How Reacher's Gaitano Russo brings Domenick Lombardozzi's career full circle
From Herc on "The Wire" to an older, wiser, and just as tough cop on Prime.
An actor could pick up the script and read a better introductory scene than having the hero hit your car so hard that it sets off the air bags for a double whammy to the nose. That’s how Domenick Lombardozzi’s tough guy cop Gaitano “Guy” Russo is brought into the world of Amazon Prime’s Reacher, a kickass new television show that’s enjoying another entertaining season. But you won’t catch the Bronx-born actor complaining. While title star Alan Ritchson is a big (literally) reason for the show’s success, it’s the supporting cast that provides ample backup when Lee Child’s Hulk isn’t smashing things.
Lombardozzi, a veteran presence on screens both large and small over a career that spans all the way back to 1993 in Robert De Niro’s A Bronx Tale, is the latest example of signature casting from show creator Nick Santora. A role that starts small and becomes more pivotal with each episode, Lombardozzi’s Guy has clashed with Reacher all season over the proper methods to take on bad guys. I’m talking about a real 80s-90s cop that has to work with the hero type work, where it’s not about the oppression to an individual method, but more about who can chirp and roast the other better.
The two actors run the gauntlet of great back-and-forth one liners, but one would give the scene at the funeral in episode 5 of the second season to the baldy with a badge. With Reacher’s old team of military partners mourning the loss of one of their own, Russo shows up to pay his respects to the widow and her son. Reacher, sensing that the cop could be dirty and attempting to manipulate the spouse, walks over and picks a fight. After a few opening barbs, Reacher asks Russo how he was attacked last night in a spot only the cop knew about, and the response is perfect.
“Because you’re an asshole.”
Lombardozzi drops the line with the precision of a pro, a man who knows he is outgunned when it comes to pounds but stands about even in the willpower department. An earlier moment with the widow’s son brought out the acting chops that the actor’s displayed since his breakthrough role on David Simon’s HBO masterclass, The Wire.
Kneeling down in front of a casket holding the boy’s father, Russo offers a mea culpa for the pain with an action figure, going on about how he grew up with Aquaman as his favorite toy. In a funny bit of life imitating art, it was HBO’s Entourage that saw Lombardozzi play the childhood friend of movie star Vincent Chase, who went on to play Aquaman in the comedy series. On Reacher this past week, the tone was more serious.
Russo gives the boy a Saint Jerome biblical card, the patron saint for kids who lost their mothers and fathers. With only a few bits of dialogue, the actor captures the lose/lose sincerity of a cop who lost his dad and is trying to provide a much younger soul with a playbook on how to continue on. It’s an easy scene to like, but the back and forth with Reacher is where it hits another level.
Accused of being “bent,” Russo goes on the offensive, filling Reacher in about his own father, who was a good cop that wouldn’t go on the take and lost his life. He connects that trauma to the young kid whom he just gave a toy and some trustworthy advice, which turns Jack’s head. An ensuing shootout and escape together out of the cemetery may have brought the two at-odds-crime fighters closer together, but it brought Guy much closer to the audience.
That’s Lombardozzi’s specialty, carving authentic characters out of any amount of screen time given. It could be as a firefighter in Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island or a revered real-life gangster in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, the conviction lands every time. The Season 2 previews made it look like the car-bashing airbag stomp would be the one and done of his stint on the show, but it was only a rough beginning to a possibly long friendship. With Russo not being a character in Bad Luck and Trouble, the Child novel that this current season is based on, he could return in future seasons as a law enforcement aide.
At the very least, he could be comic relief. As the two of them are chasing down a hitman and feuding over Russo’s driving skills, Lombardozzi drops another gem in frustration.
“Would you climb out of my ass?!”
Please, Dom, don’t ever climb out of entertainment’s ass. You’re a testament to hard work, layered talent, and having the ability to connect with an audience--even one that isn’t sitting down thinking they’re going to be amazed by you. The cemetery scene could have been just another cute moment by a guest actor, but Lombardozzi crushed it, making the whole thing land harder.
Bonus points for being a friendly and candid presence on X, formerly known as Twitter, or a half-decent social media platform. It’s guys like Lombardozzi who add some personality and compassion to the site. Also, he cooks a humongous amount of red sauce every year and built his son a treehouse.
In usual Hollywood winking fashion, Gaitano Russo represents a nice full circle moment for Lombardozzi. Carrying himself like an older yet wiser “Herc” from Simon’s mean Baltimore streets, Guy reminds you of all of the actor’s gifted traits and introduces you to a couple new ones. If Herc was a good yet still corruptible mind, Russo is past that and fighting on the right side of things. The actor gets more comfortable and better with age. He’s only 47, so watch out!
It’s easy to root for guys like Domenick. Work hard, keep your head down, and give the hero a hard time. It’s one thing to tell Ritchson he could kick his ass, but Lombardozzi makes you believe it. That’s what good actors do.
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