Actor Max Casella has opened up about a rare medical condition that nearly derailed his acting career, revealing that a “humiliating” growth hormone deficiency delayed his puberty until he was 27.
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The 59-year-old actor, best known for playing Benny Fazio on HBO’s The Sopranos and Vinnie Delpino on ABC’s Doogie Howser, M.D., described the experience as both challenging and humiliating during an interview with Page Six.
Casella discussed his health struggles while attending a Cinema Society screening of his latest film, Jimmy, earlier this month.
“It was insane,” he said of experiencing puberty in his late 20s. “Wouldn’t have been my choice, but you know, given the cards you’re dealt. You make the best of it.”
Max Casella Describes His Late Puberty
The actor explained that his physical transformation came at an especially difficult point in his professional life.
He had already established himself in the entertainment industry when he began experiencing the changes that most boys typically navigate during their teenage years.
“I went through the awkward phase that most people go through in high school,” he recalled. However, the experience affected his confidence and forced him to reconsider his career. “I had to start all over again. It was a humiliating experience,” Casella admitted.
He also acknowledged that he struggled to adjust to his changing appearance, describing the awkwardness, acne, and weight changes that accompanied puberty. Casella said the transition left his acting career “pretty much dead” for a period, as he struggled to find his footing again.
Fortunately, an opportunity on Broadway helped him regain his confidence. The actor credited his casting as Timon in the original Broadway production of Disney’s The Lion King with helping him navigate the difficult chapter.
“I was dancing 8 times a week,” he explained, adding that the experience helped him mature and embrace adulthood.
He currently stars in Jimmy, a biographical film about Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart. Casella portrays filmmaker Frank Capra, who directed Stewart in the 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life.