Trivia

In the 1970s he was investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney's office for alleged extortionate activity against the owners of several nightclubs. On Febuary 1970, he was arrested and subsequently indicted for extortion and menacing but plea-bargained to a charge of felony gun possession. Early in 1971 he was sentenced to a maximum of four years, of which he served 20 months. Since then, he has had no further trouble with the law.

In GoodFellas (1990), he played a mobster named Tony who reports to a boss named Paulie. In The Sopranos (1999), he plays a mobster named Paulie who reports to a boss named Tony.

Practices karate and kung fu.

With all of his success and fame, Sirico has taken time out of his busy work schedule to help others. He has helped to raise funds for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and HeartShare, which provides services and special programs to individuals and families in need in the New York area.

Sirico was convicted of several crimes and had been arrested 28 times, including for disorderly conduct, assault, and robbery, before taking up acting.

He spent a few years in the US Army.

An Italian-American. His surname Sirico originated in Campania in South Italy.

In 2004, Sirico and James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano, visited the Persian Gulf region as part of a USO-Armed Forces Entertainment tour. The co-stars signed autographs, posed for photographs, and spent time with the servicemen and women to show their support.

One brother, Robert Sirico, is a Catholic priest in the diocese of Kalamazoo, MI. Another older brother, Carmine Sirico, appeared very briefly as "Dealer" in The Happy Wanderer (2000).

In 1999, Sirico and Sopranos co-star Vincent Pastore met with James Clemenza and his brother Jerry, Colombo crime family soldiers, at a Christmas party in Little Italy, Manhattan. Clemenza was under FBI surveillance at the time.

Sirico, along with the rest of the cast of The Sopranos (1999), won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2000 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

A member of the United Service Organization (USO).

Has appeared in six films directed by Woody Allen: Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Deconstructing Harry (1997), Celebrity (1998) and Café Society (2016).

But he had been diagnosed with dementia some years before his death.

One of his first appearances was an uncredited role in The Godfather Part II (1974) as one of the Rosato Brothers gang members.

In 2008, Sirico released a cologne called Paolo Per Uomo.

Several of Sirico's co-stars on The Sopranos (1999) have remarked that there was often little difference between the actor and his character Paulie Walnuts. Robert Iler has stated that whenever he hears a fan wish that they could have met Sirico, he responds "You did".

He reunited with former Sopranos actors Federico Castelluccio and Vincent Pastore in Sarah Q (2018).

Has done Stacker 2 commercials with WWE wrestlers Peter Senerchia (Tazz), Trish Stratus, and Mark LoMonaco (Bubba Ray Dudley).

He was the son of Mary Francis (Cappelluzzo) and Gennaro Bartolomeo Sirico.

He appeared in the documentary The Big Bang (1989) by James Toback, in which he discussed his earlier life.

He got a part in Crazy Joe (1974) which led to him obtaining a Screen Actors Guild card.