Vincent D’Onofrio is headed to Epix.
The actor, who has been recurring on Netflix’s Marvel drama Daredevil, has booked a co-starring role on the premium cable network’s forthcoming series Godfather of Harlem.
Picked up straight to series in April, Godfather of Harlem tells the true story of crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned after 10 years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy takes on the Genovese crime family to regain control. During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X — catching his political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart. The project is described as a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
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D’Onofrio will take on the role of Vincent “Chin” Gigante, a former professional boxer, who is considered dimwitted and who works his way from enforcer/hitman to top boss of the Genovese crime family. He feigns a low IQ and even insanity to confound his rivals and avoid prosecution, but it’s all a cover for a razor-sharp criminal mind. Vincent is “new generation” Mafia, entirely comfortable with peddling drugs. Like his nemesis Bumpy Johnson, his Achilles’ heel is his troubled, rebellious young daughter.
Chris Brancato (Narcos) and Paul Eckstein will serve as writers and executive producers on the ABC Signature Studios project. Whitaker will also exec produce alongside his Significant Productions banner topper Nina Yang Bongiovi, James Acheson and Markuann Smith. Brancato will serve as showrunner.
D’Onofrio’s TV credits also include NBC’s Emerald City and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He is repped by UTA, Silver Lining Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson.
