"I prefer to express myself physically, or non-verbally. I prefer just to react without having a lot of dialogue."
Marisa Tomei (/məˈrɪsə toʊˈmeɪ/; Italian pronunciation: [maˈriːza toˈmɛi]; born December 4, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York) is a very prolific American actress of Italian descent.
In 2019, the documentary show Finding Your Roots discovered that she and fellow actress Julianne Moore are cousins.
Filmography
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Film
- The Flamingo Kid (1984) as Mandy
- The Toxic Avenger (1984) as Health Club Girl
- Oscar (1991) as Lisa Provolone
- My Cousin Vinny (1992) as Mona Lisa Vito (her Star-Making Role, which earned her a surprise Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress)
- Untamed Heart (1993) as Caroline
- Chaplin (1993) as Mabel Normand
- Only You (1994) as Faith Corvatch
- The Paper (1994) as Martha Hackett
- The Perez Family (1995) as Dorita Evita Perez
- Four Rooms (1995) as Margaret
- Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) as Nina
- Only Love (1998) as Evie Webster Josephson (TV Movie)
- Happy Accidents (2000) as Ruby Weaver
- The Watcher (2000) as Dr. Polly Beilman
- What Women Want (2000) as Lola
- In the Bedroom (2001) as Natalie Strout
- The Guru (2002) as Lexi
- The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) as Bree Blackburn
- Anger Management (2003) as Linda
- Alfie (2004) as Julie
- Loverboy (2005) as Sybil Stoll
- Wild Hogs (2007) as Maggie
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) as Gina Hanson
- War, Inc. (2008) as Natalie Hegalhuzen
- The Wrestler (2008) as Cassidy/Pam
- Cyrus (2010) as Molly Fawcett
- The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) as Maggie McPherson
- Salvation Boulevard (2011) as Honey Foster
- Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) as Kate Tafferty
- The Ides of March (2011) as Ida Horowicz
- The Rewrite (2014) as Holly Carpenter
- Trainwreck (2015) as The Dog Owner
- Love the Coopers (2015) as Emma
- The Big Short (2015) as Cynthia Baum
- Marvel Cinematic Universe as May Parker
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
- The First Purge (2018) as Dr. May Updale
- The King of Staten Island (2020) as Margie Carlin
Television
- As the World Turns (1984-85) as Marcy Thompson (12 episodes)
- A Different World (1987-88) as Maggie Lauten (22 episodes)
- Saturday Night Live (1994) as Herself (episode: "Marisa Tomei/Bonnie Raitt")
- Seinfeld (1996) as Herself (episode: "The Cadillac")
- Franklin (1999) as Dynaroo (episode: "Franklin Plants a Tree/Franklin the Hero")
- The Simpsons (2003) as Sara Sloane (episode: "A Star is Born Again")
- Rescue Me (2006) as Angie Gavin (4 episodes)
- Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012) as Herself (episode: "Ed Helms Wears a Grey Shirt & Brown Boots")
- Empire (2015) as Mimi Whiteman (5 episodes)
- The Handmaid's Tale (2018) as Mrs. O'Conner (episode: "Unwomen")
Theatre
- Wait Until Dark (1998) as Susy Hendrix
- Salome (2003) as Salome
- The Rose Tattoo (2016, 2019) as Serafina Delle Rose
Tropes related to Marisa Tomei include:
- As Herself: In Seinfeld, with the gag being that George has long had a crush on her and actually gets in a position to act on it...except he's "sort of" engaged.
- Chewing the Scenery: She loves being theatrical at her films. There are times where she engages another Large Ham character in a Ham-to-Ham Combat. (both can be seen in the famous "My biological clock"
scene that probably helped her get an Oscar). - Cute, but Cacophonic: Majority of her characters are cute, but really, really... feisty.
- Dark Horse Victory: Her winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar is one of the greatest upsets in Academy Awards history. It wasn't just how rare a purely comic role wins the statue, but also that Tomei was up against four more established actresses in Joan Plowright (for Enchanted April), Vanessa Redgrave (Howards End), Judy Davis (Husbands and Wives), and Miranda Richardson (Damage). One implausible rumor spread that Redgrave was the rightful winner but that presenter Jack Palance refused to give her the award due to her left-wing politics. Another was that the award cards were mixed up and Palance took the wrong one. These allegations were put to rest after the La La Land/Moonlight Best Picture mix-up at the 2017 Academy Awards, which showed officials immediately intervening to set things straight.
- Did Not Get The Guy: Her characters tend to not end up with her Love Interest. Circumstances vary.
- Genki Girl: Many of her characters are rather bubbly and energetic, sometimes overlapping with Large Ham.
- The Lancer: Her earlier roles tend to be the Deuteragonist or/and the second fiddle.
- Ms. Fanservice: Another common character type she frequently plays.
- Romantic Comedy: Half of her films, though most tend to be a Deconstructive Parody of the genre.
