Things You Might Not Know About Criminal Minds Star Joe Mantegna

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8. Musician

When he was younger and still living in Chicago, he played bass in a band called The Apocryphals, who later teamed up with another local group called The Missing Links to form the band Chicago. The band once opened up for Neil Diamond! He’s still very close friends with the original members of the band and keeps in touch with all his former bandmates.

Michael Germana/Everett Collection

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7. How He Got Into Acting

Mantegna said a career in acting always seemed far fetched growing up, but in an interview with Cigar Aficionado he describes an ‘ah ha’ moment when he realized acting was his dream. In high school, he signed up to audition for a production of West Side Story. “I knew nothing about theater. On a dare, me and this other guy went in to the auditions. […] So I was young and had this high tenor voice. And I sang the song and, out of the blackness of the empty auditorium, there came this applause. Maybe nobody had ever applauded for me before, but this thing just washed over me. It was like a lightening bolt hit me in the chest. At that moment, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he said.

©MGM/courtesy Everett Collection

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6. Long List of Acting Credits

Before he became a huge film and television star, Mantegna was known for his performances on stage. His career started with a role in the 1969 musical, Hair, and he later earned a Tony Award for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross. But not only is Mantegna a successful actor with over 200 acting credits to his name, he’s also extremely well known for his role behind the camera. He has 12 producer credits, three director credits and two writer credits. He’s directed three episodes of Criminal Minds, “Til Death Do Us Part,” “Anonymous,” and “The Road Home.”

A post shared by Joe Mantegna (@real_joemantegna) on Oct 30, 2015 at 12:17pm PDT

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5. Voice of a Cartoon Character

Joe Mantegna has been voicing the recurring character, Fat Tony, on The Simpsons for the past 25 years ever since the episode “Bart the Murderer” in 1991. “He’s my longest-running character! I’ve never done anything else for 20 years. When I was asked to do that role, I thought it was a one-shot deal. It seemed to resonate with the producers, and I was asked to come back — and then again. It got to the point where they felt that he was an important character for the series. I take that very seriously,” he said in an interview with Hollywood Reporter.

Gregorio Binuya/Everett Collection

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4. Family Life

Mantegna married his wife, Arlene Vrhel, on December 3, 1975. The couple have two daughters, Mia and Gia. His daughter Gia is also an actor and she’s appeared on numerous television shows and movies, including her father’s show, Criminal Minds! His oldest daughter, Mia, was diagnosed with autism when she was only 3-years-old.

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3. Birthday Mix-Up

The Godfather: Part III actor didn’t know the actual date of his birthday until he was 16! He thought it was November 10th, but found out it was actually November 13th when he had to get his birth certificate in order to get his driver’s license. Apparently, his mother changed the date of his birthday because the cutoff for starting school was on the 10th and she wanted to get back to work, so she told the school and Joe that his birthday was November 10th.

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2. Strong Advocate of Second Amendment

Joe Mantegna is a big believer in Americans Second Amendment rights and is a devout firearm enthusiast. He hosted the Outdoor Channel’s series MidwayUSA’s Gun Stories from 2011 to 2016 and has been extremely open about his support, despite what his peers in Hollywood might think. “If America is going to stay America, the First Amendment — freedom of speech — has to be supported, but so does the Second Amendment. There is a reason the Founding Fathers put it way up there at the top,” said Mantegna.

Cliff Lipson / ©CBS / Courtesy: Everett Collection

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1. Taste Chicago

The former Joan of Arcadia star is not only an successful actor and director, he’s also a restaurateur! Mantegna opened a Chicago-themed restaurant called Taste Chicago with his wife, Arlene, in 2004. It’s located in Burbank, California, and is a popular spot for people from Chicago who are looking for a familiar slice of home. Not to mention it’s a great place to go and hopefully catch a glance of Mantegna himself! “It was an idea my wife had over 10 years ago so what we tried to do was duplicate the kind of restaurants and the hangouts that we would go to when we were teenagers…At any given time you’ll catch me in there, hanging out when I have the time,” he said.

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Katherine G

Katherine is the Managing Editor for Health and Parenting, but she has a soft spot for entertainment. She loves binging shows on Netflix, reality TV is a guilty pleasure, and country music is her go-to playlist. When she's not writing, she's spending time outdoors, especially with her puppy Zoey!