With the edge of someone from the streets of New York--he was born in Harlem--Denison has essayed tough guys, thugs and hoodlums as well as sympathetic urban characters for more than a decade on TV and in feature films. He used the profits from his own construction company to pay for his college education and after graduation moved back to NYC where he bounced around in a variety of jobs, including some on the fringes of show business. A chance encounter put him in a touring theatre group and after stage productions in New York--some of which he also produced--Denison was cast as the charmingly evil hoodlum Ray Luca in the critically-praised but short-lived drama series "Crime Story" (NBC, 1986). He went on to appear in "The Great Escape II: The Untold Story" (NBC, 1988) and replaced an injured Ken Wahl on four episodes of the "Wiseguy" (CBS, 1988-89). Denison began to earn romantic leads with "I Love You Perfect" (ABC, 1989), opposite Susan Dey and in the series "Under Cover," (ABC, 1991-92), in which he and Linda Purl were married spies. The same year, Denison starred as an evil priest in "Child of Darkness, Child of Light", a USA Network movie. He received much screen time in John Sayles' "City of Hope" (1991) and in the miniseries "Jackie Collins' 'Lady Boss'" (NBC, 1992). His portrayal of Joey Buttafuoco (opposite Drew Barrymore) in "The Amy Fisher Story" (ABC, 1993) was praised while most critics dismissed the film over its subject matter. Variously billed in his career as Anthony Denison, Anthony John Denison and Tony Denison, he returned to series TV in 1996 with the short-lived Fox sitcom "Love and Marriage".