Joe Pingue

Joe Pingue is a Canadian actor and film maker. Giuseppe "Joe" Pingue (piŋ-eɪ/ ping-way) was born in Niagara Falls, Canada and is the youngest of five children. Both of his parents are Italian immigrants from the region of Abruzzo. His mother landed at Ellis Island and his father in Halifax in the late 1950's. Pingue began doing plays and musicals during his high school years at Ridley College in Ontario, Canada. In 1995 he completed training at the three-year acting conservatory at York University in Toronto and began working as an actor in independent theatre, film and television and TV commercials. In 1997 he played the Role of Barry in the New Yorker production of "Ladies Night" a play which was based on the film "The Full Monty". In 2006 he portrayed the role of Leo in the film with the same name and was Nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award and ACTRA Award for this performance. In 2007 he produced and wrote the short film "The Answer Key" which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award (Best Live Action Short) and an ACTRA a nomination for his portrayal of Joseph Strobe. From 2006 - 2008 he was a series-regular on the Original Showcase comedy Rent-A-Goalie, playing the part of Joey Almost, a character that ended every sentence with the word almost. In 2008 Joe was a series regular on the short-live FX comedy "Testees," playing the role of Nugget. In 2008 he was awarded Canada and Ontario arts council grants to produce and direct the Short Film "Chili & Cheese: A condimental Rift" which went on to win awards in North American and European film festivals. Some recent feature film credits Antiviral,The Boondock Saints, Pushing Tin, Repo Men, Blindness,The Book of Eli, Maps to The Stars, Pompeii, and Pacific Rim. His television work includes appearances on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Wild Card, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, and Across the River to Motor City. He also is the Voice of Tamago on the animated series The Very Good Adventures Of Yam Roll In Happy Kingdom and the voice of Entree in the cartoon Spliced! He was nominated for an ACTRA award for outstanding male performance in 2006. He was nominated for the 2006 ACTRA Awards (outstanding performance) for his role in the film Leo, and the 2008 Actra Awards (outstanding performance) for his role in The Answer Key.