Chicago-native Joe Mantegna has been in show business for over 50 years. He made his acting debut in the 1969 Chicago production of the stage musical “Hair” and focused mainly on theater in his early years – even winning a Tony award for Best Featured Actor in Pulitzer-Prize winning play “Glengarry Glen Ross.” According to Mantegna, a lot of opportunities opened for him following his win, which included film and television.

Since expanding beyond the stage to the screen in 1985, he has appeared in myriad box office hits over the decades like “The Godfather Part III” (1990) and “Forget Paris” (1996). “This door [to film] opened but that didn’t close the door on theater,” he said, emphasizing that he still does both and admires the different media equally. “I’ve just constantly been taking the path that has been opened to me and enjoying all of it.”