Michael James Imperioli is U.S based actor, writer, director, and author. He became a household name after portraying Christopher Moltisanti in ‘The Sopranos’. The Emmy Award winner has built an extensive acting resume over the last two decades. He played a prominent role in the popular drama Law & Order, Life on Mars, Mad Dogs and Detroit 1-8-7.
Michael Imperioli has an estimated net worth of $25 million. Keep reading to discover more details about his Net worth, Wife, TV Shows/Movies, and personal life.
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Net worth
In April 2020, the reported net worth of Michael Imperioli is approximately $25 million. He is associated with the acting business for more than two decades now and accumulated his wealth mainly through his acting career. He has appeared in fewer movies but has been constantly doing television without taking gaps. He has been a part of various popular dramas and mostly played leading and supporting roles which have been a great factor behind his net worth.
In 2003, his estimated salary from ‘The Sopranos’ was $80,000. As per sources, during Sopranos’ earlier seasons he earned between $200,000 to $500,000 per episode which further increased by the final season.
In 2012, he sold his Tribeca townhouse worth $5,900,000.
Apart from acting, he makes money by sporadically hosting TV shows and concerts. In 2018, he started an additional source of income by publishing two books, ‘Wild Side’ and ‘The Perfume Burned His Eyes’.
Wife
Moving towards his personal life, Imperioli is married to Victoria Chlebowski. The couple started dating in1994 and took their wedding vows in 1995. They are currently residing in Santa Barbara, California.
Their bond has been blessed with two sons, Vadim Imperioli and David Imperioli. He has a step-daughter Isabelle from his wife’s first marriage. His son Vadim is an ambitious actor and comedian.
Personal Life
Michael Chlebowski was born on March 26, 1966, in Mount Vernon, New York, United States. His father Dan Imperioli was a bus driver and amateur actor, and her mother Claire Imperioli was also an amateur actress. He has a brother John Imperioli. His family descent from Italian ancestors from Lazio and Sicily. Imperioli regularly practices Tae Kwon Do.
Imperioli has attended Brewster High School. He then graduated from Heart High School, Yonkers, New York. He then joined Acting classes at New York City’s Stella Adler Conservatory.
Movies
In 1989, he debuted with the small role in ‘Alex’, followed by ‘Lean on Me’. In 1990, he briefly appeared in the crime film ‘Goodfellas’ and Jacob’s Ladder. In 1991, he got two back to back roles in ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Fathers & Sons’. He made an appearance in ‘Malcolm X’ (1992).
He continued appearing in minor roles to gain more acting experience. In 1993, he co-starred with Lili Taylor in ‘Household Saints’. The same year he was seen in ‘Joey Breaker’, ‘Scenes from the New World’, ‘Touch Base’ and ‘Hand Gun’.
He then appeared in ‘Amateur’ and ‘Postcards from America’ in 1994.
In 1995, Imperioli appeared in a series of distinguished films, like ‘Clockers’ and ‘Bad Boys’ in which he played the same name character ‘JoJo’. He was also cast in ‘The Addiction’, ‘The Basket Ball Diaries’, ‘Flirt’ and ‘Dead President’.
In 1995, he played his first lead role in the short film ‘Sweet Nothing’ as Angelo opposite Mira Sorvino.
He kept on taking many other roles while by 1996 he mostly appeared in small roles in movies like ‘Girl 6’, ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’, ‘Trees Lounge’, ‘The Last Man Standing’ and ‘River Made to Down’
In 1999, he co-wrote and executive-produced crime thriller ‘Summer of Sam’. The film mostly received positive reviews from critics.
He did several other movies during the 2000s including ‘Love in the Time of Money’ (2002), ‘High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story’ (2003), ‘My Baby’s Daddy’ and ‘Love Birds’ (2004).
In 2004, he played a voice role in ‘Shark Tale’ as Frankie.
In the year 2009, he marked his directorial debut by writing and directing the Film ‘Hungry Ghosts’. He did not appear in the film. The film was nominated for Tiger Award.
He then appeared in ‘Lovely Bones’ (2009), ‘Love & District’ (2010), Stuck between Stations (2011), ‘The Call’ (2013), Old Boy (2013), ‘The Scribbler’ (2014).
He was featured as Michael Todd in the Mexican biographical comedy film ‘Cantinflas’. In 2015, he played Alphonse in ‘Wannabe’
In 2019, he played prominent roles in and ‘The Last Full Measure’ and ‘Primal’.
Goodfellas
In 1990, Imperioli played Michael Spider Gianco in the gangster classic film ‘Goodfellas’ directed by Martin Scorsese. The film was adapted from the book ‘Wiseguy’ (1985) by Nicholas Pileggi (you can get the 25th anniversary version of Wiseguy on Amazon).
The film spins around the life of mob associate Henry Hill. Imperioli depicted the character of Spider, a bartender, who was murdered by DeSimone. After they argued over a drink, DeSimone was angry with Spider and shot him three times in the chest with a handgun.
Television Shows
In 1994, Imperioli Played her first Tv role in ‘NYPD Blue’ as Duane Rollins. He appeared as a guest actor in ‘New York Undercover’ (1997). He did two television movies ‘Firehouse’ (1997) and ‘Witness to the Mob’ (1998).
In 2013, Imperioli made a guest appearance in the mockumentary sitcom The Office. The series depicts the life of office employees. Imperioli appeared as Sensei Billy, Karate expert in the Episode “Livin’ the Dream’. The episode received positive reviews.
The Sopranos
His life-changing break happened when he was offered the role of Cristopher Moltisanti in HBO’s crime drama ‘The Sopranos’ (1997). He played the distant cousin of series protagonist Tony Soprano. Imperioli was selected out of several actors because of his performance in Goodfellas. He received acclaim for the multi-layered portrayal of character making it a highlight of the series.
He won Primetime Emmy Award for Supporting Actor in Drama Series in 2004 and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in 2000 and 2008. The series ran for six seasons and Imperioli remained a series constant throughout its run. He has also written numerous episodes of ‘The Sopranos’.
Sopranos paved his way as one of the most desirable supporting actors. During Sopranos run he appeared in ‘Disappearing Acts’ (2002), ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’ (2004).
Soon after he hit some major roles. In 2005, he appeared in the five episodes of ‘Law and Order’. In 2008, he played detective Ray in the 17 episodes of ‘Life on Mars’. In 2010, he appeared in 18 episodes of ‘Detroit 1-8-7’. In 2013 he appeared in 11 episodes of Californication.
In 2014, he participated in the reality-based cooking show ‘Chopped’. In 2015, he was featured in ‘Mad Dogs’. He was also seen briefly in ‘Hawaii Five-0’. He was also guest-starred in Lucifer and Blue Bloods. In 2017, he played Eddie in ‘Alex, Inc’. In 2020, he appeared in “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector”.
Books by Michael Imperioli
Michael is also an accomplished author and has written a fiction book about a young boy living in Queens who falls for an older woman. See the amazon link here:
See other co-stars of Imperioli
Find out the net worth of co-stars of Imperioli:
- Lorraine Bracco, co-star from The Sopranos
- Dominic Chianese, co-star from The Sopranos
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler, co-star from The Sopranos
- Aida Turturro, co-star from The Sopranos
- Drea De Matteo, co-star from The Sopranos
- Edie Falco, co-star from Sopranos
- Tony Sirico, co-star from Sopranos
- Ted McGinley, co-star from Hope & Faith
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