If you don't know who John Ortiz is yet, you probably will soon enough. He's had roles in Miami Vice, El Cantante, and American Gangster, and he's also got a handful of movies on the way, from Pride and Glory to Two Lovers. Now MTV is giving him huge praise -- they have just listed him as the man who will become the next great supporting star -- following in the footsteps of Paul Giamatti, Chris Cooper, and John C. Reilly. The site recently talked with the actor, and found out that he has nabbed himself a role in the retro gangster flick Public Enemies.When production gears up in March, Ortiz will play Sicilian gangster Frank 'The Enforcer' Nitti -- a man who rose from small-time thief, to one of Al Capone's right-hand men, to the frontman for Scarface's gang when Al was sent away for income tax evasion. But these are big shoes for the actor to fill even behind the camera. In the past, Nitti has been played by Bruce Gordon, Sylvester Stallone, Stanley Tucci, and the creepy Billy Drago.
But if you want more action and machismo, and less drama, he's also gearing up for the next installment of The Fast and the Furious.
1. I have to say I went to Columbus Wisconsin to see the filming and saw Johnny Depp a quite a few times and the old cars they are using and the way they set up the downtown area to film a big motion picture here in my back yard per se, it was just an awesome experience.
I am following to the other cities as I can in Wisconsin when they film as well, I have many pictures of that day and will never forget it.
Posted at 4:10PM on Mar 24th 2008 by Lee ann Heiden