Born in Naples, Italy, Federico Castelluccio grew up in Paterson, New Jersey and was determined to become an artist and eventually an actor. Having an innate ability for drawing and painting, his talents did not go unnoticed. In 1982 Federico was awarded a full scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he earned a BFA in painting and media arts. Just prior to winning the scholarship, Federico received an opportunity to do a painting for veteran actor George Burns. When Federico presented him with the portrait, Burns introduced him to people from PBS, ABC and other networks that found merit in his painting. He was hired by these networks and became an award-winning illustrator and continued to work professionally all through his college years. Federico stopped illustrating in 1992, yet had been acting already for six years and simultaneously made the transition from illustration to fine arts. He has exhibited his paintings in several NYC galleries over the years, including Yoshi, Silverstein, and Ambassador Galleries. Federico's paintings are in private and public collections in the U.S., South America and Europe.

Federico began his career as an actor in 1986 and began doing showcase plays, Summer Stock Theatre, Off-Off Broadway and Shakespeare Festivals. He was with several Repertoire companies including, Eclectic Theatre Company and Flock Theatre Company, where he did classics, contemporary and Shakespeare, including "A View from the Bridge", "Twelfth Night", and "Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet” and John Patrick Shanley's "Savage in Limbo." While doing plays, Castelluccio found himself venturing into film, doing everything from independent features to film shorts. Some of his credits include: "Made" with Jon Favreau, "Fire" with Robert Klein and "Diary of a Hit Man" with Danny Aiello. Current short film productions include “In Hot Water”, “Volare” and “La Araña” which are currently in film festivals throughout the United States and Europe. In television, Federico's recent credits include "NYPD Blue" and the HBO hit series, "The Sopranos", where he plays the Neapolitan enforcer "Furio Giunta".

Federico’s current film projects include the biographical story of Hector Lavoe titled “El Cantante” starring Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez due to release later in 2006. “Aftermath” starring Michael Anthony Hall is a crime-thriller directed and written by Thomas Farone. “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and won two awards – one for best dramatic directing and best dramatic ensemble headed by Robert Downey Jr, Chazz Palminteri, and Rosario Dawson. In addition, Federico has finished filming the lead in a TV Sci-Fi Channel film titled “Fierce Dragon”.

Federico is currently developing a film titled “Sospirio di Vita” – a WWII drama staring Giancarlo Giannini and Chazz Palminteri. He is also in development of a project called the “The Messenger”.