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Band of Brothers
Background:
A native of The Bronx, New York, now living in Los Angeles, actor Frank John
Hughes began his acting career in 1991 after attending Boston’s renowned Berklee
College of Music. Since then, he has acted in numerous motion pictures such
asMichael Bay’s Bad Boys (1995), Abel Ferrara’s The Funeral (1996), Robert
Celestino’s Mr. Vincent (1997) and Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can
(2002). In 2002, he won a New York International Independent Film & Video
Festival award for his performance in 2001’s film Anacardium. On the small
screen, Hughes is perhaps best known for playing Wild Bill in the highly praised
miniseries “Band of Brothers” (2001). He was regular characters on the NBC shows
“Players” (1997) and “Cover Me” (2000), and has guest starred in countless
television series, including “Law & Order,” “Without a Trace,” “The Guardian,”
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “LAX.”
Recently starring in the television film Three Strikes (2006), Hughes, who
frequently plays hit men and edgy guys, will portray Lt. Houlton on the
made-for-TV drama film Kings of South Beach (2007), starring Donnie Wahlberg.
Off camera, Hughes is a major jazz lover. He mentions Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash
and Tom Waits as his favorite music choices. He also studied jazz composition at
college. Originally from the Bronx, the 5-foot-8-inch actor currently lives in
Los Angeles with his wife and son. But, he has maintained his Bronx accent.
Jazz
Childhood and Family:
Frank John Hughes was born on November 11, 1967, in The Bronx, New York. He was
first interested in music, and went to college on a scholarship. He studied jazz
composition at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston before he was
bit by the acting bug. Frank also plays the drums.
Frank is married to Jelena and they have a son together, who was born in May
1988. The family currently reside in Los Angeles, where Frank is a member of the
Actor’s Studio.
Anacardium
Career:
Frank John Hughes originally studied to become a jazz musician, but made a
career shift to be an actor after he was bit by the acting bug. In 1991, he
kicked off his professional career by collaborating with writer/director Robert
Celestino for his film debut in True Convictions. He continued with roles in
such movies as Lonely in America (1991), Happy Hell Night (1992), Michael Bay’s
Bad Boys (1995, starred Martin Lawrence and Will Smith), Layin’ Low (1996) and
Abel Ferrara’s The Funeral (1996). He got his first starring role in a feature
in 1997 when Celestino had him play the title role in the black-and-white
independent film Mr. Vincent.
Meanwhile, on the small screen, Hughes made his acting debut with a one-episodic
role in “Law & Order” (1992), which was followed by guest appearances in
“Homicide: Life on the Street” (1995), “Swift Justice” (1996), “Viper” (1996),
“New York Undercover” (1997) and “Feds” (1997). Also in 1997, he landed his
first series regular role, playing Charles ‘Charlie’ O’Bannon in the Dick Wolf
series “Players,” opposite Ice T. and Costas Mandylor.
Hughes continued to star in the low budget movie Blink of an Eye (1999) and
support James Belushi and Sheryl Lee for David L. Corley’s Angel’s Dance (1999).
The same year, TV audience could find him making guest appearances in “Sliders”
and “JAG,” and in 2000, the actor headlined the NBC drama series “Cover Me,”
where he played Agent Brooks. It was in 2001 that Hughes was cast in the role of
SSgt. William ‘Wild Bill’ Guarnere in the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,”
which nabbed a Golden Globe and an American Film Institute for Best Miniseries.
The acclaimed show also starred Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston and Matthew Settle.
The Bronx native player picked up a 2002 Feature Film Best Actor Award at the
New York International Independent Film & Video Festival for his role as Rich in
the drama/thriller Anacardium (2001), written and directed by Scott Thomas. This
was followed by a high-profile gig in the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You
Can (2002), where he played the role of Tom Fox, opposite Leonardo Di Caprio and
Tom Hanks. A feature role in the television film Big Shot: Confessions of a
Campus Bookie, helmed by Ernest R. Dickerson, also come along that same year.
A veteran of numerous television appearances, Hughes next found himself playing
guest roles in series like “The Guardian” (2002, as Daniel Lafferty), “Boomtown”
(2003, as Officer Vincent Manzani), “Without a Trace” (2003, as Special Agent
Jason Farrell), “Monk” (2003), “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2004), and in the NBC
short-lived series starring Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood, “LAX” (2004),
he portrayed the four-episodic role of Henry Engels. In 2006, Hughes teamed up
with director David L. Cunningham and actors Harvey Keitel and Michael Benyaer
for the excellent Tv miniseries “The Path to 9/11.”
As of December 2006, Hughes has completed the made-for-TV-film Three Strikes
(2006), a comedy set in the world of minor league baseball where he stars as
Scronic. The actor is also set to play Lt. Houlton in the upcoming telefilm
Kings of South Beach (2007), starring Donnie Wahlberg. The drama is based on the
true story of a Miami Beach nightspot owner who takes a young employee under his
wing, while attempting to evade impoverishment and the mafia.
Awards:
