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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

66

Gender

Male

Birthday

1966-08-03 (59 years old)

Place of Birth

The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Also Known As

Nick Sandow

Biography

Nick Sandow (born August 3, 1966) is an American character actor, writer, producer and director, best known for his role as Joe Caputo in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). Of Italian descent, Sandow grew up in the Italian neighborhood of Van Nest in the Bronx.He moved to Manhattan around age 19 to study acting under William Esper Studio in the Two-Year Professional Actor Training Program and work in theater. Sandow made his debut appearing in an episode of television series Law & Order in 1992 and worked as a bartender while taking small acting jobs in New York City. He appeared in a number of films, such as Grind (1997), A Brooklyn State of Mind (1998), Return to Paradise (1998) and On the Run (1999). Sandow performed in the 1999 off-Broadway production of Halfway Home. He played mobster Henry Hill in the 2001 made-for-television crime drama film, The Big Heist. Sandow guest-starred on New York Undercover, Third Watch, NYPD Blue, Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, How to Make It in America and Blue Bloods. He began his directing career in theater on Off-Off-Broadway directing Dark Yellow, Chicken and From Riverdale to Riverhead. In 2011 he directed the immigrant drama film, Ponies based on play with the same name. In 2013, Sandow was cast in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black, as prison administrator Joe Caputo, was originally supposed to have been for a handful of episodes for the show's first season. Instead, his role was expanded during the second season, and Sandow was made a series regular with the start of the third season. He received three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with the cast. In 2015 he wrote, directed and acted in The Wannabe. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and later got a wider release. In 2017 he received News and Documentary Emmy Awards nomination for producing the documentary series, Time: The Kalief Browder Story. In 2021 he was regular cast member in the short-lived CBS crime drama series, Clarice.

Known For

Acting

Swimfan

2002

Swimfan

as

Detective John Zabel

The Unheard

2023

The Unheard

as

Hank

Spinning Gold

2023

Spinning Gold

as

Mo Ostin

Plan B

2001

Plan B

as

Tommy

The Big Heist

2001

The Big Heist

as

Henry Hill

Uninvited

2000

Uninvited

as

Ed

No Looking Back

1998

No Looking Back

as

Goldie

New Port South

2001

New Port South

as

Armstrong

Grind

1997

Grind

as

Lenny

The Cold Lands

2013

The Cold Lands

as

Foreman

Deal Travis In

2013

Deal Travis In

as

Travis

On the Run

1999

On the Run

as

Jack

No Exit

1996

No Exit

as

Benny Lentini

Patti Cake$

2017

Patti Cake$

as

Ray

The Wannabe

2015

The Wannabe

as

Anthony

Houses

2015

Houses

as

Nick

Frame Of Mind

2009

Frame Of Mind

as

Jimmy

Return to Paradise

1998

Return to Paradise

as

Ravitch

The Sitter

2011

The Sitter

as

Officer Frank

Cabaret Maxime

2018

Cabaret Maxime

as

Dominic

Meadowland

2015

Meadowland

as

Lt. Garza

The Lovebirds

2008

The Lovebirds

as

Lenny

Dust

2001

Dust

as

White trash

Living Out Loud

1998

Living Out Loud

as

Santi's Man

All Roads Lead

2013

All Roads Lead

as

Samuel Carter

Arresting Gena

1997

Arresting Gena

as

Paul

Hand Gun

1994

Hand Gun

as

Max

Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods

as

Lt. Alex Bello

Unforgettable

Unforgettable

as

William 'Bud' Spence

Law & Order

Law & Order

as

Pete Pogosian

Law & Order

Law & Order

as

Bail Agent Andy Grenada

Due South

Due South

as

Barry Pappas

Clarice

Clarice

as

Murray Clarke

Third Watch

Third Watch

as

Joe Lombardo

Law & Order

Law & Order

as

Officer Nelson

Mercy

Mercy

as

Scott's Dad

FBI

FBI

as

Jack Grippo

Production

Crew

Directing