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Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo Brothers ([ˈrusso]), are American film and television directors. The brothers direct most of their work together, and occasionally work as producers, screenwriters, actors, and editors.
The Russo brothers were best known for directing four installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Among these, Endgame became the fastest film to gross over $2.9 billion worldwide, thus becoming the highest-grossing superhero film and the highest-grossing film of all time.
The brothers are also known for their work on the comedy series Arrested Development, for which they won an Emmy Award, and Community.
Life and career
Anthony and Joe Russo were raised in the Italian neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, and attended the Benedictine High School. Their parents are Patricia and Basil Russo, an attorney and former judge of Italian descent. Joe graduated from the University of Iowa and majored in English and writing, while Anthony graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in business before switching to English. The Russos were graduate students at Case Western Reserve University when they began directing, writing, and producing their first feature, Pieces. They financed the film with student loans and credit cards. After viewing Pieces at the Slamdance Film Festival, Steven Soderbergh approached the duo and offered to produce their next film, along with his producing partner George Clooney. This project was the crime comedy Welcome to Collinwood, starring William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, and Clooney.
FX network executive Kevin Reilly hired the Russos to direct the pilot for the series Lucky, having liked the pair's work on Collinwood. Ron Howard was a fan of the pilot, and he had a hand in hiring the brothers to direct the pilot for Fox's Arrested Development. The brothers won an Emmy for their work on the episode.
In 2006, the Russo brothers returned to film, directing the Owen Wilson comedy You, Me, and Dupree. The film grossed $130 million worldwide. For the 2007–08 TV season, the Russos joined the crew of the ABC series Carpoolers as executive producers and directors. The brothers served as executive producers and directors on the first several seasons of the NBC sitcom Community and the ABC series Happy Endings.
In July 2013, the brothers wrapped principal production on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a superhero sequel for Marvel Studios; the film was released on April 4, 2014.
In January 2014, the brothers signed on to return to direct the third Captain America film, Captain America: Civil War, which was released on May 6, 2016. In May 2014, they were announced to co-write and direct The Gray Man. In March 2015, the brothers were set to direct an all-male installment in the rebooted series of the Ghostbusters franchise, produced by Sony's new-founded production company, Ghost Corps. However, as of March 2016, the Russos are no longer attached to the Ghostbusters project.
The Russo brothers directed Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which became the first superhero movie to gross over $2 billion at the box office. They are the third directors to make a $2 billion movie after James Cameron's films Avatar and Titanic and J.J. Abrams's film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Its sequel, Avengers: Endgame, was released on April 26, 2019, broke numerous box office records, and became the second superhero movie to gross over $2 billion. They join James Cameron as the only directors to make two $2B films. Joe Russo said while promoting Avengers: Endgame in Mumbai, India, “Both the films ask the question, what is the cost of being a hero? The films are about community and heroes standing up against tyranny. We certainly look at that as waves of nationalism sweep the world.”They have also directed the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the mid-credits scene of Captain Marvel.
The brothers are financing the Los Angeles and Beijing joint-production company Anthem & Song, which is producing the Chinese superhero movie The Hero’s Awakening.
The Russo brothers have signed on to produce a television series based on Deadly Class. The Sony Pictures Television-produced adaptation has been optioned as a pilot for the Syfy channel. Benedict Wong, Benjamin Wadsworth, Lana Condor, Michel Duval and María Gabriela de Faría are among the actors cast in main roles for the series. On April 18, 2018, Syfy picked up the pilot to the series.
In August 2018, the brothers won the rights to adapt Nico Walker's 2018 novel Cherry. They also served as award presenters at The Game Awards 2018 ceremony, which honored the best video games of that year. In March 2019, it was confirmed that Tom Holland was confirmed to play the lead role in Cherry.On April 10, 2019, it was announced that brothers would helm a new remake of Poltergeist.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directors | Writer(s) | Producers | |||
| 1997 | Pieces | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unreleased theatrically in the United States |
| 2002 | Welcome to Collinwood | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2006 | You, Me and Dupree | Yes | No | No | |
| 2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Yes | No | No | |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Yes | No | No | |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Yes | No | No | |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Yes | No | No | |
| 21 Bridges | No | No | Yes | Post-production | |
| TBA | Dhaka | No | Joe Russo | Yes | Post-production |
| TBA | Cherry | Yes | No | Yes | Announced The Thomas Crown Affair |
Television
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Executive Producer(s) | Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Lucky | Yes | No | "Calling Dr. Con" |
| 2003–2005 | Arrested Development | Yes | No | Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Top Banana", "Key Decisions", "The Immaculate Election", "Spring Breakout" Joe only: "Bringing Up Buster", "In God We Trust", "Pier Pressure", "Marta Complex", "Shock and Aww", "Missing Kitty", "Hand to God", "Motherboy XXX", "Meat the Veals" |
| 2004–2005 | LAX | Yes | Yes | "Pilot" 13 episodes |
| 2006 | What About Brian | Yes | Yes | "Pilot" 25 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | Carpoolers | Yes | Yes | Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "The Code", "The Recital" Joe only: "Laird of the Rings", "What Would You Do?", "Down for the Count", "The Seminar", "A Divorce to Remember", "The Handsomest Man", "Lost in America" All episodes |
| 2009 | Comedy Showcase | Yes | No | "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret" |
| 2009–2012, 2014 | Community | Yes | Yes | Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Introduction to Film", "Social Psychology", "Home Economics", "The Politics of Human Sexuality", "Physical Education", "Beginner Pottery", "The Psychology of Letting Go", "Basic Rocket Science", "Asian Population Studies", "Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy", "Biology 101", "Competitive Ecology", "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" Joe only: "Spanish 101", "Advanced Criminal Law", "Football, Feminism and You", "Debate 109", "Investigative Journalism", "Romantic Expressionism", "Pascal's Triangle Revisited", "Anthropology 101", "Accounting for Lawyers", "Cooperative Calligraphy", "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", "Competitive Wine Tasting", "A Fistful of Paintballs", "For a Few Paintballs More", "Geography of Global Conflict", "Advanced Gay", "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux", "Geothermal Escapism", "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" 48 episodes |
| 2010 | Running Wilde | Yes | Yes | "Pilot" |
| The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret | Yes | No | "In Which Claims are Made and a Journey Ensues" (original Comedy Showcase pilot, some footage reshot) | |
| 2011–2012 | Happy Endings | Yes | Yes | Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Barefoot Pedaler", "Blax, Snake, Home", "Secrets and Limos" Joe only: "Bo Fight", "Yesandwitch", "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" 21 episodes |
| Up All Night | Yes | No | Joe only: "Cool Neighbors", "Working Late and Working It", "Day After Valentine's Day" | |
| 2012 | Animal Practice | Yes | Yes | Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Clean-Smelling Pirate" Joe only: "Ralphie" 9 episodes |
| 2015 | Agent Carter | Yes | No | Joe only: "Bridge and Tunnel" (as Joseph V. Russo) |
| 2018–present | Deadly Class | No | Yes | |
| 2019 | Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy | No | Yes | 4 episodes |
Joe Russo's acting credits
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arrested Development | Joe |
| 2006 | You, Me and Dupree | Personal Trainer |
| 2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Dr. Fine |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Dr. Theo Broussard |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Bert (deleted scene) |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Grieving man (cameo) |