The actor’s latest role comes in third season of ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ on Netflix.
Courtesy Of Netflix
After 30 years in the film and TV industry, John Pirruccello isn’t quite sure he’s “made it” in Hollywood yet. The San Antonio-born actor has an impressive résumé, including blockbusters like Godzilla vs. Kong and acclaimed TV series like Barry, but Pirruccello admits his definition of success has evolved for him over time.
“I think [making it] used to be measured by whether people knew who I was, but then it moved to having a pension and health care,” Pirruccello, 60, told MySA during a recent interview.
Pirruccello landed his role in the third season of The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix without having to audition, which many would consider a level of success all its own. The legal series stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (A Man Called Otto) as a criminal defense attorney, who works out of his SUV. In season 3, which is based on the novel The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly, Pirruccello plays a prosecutor named William Forsythe.
“For so long, I’ve been down in the trenches clawing for any kind of attention and saying, ‘Please hire me!’” Pirruccello said. “So, when your agent calls and tells you someone wants to hire you without an audition, it’s just surreal. It’s like, ‘OK, I guess we’re doing this!’”
Pirruccello was born at Fort Sam Houston in 1964. His father was stationed in San Antonio as an Air Force fighter pilot. Pirruccello was still a baby when his family left San Antonio, but he remembers returning to the area as a child.
“I have memories playing at a cousin’s house pretending to be a bull and running head first into a cactus,” he said. “I remember having to sit down as my mother patiently pulled out every little thorn from my head.”
Pirruccello said he visits San Antonio at least once every couple of years because his longtime girlfriend’s sister now calls it home. Although his time in San Antonio was short-lived, Pirruccello is “grateful” whenever he is claimed by the city.
“I do feel like a tourist when I visit, but I also feel like [San Antonio] is my town,” he said. “There’s two things going on there. I don’t really know my way around, but it’s my town.”
