Fans of HBO’s hit series, "The Sopranos" got their first look at Furio during the Feb. 6 European excursion episode, but his character didn’t really show his true colors until he arrived on Tony’s home turf. Flexing his muscles and authority, Furio pulverized the face of a deadbeat massage parlor proprietor, while barely working up a sweat. There’s no doubt that Tony will have similar assignments for Furio in the coming weeks.

HBO made a conscious effort to keep Furio’s character and true identity under wraps until a proper public introduction could be made. Yet the excitement had already begun building on 21^st Avenue in Paterson. That’s the neighborhood real-life actor Federico Castelluccio’s family calls home, since they arrived from Naples in 1968.

Even so, Castelluccio’s sudden small screen notoriety may have taken some neighbors by surprise. The old timers knew him as "the artist," a guy who could capture human features on canvas with such accuracy that some swore it was uncanny.

He was the kid, who started out in The Paterson News’ art department, but didn’t hang around for long. His talent earned him a free ride at Manhattan’s prestigious School of Visual Arts, where he graduated with a BFA degree.

Managing to leap over that struggling artist bind most painters find themselves in, Castelluccio already had an impressive portfolio, thanks to a full time position at PBS television during his collegiate days. In fact, "lucrative" was the word Castelluccio used to describe his artistic career. Price tags of $65,000 for a single painting weren’t out of the ordinary. Attracting patrons from both sides of the Atlantic, his work hangs in many private and public collections, including Warner Lambert Industries, Gillette Corporation, Schering-Plough Corporation, and Sotheby’s in Manhattan.

"I’m a painter. I have been from the moment I was born," insists Castelluccio. There’s no question, painting has been and will remain his life-long passion. Yet painters normally don’t get mobbed when they visit the Willowbrook Mall, or have truck drivers yelling their name.

Then again, Castelluccio isn’t hard to spot. Tall, lanky and handsome, though not in the traditional leading man mode, Castelluccio forges a commanding presence. When he enters the room, eyes instinctively dart in his direction.

"Creativity doesn’t just take only one shape or form. I knew I always had something to offer. When you are out on the stage, it’s the idea of living in the moment. You’re like a tightrope walker. I started in this little theatrical circle about 12-13 years ago, doing regional work like ‘A View from the Bridge,’ and Shakespeare off-Broadway. I also had some day player work on soaps like "As the World Turns," just to get my feet wet. It was all straight acting, no singing. Most times I was lucky to even get paid carfare," he explained.

Castelluccio was lucky enough, however, to land a part in a big screen feature titled "Eighteen Shades of Dust," co-starring Danny Aiello and William Forsythe, and even his paintings, seen on camera, earned a credit. Yet flipping the channel selector one day, he caught an HBO promotional ad for a new series called "The Sopranos."

"I was hooked from that first promo. I’d never had that feeling before. I couldn’t wait for it to come on," admitted Castelluccio.

After struggling all those years, here was a chance to "sink my teeth into something." He told his agent, George Walker, he’d do anything to be on the show. Yes, even cut his hair. Fortunately, it never came to that.

Audition day came. Aida Turturro, who plays Tony’s sister, warned him he was facing a tough room. "They don’t hand you a script, just the one scene. They are very secretive. I felt I knew what the character was about. It’s not exactly method acting, but I’m a keen observer. I take obscure incidents from the past, and apply emotional recall and mediation or imagining to figure out what he would do," he explained.

Citing a typical example, Castelluccio can still vividly recall the day he was "mugged." "I was 10 and I took my new bike out. Seven boys tried to take it away from me. They kept hitting me, but I kept holding on to the bike until I got in from the pharmacy. The druggist saw what was happening and came running out. Actually, I knew that if I came home without that bike, I faced something even worse," he laughed.

"I was a little chubby as a kid and maybe a little bigger than most, but I was never cantankerous and I didn’t go looking for trouble. After that incident, I knew I had to build up my body and started learning karate."

Although Castelluccio was aware that creator David Chase expected him to deliver the lines as written, the actor decided to add some flourishes all his own, tossing in some Neapolitan words for authenticity. Suddenly, the energy in the room shifted. Two more auditions would follow, but Castelluccio knew in his heart, the part was his.

Castelluccio just had to warn his mom about the violence, and the fact that he was just doing what the script required. As he quickly interjected, "See, I’m nothing like Furio in real life. That’s not even a real accent."

There was one perk Castelluccio couldn’t have foreseen. "I’ve always had this secret dream about one day going back to my home town of Naples. I wanted to go back in a film and there I was. Cousins from all over, including Rome, came up and stayed all night," the 35-year old actor said.

While American viewers tend to think of "The Sopranos" as local phenomena, Castelluccio found out differently when he was trekking through the ruins of Pompeii, with James Gandolfini, and Tony Sirico. Suddenly, a greeting rang out, "Yo, we love you in London." It’s certain that residents of Italy will be repeating those same sentiments for "The Sopranos" begins airing there shortly.