Vincent D'Onofrio

Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker who has played a wide range of supporting and leading roles across film and television, earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. His notable performances include Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence in Full Metal Jacket (1987), Robert E. Howard in The Whole Wide World (1996), Edgar the Bug in Men in Black (1997) and its animated series (1997–2001), serial killer Carl Stargher in The Cell (2000), Detective Robert Goren on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–11), and Victor "Vic" Hoskins in Jurassic World (2015). Since 2015, he has portrayed Wilson Fisk / Kingpin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the series Daredevil (2015–2018) and Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present).

D'Onofrio was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian-American parents with roots in Naples. His paternal grandfather was an upholsterer, and his maternal grandparents opened the first Italian restaurant in Hawaii. His father, Gennaro Joseph D'Onofrio, an interior decorator with a passion for amateur theater, met and married his mother, Phyllis Ann Minicola, while stationed in Hawaii with the U.S. Air Force. The youngest of three siblings and the only son, Vincent has two older sisters: Antoinette (born 1956) and Elizabeth (born 1957), an actress and drama coach in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

He spent his early years in Hawaii and Colorado. After his parents divorced, his mother married George Meyer, making Vincent a stepbrother to Guy and Connie. The family then moved to the Hialeah, Florida area. As a shy boy, D'Onofrio spent much time alone in his room and later developed an interest in magic and sleight of hand, learning from Cuban entertainers who ran a local magic shop.

During his teens, he worked backstage on set building and sound production at community theaters run by his father. He graduated from Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School.

After high school, D'Onofrio began acting on stage. While at the University of Colorado in Boulder for 18 months, he participated in small community-theater productions. He then studied method acting at the American Stanislavsky Theater and the Actors Studio under Sonia Moore and Sharon Chatten, landing his first paid role in the Off-Broadway production This Property Is Condemned. He appeared in several other Off-Broadway shows, including Of Mice and Men and Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and performed in many New York University student productions.

To support himself, he worked as a bouncer at the Hard Rock Cafe, a bodyguard for Robert Plant and Yul Brynner, and a deliveryman. In 1984, he made his Broadway debut as Nick Rizzoli in Open Admissions. The defining moment of his early career came in 1986 when he was cast as Pvt. Leonard Lawrence in Full Metal Jacket.

Encouraged by friend Matthew Modine, D'Onofrio sent audition tapes to director Stanley Kubrick in England, and after four tapes, he got the role. Kubrick changed the character from a "skinny ignorant redneck" to a big, clumsy recruit, so D'Onofrio gained 70 pounds, reaching 280 pounds. During an obstacle course scene, he injured his left knee, which required surgical reconstruction. Over nine months after filming, he lost nearly all the weight.

He then played Dawson in Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and appeared in Mystic Pizza (1988) as the fiancé of Lili Taylor's character, billed under his full name Vincent Philip D'Onofrio. In 1989, he played Young Gar in The Blood of Heroes, also billed under his full name. He continued with a variety of minor and supporting roles, including the father of a saint in Household Saints (1993), director Orson Welles in Ed Wood (1994), and farmer Edgar and the evil "Bug" that possesses him in Men in Black (1997).

In 1992, he appeared in Robert Altman's The Player as an aspiring screenwriter. In 1996, he portrayed pulp writer Robert E. Howard in The Whole Wide World, winning Best Actor at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Lone Star Film & Television Awards. In 1997, he moved to television, earning an Emmy nomination for his role as John Lange in the Homicide: Life on the Street episode "Subway." He turned down a role in The Sopranos and played leftist radical Abbie Hoffman in Steal This Movie! (2000). In 2001, he began his longest and most famous role as Detective Robert Goren on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.