Robert Davi is well-known for his macho roles (especially as a drug czar in the feature "License to Kill"), but his latest turn as an FBI agent assigned to the Violent Crimes Task Force allows him to show a more sensitive side. "Bailey is compassionate, dedicated and committed to truth and honesty, which is something I strongly relate to," says Davi. "He’s a man of action, though; he likes and needs that. Crisis is a drug for him.

"As far as I’m concerned, there is no such thing as ‘bad guys’ or ‘good guys;’ it’s all a matter of perception. They are all just human beings, and I try to play them that way. As we’ve learned from the past, bad guys make the best good guys. Humphrey Bogart made the same transition in his forties, and other actors such as Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Richard Boone and Robert Mitchum—we’re talking strong leading men, not boys—started out as bad guys and switched to good guys," he says.

Born in Astoria, New York, and raised in a blue-collar family on Long Island, Davi grew up with an appreciation for music. While singing in a school locker room in the eighth grade, Davi was overheard by a nun passing outside, who urged his mother to enter her son in competitions. He won statewide opera-singing contests, went to Italy to study with opera great Tito Gobbi in Florence and, at 19, made his debut with the Long Island Lyric Opera.

Davi attended Hofstra University on a drama scholarship, leaving shortly before obtaining his degree to work as a waiter (in a series of temporary posts, since he was fired several times) in New York City. He aggressively sought acting work while studying with Stella Adler and at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg. In 1978 his career got a boost when he was cast in a leading role opposite Frank Sinatra in the NBC movie "Contract on Cherry Street." After the movie was completed, Davi remained in Los Angeles and appeared in the miniseries "From Here to Eternity" while racking up credits in such feature films as "Goonies," "Raw Deal," "Wild Thing" and "Die Hard."

In the 1990s, Davi’s feature films included "Predator II," "Cops and Robbersons," "Wild Orchid II," "Son of the Pink Panther," "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery," "Showgirls," "Dogfighters," "For Which He Stands," "An Occasional Hell" and "Bad Pack." He appeared on the TV series "L.A. Law," "Hill Street Blues," "Wiseguy" (in an arc of episodes) and "The Gangster Chronicles," as well as in the miniseries "Terrorist on Trial: United States vs. Salim Ajami." Davi recently completed a starring role in the cable movie "My Little Assassin," portraying Watergate figure Frank Sturgis.