Russo brothers
American film and television director duo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (/ˈruːsoʊ/ ROO-soh), are American filmmakers. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for directing four films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Endgame grossed over $2.798 billion worldwide, briefly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time.
Russo brothers | |
|---|---|
 Joe (left) and Anthony Russo in 2019 | |
| Born | Anthony Russo February 3, 1970 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Joseph Russo July 18, 1971 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Father | Basil Russo |
The brothers have also worked as directors and producers on the comedy series Arrested Development (2003–2005), Community (2009–2014), and Happy Endings (2011–2012). They won a Primetime Emmy Award for Arrested Development.
Early life and education
Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970)[1][2] and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971)[2][3] were born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the sons of Patricia Gallupoli and attorney and judge Basil Russo.[4] Their parents are both of Italian descent.[5] Their paternal and maternal families emigrated from Sicily and Abruzzo, respectively, and settled in Ohio.[4] They attended Benedictine High School.[6] Joe graduated from the University of Iowa and majored in English and writing, while Anthony graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and majored in business before switching to English.[7][8][9]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
1997–2013: Directorial debut and sitcom work
The Russo brothers were graduate students at Case Western Reserve University (where Anthony studied law and Joe studied acting at UEA) when they began directing, writing, and producing their first feature, Pieces. They financed the film with student loans and credit cards.[10] 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.[10] This project was the crime comedy Welcome to Collinwood, starring William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, and Clooney.[11] FX Networks 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.[10]
From 2009 to 2014 they were an integral part of the NBC sitcom Community having directed 34 episodes. They gained critical acclaim and notoriety for having directed the episodes "A Fistful of Paintballs" and "For a Few Paintballs More" which served as the season two finale. This would become an unofficial series of episodes featuring paintball, with the first, "Modern Warfare" being directed by Justin Lin. Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx wrote that the "comparison is nothing short of The Godfather Part II of sitcom episodes".[12] After watching the season 2 finale, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige hired the Russos to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[13][14]
2014–2019: Marvel Cinematic Universe
In 2014, the Russo brothers directed their first film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the action mystery thriller film Captain America: The Winter Soldier starring Chris Evans as Captain America. This serves as the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) directed by Joe Johnston. The Winter Soldier received critical acclaim, with Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praising its tackling of serious subject matter, comparing it favorably to The Dark Knight (2008).[15] The film was a financial success earning $714 million worldwide.[16] They directed the third film in the Captain America trilogy entitled Captain America: Civil War (2016) which also was a success both critically and commercially.[17][18]
In 2017, the brothers founded the production company AGBO.[19] 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.[20] They join James Cameron as the only directors to make two $2 billion films.[21]
2020–present
The Russos also served as producers of the film Everything Everywhere All At Once, written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.[22] The film, released in theatres in March 2022, is A24's highest-grossing film worldwide at the box office.[23] The brothers are financing the Los Angeles and Beijing joint-production company Anthem & Song, which is producing the Chinese superhero film The Hero's Awakening.[24][25]
Since leaving the MCU, the Russo brothers directed a string of films for streaming outlets such as the Apple TV+ crime drama Cherry (2021) starring Tom Holland and the Netflix action thriller The Gray Man starring Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas. Both films received negative reviews. The duo reunited with Netflix for the science-fiction action film The Electric State (2025) starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. To date, it is the worst reviewed film of their career, receiving a mere 14% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press wrote, "It’s lacking a spark and a soul that might distinguish it as memorable or special. Worse, considering everything it has going for it, The Electric State is kind of dull."[26]
At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, Marvel Studios announced that the Russo brothers would return to direct and produce Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).[27]
Business interests
In January 2025, Joe Russo was announced as a board member and investor of English football club Sheffield United. The club was taken over by the consortium group COH Sports led by fellow American businessmen Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy.[28] Joe was joined on the board of directors by former Cleveland Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski and real estate figure Terry Ahern.[29]
Filmography
Summarize
Perspective
Film
| Year | Title | Directors | Producers | Writer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Pieces[a] | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2002 | Welcome to Collinwood | Yes | No | Yes |
| 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 | Yes | No | |
| Mosul | No | Yes | No | |
| 2020 | Extraction | No | Yes | Story / Screenplay (Joe) |
| 2021 | Cherry | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2022 | The Gray Man | Yes | Yes | Joe |
| Everything Everywhere All at Once | No | Yes | No | |
| 2023 | Extraction 2 | No | Yes | Story / Screenplay (Joe) |
| 2025 | The Electric State | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2026 | Avengers: Doomsday | Yes | Yes | No |
| TBA | The Bluff | No | Yes | No |
Executive producers only
- Crashing (2007)
- Super Me (2009)
- A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014)
- Dizzy Pursuit (2018)
- Relic (2020)
- All Fun and Games (2023)
Television
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Executive producers |
Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Lucky | Yes | No | "Pilot", "Up the Streaks" |
| 2003–2005 | Arrested Development | Yes | No | Episodes
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 | Episodes
Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "The Longest Day", "The Pictures to Prove It", "Mixed Signals" Joe only: "Finnegan Again, Begin Again", "Thanksgiving", "Senator's Daughter" 7 episodes |
| 2006 | What About Brian | Yes | No | "Pilot" |
| 2007–2008 | Carpoolers | Yes | Yes | Episodes
Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "The Code", "Wheel of Fortune", "The Recital" Joe only: "Laird of the Rings", "What Would You Do?", "Down for the Count", "A Divorce to Remember", "The Seminar", "The Handsomest Man", "Lost in America" 11 episodes |
| 2009 | Comedy Showcase | Yes | No | "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret" |
| 2009–2014 | Community | Yes | Yes | Episodes
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" 34 episodes |
| 2010 | Running Wilde | Yes | Yes | "Pilot" |
| The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret | Yes | No | Original Comedy Showcase Pilot | |
| 2011–2012 | Happy Endings | Yes | Yes | Episodes
Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Barefoot Pedaler", "Blax, Snake, Home", "Secrets and Limos" Joe only: "Bo Fight", "Yesandwitch", "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" 7 episodes |
| Up All Night | Yes | No | Episodes
Joe only: "Cool Neighbors", "Working Late and Working It", "Day After Valentine's Day" | |
| 2012 | Animal Practice | Yes | Yes | Episodes
Both: "Pilot" Anthony only: "Clean-Smelling Pirate" Joe only: "Ralphie" 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Agent Carter | Joe | No | Episode: "Bridge and Tunnel" (as Joseph V. Russo) |
| 2019 | Deadly Class | No | Yes | 10 episodes |
| Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy | No | Yes | 4 episodes | |
| 2022–present | From | No | Yes | 20 episodes |
| 2023–present | Citadel | Yes | Yes | Director of Season 2: Joe only |
Other
- Fortnite Battle Royale - Chapter 2, Season 6 opening cinematic (co-directed, March 2021).[30]
Acting credits
- Joe Russo only
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arrested Development | Joe | Episode "Hand to God" |
| 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 | Credited as Gozie Agbo |
| Thanos[31] | Additional motion-capture only, uncredited | ||
| 2020 | The Simpsons | Movie Executive (Voice) | Episode "Bart the Bad Guy" |
| 2021 | Cherry | Restaurant Owner | |
| 2022 | The Gray Man | CIA DDO Fine | |
| 2025 | The Electric State | CNN Reporter / Various Robots (voice) |
See also
Notes
References
External links
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