James Ciccone was born in Brooklyn, NY as the tenth child to local shop owners Anthony Ciccone and Theresa (Merritt) Ciccone. He is of Italian and Irish descent. When he was 2 years old his father died. His mother, who never remarried, and 9 siblings were his primary influences. James was surrounded by talent at a young age; his brother Anthony a talented artist and sister Patricia a musician. In addition, his mother’s sister was married to the brother of legendary composer and academy award winner Elliot Goldenthal, who he studied music with during his formative years. Early on in elementary school James showed an interest in the performing arts and participated in several school-plays. At age 11 he began playing trumpet when a local Public School teacher named Norman Spizz developed a music program at PS 153, Brooklyn. Although the program only lasted one year James continued playing trumpet and developed a close relationship with Goldenthal who gave him private lessons and mentored him for the next 5 years. During this time he became exposed to a rich diversity of music that included classical, Jazz and Goldenthal’s original compositions. In 1975 and 1976 he won multiple summer scholarships to the Usdan Center for the Performing Arts. The following year he gained acceptance into the prestigious “Fame” school, Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts , 46th Street, New York City. While at Performing Arts he learned of HB studios where he studied acting under Uta Hagen. Following high school James abandoned his studies in music and theatre and disconnected from the performing arts community. Years later he attended Marist College and graduated magna cum laude. Following college he worked with at-risk youth and developed after school programs that focused on the performing arts. As an active member in the church community and a participant of urban ministry he enrolled in NY Theological Seminary where he earned both master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees. He taught for a brief time as an adjunct professor at St Johns University, Metropolitan College of NY and the CUNY system. In 2006 he returned to the performing arts community and again enrolled at HB Studios. He appeared in several short films at the NYU Tish School and played major roles in a variety of low budget independent films. He continued his training privately with Harold Guskin and in 2008 appeared on the 54 year-running soap opera, As the World Turns. Over the past decade he has appeared on numerous major network television shows such as Person of Interest, Law & Order SVU, Mysteries of Laura and Blue Bloods, as well as HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Other credits include Netflix shows Master of None and Daredevil, as well as the USA original series, White Collar and Hulu’s Difficult People. In 2013 he became a father to his only child, Isabella Star Ciccone.