# Nick Vallelonga
Nick Vallelonga (born 1959) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor who won two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes for co-writing and producing *Green Book* (2018), the film based on the 1962 road trip his father, [Tony Lip](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-lip), took with the pianist [Don Shirley](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-shirley) through the segregated South[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nick_vallelonga) • [2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959, Bronx, New York[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nick_vallelonga) |
| Signature work | *Green Book* (2018), co-written with Peter Farrelly and Brian Hayes Currie[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true) |
| Awards | Two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes: Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture for *Green Book*[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true) |
| First screen appearance | A wedding guest in *The Godfather* (1972), at twelve years old[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true) |
| Directing credits | *A Brilliant Disguise* (1994), *In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King* (1995), *Stiletto* (2008), *Yellow Rock* (2011)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nick_vallelonga) |
| Acting roles | Augie in *Green Book*; Carmine Cotuso in *The Many Saints of Newark* (2021); television appearances on *Aquarius*, *New Girl*, *E.R.*, and *Chicago Hope*[4](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-125398/filmographie/) • [5](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/nickvallelonga) |
## Early life and first roles
Vallelonga grew up in an Italian-American family in the Bronx in the 1960s. His father, Frank Anthony Vallelonga, known as Tony Lip, was a bouncer at the Copacabana nightclub in Manhattan; his nickname came from his ability to talk his way out of anything[6](https://time.com/5453443/true-story-behind-green-book-movie/). At twelve, Nick appeared in the wedding scenes of *The Godfather*, and he later described that experience as the beginning of his love for filmmaking[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true).
[In New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-new-york) he took acting classes with three well-regarded teachers: Tom Brennan from Circle in the Square, William Hickey from HB Studios, and Julie Bovasso from the [Actors Studio](https://www.edgepedia.org/actors-studio), while also performing in off-Broadway shows. During this period he also worked at [CBS News](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-news) running the teleprompter and editing scripts for shows including *CBS This Morning*, *The NFL Today*, *The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather*, and *60 Minutes*[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true).
## Green Book
In the late 1980s, Vallelonga told his father and Don Shirley that he wanted to make a movie about their experiences. Shirley agreed, on one stipulation: the story could not be told until after his death[6](https://time.com/5453443/true-story-behind-green-book-movie/). In 1962, Tony Lip had been hired to drive and protect Shirley, a classically trained African-American pianist, on a concert tour through the Jim Crow South; the real trip lasted a year and a half, condensed to roughly two months on screen[6](https://time.com/5453443/true-story-behind-green-book-movie/).
Vallelonga prepared for decades. He tape-recorded his father telling the stories of the trip, kept track of the letters Tony wrote to his wife Dolores during the tour, and interviewed Shirley himself[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/16/green-book-the-true-story-behind-the-oscar-buzzed-road-trip-drama) • [6](https://time.com/5453443/true-story-behind-green-book-movie/). He said of his approach to the script, "I don't want to do anything but the truth"[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/12/truth-about-green-book-viggo-mortensen-mahershala-ali).
Both Tony Lip and Don Shirley died in 2013, within five months of each other[9](https://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/). Vallelonga then brought the project to the screenwriter Brian Hayes Currie and director [Peter Farrelly](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-farrelly), and the film was made in 2017 with [Viggo Mortensen](https://www.edgepedia.org/viggo-mortensen) and [Mahershala Ali](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahershala-ali)[9](https://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/). *Green Book* won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 91st Academy Awards, where Vallelonga shared the screenplay award with Currie and Farrelly and the Best Picture award as a producer[9](https://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/). He also played the small role of mob boss Augie in the film[4](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-125398/filmographie/).
**Controversy.** The film's success was accompanied by criticism. Shirley's family said they had never been contacted by Farrelly or Vallelonga during production; Shirley's brother, Dr. Maurice Shirley, called the film "a symphony of lies," and family members disputed the film's central premise of a close friendship, describing the relationship as employer-employee[9](https://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/). Vallelonga responded that Shirley himself had asked that no one in his family be consulted[6](https://time.com/5453443/true-story-behind-green-book-movie/).
In January 2019, a 2015 tweet by Vallelonga resurfaced in which he endorsed Donald Trump's false claim that Muslims in New Jersey had cheered the [September 11 attacks](https://www.edgepedia.org/september-11-attacks). He deleted his Twitter account and issued a statement: "I want to apologize. I spent my life trying to bring this story of overcoming differences and finding common ground to the screen, and I am incredibly sorry to everyone associated with Green Book." He apologized directly to Ali, who is Muslim, and to his late father[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jan/11/green-book-nick-vallelonga-anti-muslim-tweet).
## Other directing and writing work
Vallelonga's writing, directing, and producing credits for independent American films date back to 1993[11](https://www.screendaily.com/features/the-unlikely-trio-who-brought-oscar-contender-green-book-to-life/5135468.article). His directing credits include *A Brilliant Disguise* (1994), *In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King* (1995), *The Corporate Ladder* (1997), *Choker* (2005), *Stiletto* (2008), and *Yellow Rock* (2011)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nick_vallelonga).
*Yellow Rock* won several film festival awards, including the Wrangler Award for Best Director and Best Film at the Western Heritage Museum in [Oklahoma City](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city)[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true). In 2017 he directed and produced the pilot *Unorganized Crime*, starring [Chazz Palminteri](https://www.edgepedia.org/chazz-palminteri), which won festival awards for Best Director and Best Crime Drama[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true).
As an actor, he has appeared in supporting roles in films such as *The Birthday Cake*, *[The Comeback Trail](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-comeback-trail-2020-film)*, *Paydirt*, and *The Many Saints of Newark*, and on television in *Aquarius*, *New Girl*, *E.R.*, *Chicago Hope*, and *Rake*[4](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-125398/filmographie/) • [5](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/nickvallelonga).
Through Vallelonga Productions, he has developed film and television projects including *[That's Amore!](https://www.edgepedia.org/thats-amore-film)*, *10 Double Zero*, *New York City Christmas*, and *Copacabana*[2](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true).
## References
1. [Nick Vallelonga, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nick_vallelonga)
2. [Nick Vallelonga, IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0885014/?showAllCredits=true)
3. [Nick Vallelonga filmography, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-125398/filmographie/)
4. [Nick Vallelonga resume, Actors Access](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/nickvallelonga)
5. [Rachel E. Greenspan (2018). How Green Book's Screenwriter Was Inspired to Write the Movie, TIME](https://time.com/5453443/true-story-behind-green-book-movie/)
6. [Green Book: the true story behind the Oscar-buzzed road trip drama, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/16/green-book-the-true-story-behind-the-oscar-buzzed-road-trip-drama)
7. [Adam Sternbergh (2018). The Truth About Green Book, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/12/truth-about-green-book-viggo-mortensen-mahershala-ali)
8. [What to Know About the Controversy Surrounding the Movie Green Book, TIME](https://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/)
9. [Green Book writer apologises for anti-Muslim tweet, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jan/11/green-book-nick-vallelonga-anti-muslim-tweet)
10. [The unlikely trio who brought Oscar contender Green Book to life, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/the-unlikely-trio-who-brought-oscar-contender-green-book-to-life/5135468.article)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Screenwriters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license