Farina City

Local Actor Makes His Mark, Steps Out of Father’s Long Shadow

Joe Farina doesn’t strongly resemble his dad -- the late actor Dennis Farina -- but he shares a similar everyman quality. He comes across as gracious yet street smart, and he also has an accent that’s as authentic as Vienna Beef. Growing up in Jefferson Park the son of a detective will do that to a person.

Dennis Farina was that most Chicago of Chicago actors. Eighteen years in the Chicago Police Department gave him the gravitas to play mobsters, cops, and soldiers.He was equally skilled at comedy or drama.

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“I was only 7 when he started acting,” Joe Farina told us, “And I was 13 in 1986 when he did 'Crime Story' [a TV series produced by Michael Mann] and I realized he had made it.”

“We were very close,” says the youngest son of the actor, who was perhaps best known for movie roles in "Get Shorty," "Saving Private Ryan," and TV’s "Law & Order."

“We had a special bond. I’d visit sets and rehearsals and got to watch him evolve as an actor. But he was my dad first. The bigger he got, he never lost sight of where he came from. It kept him humble and balanced.”

Ten years ago, Joe Farina committed himself to acting. He’s done improv and now stars in the independent short film "Strapped." The story of a corrupt cop whose past comes back to haunt him, "Strapped" was made in Chicago with a local cast and crew. Farina says, “The response to the film has been amazing.”

"Strapped" can be seen on Youtube and is currently being shopped around to film festivals. Farina kept his day job as a college rep, but he hasn’t given up the acting bug. He’ll next appear in the thriller "Paranormal Island" playing another role his father could’ve given him some pointers on: a police officer.

Unfortunately, father and son never got the chance to work together. Dennis Farina died suddenly in July 2013 at the age of 69. His son says he was “always supportive, always encouraging. We talked about how awesome it would be to work together. It would’ve been great, would’ve been dynamite, but it never came to fruition.”

Joe Farina adds: “Now what’s important is that I make my own mark.”

Casting directors looking for a genuine Chicagoan should accept no counterfeits.

 

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