palminteri visits The Harvey School

Written by The Harvey School
Thursday, 04 March 2010 01:00

Actor and writer Chazz Palminteri recently came to his son’s middle school class at The Harvey School in Katonah to speak about his own life and work.

Mr. Palminteri had been invited to speak to the class about A Bronx Tale, a film based on the actor’s childhood experiences growing up in the Bronx. Prior to his visit, the class watched the film, then studied and discussed its major themes.

The story begins with a shooting witnessed by the nine-year old boy, that leads to a bond between him and the gangster who committed the crime. The boy’s father, a bus driver, disapproves of the friendship. The boy grows up under the wings of both men, torn between his own natural honesty and his fascination with the gangster.

"When I lived in the Bronx, my father's message to me was, 'You need to do something with your life,'" Mr. Palminteri told the students. “When a kid I knew died of a drug overdose, my father was devastated because he knew how much talent the young boy had as a boxer. He wanted a better life for me; he told me 'The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.' That inspired me. He put that advice on an index card that I taped to a mirror and looked at it every day."

The students asked questions related to the movie itself, as well as the experience of being an actor.

How does he learn his lines?

“I record them, then listen to them in the morning while I’m getting dressed. I even make sure there are pauses, where the other actors would be saying their lines," Mr. Palminteri said.

How did he get the idea for the film? Mr. Palminteri said he wrote A Bronx Tale, which was produced by Robert DeNiro, from life.

”When I remembered that as a nine-year old I saw someone get out of a car and get shot, I wrote about that," he said. "If you want to be a writer, write! You’ve got to write what’s meaningful to you.”

But he also mixed in a little fatherly advice and cautioned the kids to avoid temptation.

“Stay away from drugs. They are 99 – 0…. They never lose. Some of the kids I grew up with either wound up in jail or they’re dead.”

After leaving the Bronx, Mr. Palminteri went on to study acting with Lee Strasberg. Eventually, he made his way to Hollywood, where he has performed in 50 films. In 1994, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Bullets Over Broadway. He also won the Independent Spirit for Best Supporting Actor. In 2006, he won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his role in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.

Bedford may be a long way from the Bronx, but Mr. Palminteri said that geography doesn’t determine values.

“Remember to make your parents proud of you,” he said. “They’ve sacrificed to give you what you have.”

After fielding more questions, he became a little wistful and advised his young audience to remember that they had time on their side.

“You’re young and you have your lives ahead of you. Make the most of the opportunities that come your way. Life is about choices and the choices you make will shape your life forever."