Anthony Guidera: Best moments from the late The Godfather star's legendary career

Anthony Guidera, the American actor and model who made his acting debut in Francis Ford Coppola's epic gangster film The Godfather III (1990), has died at the age of 65.

As Guidera's wife Valarie confirmed the news to TMZ, The Godfather III star was rushed to the hospital following a cardiac arrest on May 11. While Guidera was put on life support for three weeks, doctors reportedly decided to take him off, per his prior directive, on Saturday, following which, he took his final breath.

After his impressive debut in Coppola's gangster movie, Anthony Guidera appeared in several films and television projects, including cameo roles in Baywatch and Valley of the Dolls and a major role in the 1995 sci-fi film Species, which became a defining moment in his career.

From his unforgettable presence in The Godfather to other noteworthy performances throughout his career, here’s a look back at some of Anthony Guidera’s best moments and the impact he made on the entertainment industry.

Anthony Guidera made his acting debut in The Godfather III

Guidera moved to Paris and started his career in modelling and making commercials under the name James Guidera. After studying with Robert Lewis at The Actors' Studio in New York, he landed his first-ever acting role in The Godfather III. The late actor spent five months shooting for the 1990 film, which launched him into Hollywood.

Interestingly, Guidera played Anthony, one of Vincent Mancini's (Andy Garcia) bodyguards, in The Godfather III. While Guidera's character was minor in the film, Anthony was an important part of Vincent's inner circle and muscle, who was introduced in the third film in the franchise. The illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone (James Caan) and his mistress Lucy Mancini, Vincent eventually succeeded his uncle Michael as the new Don of the Corleone family.

While Vincent was introduced as a street-level thug in The Godfather III, Anthony Guidera's character and fellow bodyguards helped him align with Michael and gain status, resulting in his powerful position by the end of the movie. Among Vincent’s close associates, Guidera stood out to viewers, becoming one of the rare supporting characters in the film to be given a distinct identity and name.

Guidera's game-changing kiss in Species

A still from Species (Image via YouTube/Amazon MGM Studios)

Five years after his stint in The Godfather III, Anthony Guidera returned as Robbie Llywelyn in Roger Donaldson's sci-fi horror film Species. The film followed a crew of scientists who aim to track down Sil (Natasha Henstridge), a seductive extraterrestrial-human hybrid, before she mates with a human male.

Unknowingly, Anthony Guidera's Robbie shares a game-changing kiss with the alien/human hybrid, which was later recognized as the year's best kiss at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards. Guidera and Henstridge's kiss might have brought disastrous consequences for the former's character in the movie but it became an important moment in pop culture and the actors' careers.

Anthony Guidera's Pilot characters in Michael Bay movies

Anthony Guidera's talents were promptly recognized by director Michael Bay, who cast the late actor as two distinct military pilots in his 1996 action-thriller movie The Rock and 1998 sci-fi disaster film Armageddon.

Interestingly, Guidera played Pilots in both of Bay's renowned movies: an unnamed Lead F-18 Pilot involved in the military operation directed at Alcatraz in The Rock and X-71 shuttle Freedom co-Pilot Tucker in Armageddon. In the latter disaster movie, Guidera's character and Colonel Davis (Marshall R. Teague) were both blown into space after their vessel was hit by meteor fragments.

For fans who speculate that Bay's films share a connected universe, Guidera's back-to-back appearances have become a popular piece of trivia. They will remain an important milestone in his career.