Introduction
If you’ve ever wondered about Joe Pesci’s height, you aren’t alone. This actor is famous for his tough-guy approach in films and he’s appeared alongside many other well-known stars, but is he a tall guy, a short guy, or somewhere in between?
Joe Pesci is about 5 foot 4 inches (1.63 meters) or even 5 foot 3 inches (1.60 meters), and that means he’s actually quite a short guy. Many people are surprised to learn this, but no matter how imposing he appears on the screen, he’s pretty short. If you line him up with his co-stars, you might be able to see this even when the camera angles are framed with care.
There’s a lot of curiosity surrounding his height, as well as other things about his career, so let’s find out a bit about him!
How Tall Is Joe Pesci?
Joe Pesci doesn’t offer any official figures about his height, which has led to a lot of curiosity and speculation – and it means that there isn’t a standard answer to this question. Back in 1992, he did state that he was around 5 foot 5 inches (1.65 meters), but this is often thought to be an exaggeration. Most sources estimate that he’s somewhere around 5 foot 4 inches or 5 foot 3 inches, which is really pretty short.
To put that into context, the average American man is 5 foot 8 inches (1.73 meters), and the average American actor is 5 foot 10 inches (1.78 meters). That means that Joe Pesci is short for an ordinary person, but especially short in his chosen profession. He’s over half a foot shorter than the average for male American actors!
However, that hasn’t stopped him from being a dominating presence on the screen. He’s known for his big parts in many famous movies, and he often plays pretty intimidating characters. His performance as Tommy DeVito, a psychotic gangster, is a good demonstration of his versatility as an actor, and shows that height isn’t really that important when you’re on the screen.
That said, many short actors have struggled to get work, because it’s more challenging to put them alongside tall actors without creating framing difficulties. His popularity is therefore a testament to his skill as an actor!
How Old Is Joe Pesci?
Currently 80 years old, Joe Pesci was born in 1943, and is still acting today. That’s impressive, considering he started his career back in 1961, when he would only have been a teenager. Indeed, he was even in shows before this; he appeared on a stage in New York before he was five years old, and regularly acted in “Startime Kids” on TV by the time he was 10.
Few people have shown such a long-term commitment to acting! His first adult role was as an uncredited dancer in a film called Hey, Let’s Twist, although he didn’t get a proper film role until he appeared in Death Collector in 1976.
Fortunately, he was then picked up by Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro in 1979, and he appeared in Raging Bull. He won a BAFTA, and went on to appear in quite a few films not long after.
What Is Joe Pesci Most Famous For?
Joe Pesci has appeared in quite a few movies that he’s famous for, so there’s no single “top film” for this actor. You may have seen him in things like Goodfellas and Casino, as well as The Irishman, Home Alone, and Easy Money.
The actor is known for taking tough guy roles, usually the cold-hearted mobsters that drive the film’s plot and everybody loves to hate. That’s not the sort of role you’d naturally expect someone of small stature to take too well, but Joe Pesci manages to be imposing without needing the height for it! It’s quite likely that a lot of his fans don’t even realize he’s fairly short.
Interestingly, he is reported to have turned down his role in The Irishman 50 times before agreeing to it, because he was tired of playing the same sort of character. However, he was persuaded to take the part by Scorsese, and his performance was critically acclaimed, earning him a nomination for the Academy Award For Best Supporting Actor.
Joe Pesci is also a talented musician and has released several albums, including one called Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just For You, in a nod to his character in the film My Cousin Vinny (released in 1992). It’s clear that he has a lot more to offer the world than playing a stone-cold mobster, but there’s no question that he does it extremely well!
How Much Does Joe Pesci Weigh?
Estimates vary, but most sources state that he’s somewhere around 127 lb (58 kg). That would be about the average weight for a man of his height, and seems fairly likely to be accurate.
However, his weight has fluctuated throughout his career; like many actors, he has gained and lost weight as necessary for roles. In 2011, he sued Fiore Films for not casting him in a promised role for which he claimed he had gained 30 lb (14 kg). Whether he actually did gain this much is up for debate, but it indicates that he’s dedicated enough to his roles to “look the part” as much as possible.
He has sometimes talked about his exercise routine publicly, and it seems likely that he is in good shape. However, he’s never mentioned what his weight is, and the estimates available are generally considered guesswork based on his physique, rather than hard facts provided by the actor or those close to him.
Conclusion
As you can see, Joe Pesci might not be the tallest actor, but he’s larger than life when it comes to appearing on the screen. He has had many big roles, breathed fear into the hearts of characters and viewers alike, and generally had a very successful career. Now in his 80s, he has semi-retired, but hasn’t announced full retirement yet, so we may still see him appearing for a while!
