Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo Brothers, were born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the sons of Patricia Gallupoli and attorney and judge Basil Russo. Their paternal and maternal families immigrated from Sicily and Abruzzo, fleeing poverty and settling in Ohio to work in its steel mills. 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.
The Russo brothers were graduate students at Case Western Reserve University when they began directing, writing, and producing their first feature, Pieces. They financed the film with student loans and credit cards. 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. This project was the crime comedy Welcome to Collinwood, starring William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, and Clooney.
FX network 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. The brothers won a Primetime Emmy Award for their work on the episode.
In 2006, the Russo brothers returned to film, directing the Owen Wilson comedy You, Me and Dupree. By June 2013, the Russos were in final talks to direct Marvel Studios’ second Captain America movie. In July 2013, the brothers wrapped principal production on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the film was released on April 4, 2014. In January 2014, the brothers signed on to return to direct the third Captain America film, Captain America: Civil War, which was released on May 6, 2016.
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. They join James Cameron as the only directors to make two $2 billion films.
The Russos are developing a spy series called Citadel for Amazon Prime, which will star Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden. In April 2020, it was announced that they would be producing a live-action film adaptation of Disney’s Hercules. By July 2020, the Russos were hired to direct an adaptation of The Gray Man for Netflix, from a screenplay by Joe Russo.