Paul Ben-Victor (born July 24, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Greek mobster Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

drama series ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'', Alan Gray in ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'' (2005–2008), and Ray in '' Body Parts'' (1991).

Early life

Ben-Victor was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, the son of Leah Kornfeld, a playwright, and Victor Friedman. He attended

Midwood High School , motto_translation = The True, the Good, and the Beautiful , address = 2839 Bedford Avenue , city = Brooklyn , state = New York , zipcode = 11210 , country ...

, graduating in 1986.

Career

Ben-Victor debuted on the small screen in 1987 in the television film ''Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife'' and on an episode of ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very dif ...

''. He was cast in important roles on HBO dramas ''

'' (as mobster Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos) and ''

'', as well as making a 2006 appearance as Coach Lou on ''

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''. He portrayed

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

in the 2000 television film ''

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''. Ben-Victor has been featured on many television cop dramas like ''

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

'', ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

'' and '' CSI'', and also had a recurring role as two-bit con man Steve Richards on three episodes of ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' from 1994 to 1997. He also appeared as Steve Richards on a 1998 episode of the short-lived police drama ''

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''. Ben-Victor had a starring role in the

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television show ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...

'', alongside

Vincent Ventresca Vincent Paul Gerard Ventresca (born April 29, 1966) is an American actor, perhaps best known for portraying Darien Fawkes on Sci-Fi's ''The Invisible Man'', and Professor Jack Reed on NBC's ''Boston Common''. Ventresca is also known for his guest ...

. The two later guest starred together on the hit TV show ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

''. They were reunited again on an episode of the new

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series ''

In Plain Sight ''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office ...

'' ("Hoosier Daddy"), on which Ben-Victor has a supporting role. Paul has roles in the movie ''

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (subtitled onscreen as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese and written by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 nonfiction book '' I Heard You Paint Hou ...

'', ''

The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by ''The Financial Times'' Ltd. and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding Editor, Brend ...

'' and the upcoming ''

Last Looks ''Last Looks'' is a 2022 American-British mystery film, directed by Tim Kirkby, from a screenplay by Howard Michael Gould based on his novel of the same name. It stars Charlie Hunnam, Mel Gibson, Morena Baccarin, Lucy Fry, Rupert Friend, Dominic ...

''. He has co-written stage plays with his mother, including ''Club Soda'' and ''The Good Steno''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Victor, Paul 1965 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Jewish American male actors Male actors from New York City People from Brooklyn Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Midwood High School alumni