For a performer, winning an Oscar can be both a blessing and a curse. The Academy Award sometimes can lead to bigger and better roles, or it can lead to a stagnation as the actor tries to live up to unrealistic expectations. When Marisa Tomei's name was called out as the recipient of the Best Supporting Actress statue at the 1993 Oscar telecast, some unkind people began unfounded and nasty rumors that she was given the award erroneously, particularly as her competition included such stalwart veterans as Judy Davis, Joan Plowright, Vanessa Redgrave and Miranda Richardson. What those wags failed to appreciate was Tomei's finely wrought comic performance as Mona Lisa Vito, a sassy auto-mechanic in love with a shady lawyer (Joe Pesci) in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992). The heavy New York accent she employed in the film was thanks in part to her upbringing in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. A petite, pert brunette, Tomei dropped out of college when she landed the regular role of teen Marcy Thompson on the long-running CBS daytime serial "As the World Turns" in 1983. While she was still appearing in that role, she saw her first feature film role in "The Flamingo Kid" (1984) unspool at cineplexes. She left daytime to hone her craft on stage and then headed to L.A. when she was cast as one of Lisa Bonet's roommates during the first season (1987-88) of the NBC spin-off sitcom "A Different World.”
Tomei returned to films in the 1990s, displaying her comic talents as Sylvester Stallone's overly spoiled daughter in the mob comedy "Oscar" (1991), although the movie proved less appealing to audiences. The actress was a dead ringer for silent star Mabel Normand in the Richard Attenborough-directed biopic "Chaplin" (1992), but her Oscar win didn't necessarily translate into great parts. A somewhat quirky screen presence, Tomei was terrific as the shy waitress romanced by Christian Slater in "Untamed Hearts" (1993) and managed miracles with the rather underdeveloped role of a star reporter's pregnant wife in "The Paper" (1994).
Her first real leading role in the gentle romantic comedy "Only You" (1994) attempted to showcase her charms, but her lack of chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. undermined the love story. Two of her best post-award roles were her turn as a the troubled, working-class single mother who learns lessons from her older neighbor (Gena Rowlands) in "Unhook the Stars" (1996) and as the wild cousin of an impressionable young girl (Natasha Lyonne) in "Slums of New York" (1998). Tomei made a rare return to the small screen in the AIDS-themed drama "My Own Country" (Showtime, 1998), co-starring with her real-life brother Adam. That same year, she starred alongside Quentin Tarantino in the Broadway revival of the thriller "Wait Until Dark.”
Tomei started the new millennium with a starring turn opposite Vincent D'Onofrio in the fantasy romance "Happy Accidents" (2000). Finally finding a meaty role that allowed her to display her versatility, the actress delivered a charming yet believable performance as a modern-day woman whose Mr. Right reveals a disconcerting secret—that he's a time-traveler from the future who has come back to save her life. The film premiered at Sundance and was snapped up for distribution, but the releasing company later had second thoughts and sold the distribution rights to another firm. By the time "Happy Accidents" had opened in 2001, Tomei had already been seen in relatively thankless supporting roles in the romantic comedies "What Women Want" (2000) and "Someone Like You" (2001). Tomei, though, proved her dramatic mettle in the 2001 Sundance entry "In the Bedroom.” As the older, married lover of a college student whose mother disapproves of the relationship, she glowed and delivered a delicate, layered performance. The film was among the year's best-reviewed and earned the actress her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, certainly a vindication to those who may have cruelly claimed she was awarded the first as a mistake.
In 2002, Tomei took on the role of a confused 30-something in the romantic comedy "Just a Kiss." She also had several other high profile film roles lined up including the comedies "The Guru" and "Anger Management' (both in 2003). In the remake "Alfie" (2004), she provided a welcome moral center as Julie, the honest, grounded mom who refuses to share her caddish paramour (Jude Law) with other women. In 2006, Tomei was seen in a string of independent films, including “Mary Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School,” an ensemble drama about a depressed man (Robert Carlyle) who attends a dance school where he rediscovers his joy for life through the connection he makes with a beautiful woman (Tomei) looking for her own inner peace. After appearing in flashback sequences as the mother of a neglected daughter (Kyra Sedgwick) looking for unqualified love in “Loverboy,” she played a gold-digging floozy whose love affair with a drunken mess of a writer (Matt Dillon) propels him back into serious depression in “Factotum.”
Also in 2006, Tomei began a recurring role in the audacious dramedy “Rescue Me” (FX, 2004- ), playing the ex-wife of Johnny Gavin (Dean Winters) who pretends to date Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) in order to help him get back at his brother for dating his ex-wife (Andrea Roth). Tomei then showed up as a diner owner in “Wild Hogs” (2007), a big, dumb and hugely successful comedy about four down-and-out men (John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) going through respective mid-life crises who embark on a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip in order to prove their manhood, only to run afoul of a biker gang leader (Ray Liotta) determined to teach them proper biker behavior. Despite scores of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre, almost obsessive need for the four leads to constantly prove their heterosexuality onscreen, “Wild Hogs” dominated the box office its opening weekend, taking in almost $40 million and making it the first bona fide hit of 2007.
