American actor Paul Ben-Victor is most famous for his portrayal of Greek gangster Spiros “Vondas” Vondopoulos in hit HBO drama The Wire.

Hailing from New York, Ben-Victor was born into the world of acting and theatre as the son of playwright Leah Friedman. After graduating from Midwood High School he made his small screen debut in 1987 in TV movie Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife. Ben-Victor racked up numerous television credits during the late 80s and 90s, including hit cop drama Cagney and Lacey, Doogie Howser, M.D. , Father Dowling Mysteries, Freddy’s Nightmares and The X-Files. The role that made him a household name came in the popular HBO US crime drama series The Wire (2003-2008).

Ben-Victor has carved a niche for himself in television cop dramas with roles in CSI, FBI and Monk and had a recurring role in NYPD Blue between 1994 and 1997 portraying Steve Richards, a con man. He also starred with Vincent Ventresca in both The Invisible Man on Sci-Fi channel and in Plain Sight (USA Network). His other television credits include Entourage and comedy My Name is Earl (playing Coach Lou).

On film he has appeared in several critically acclaimed movies including The Banker and The Irishman. Ben-Victor will soon be seen in upcoming American-British action thriller film Last Looks based on Howard Michael Gould’s novel.