He was discovered while swimming at Jones Beach by talent scouts who were searching for Robert De Niro look-alikes. It was his impersonation of De Niro from Taxi Driver (1976) that won him the role of young Calogero.At four months of age, he was adopted and subsequently raised in Yonkers, New York.Parents are Lillo Brancato, Sr. and Domenica Brancato. His younger brother, Vincent Brancato, had a small uncredited part in A Bronx Tale (1993). Vincent was one of the boys who jumped onto the back of the bus driven by Robert De Niro. Vincent was the one closest to the screen.In December 2005, he was arrested and hospitalized after he and a friend, Steven Armento, were shot by an off-duty police officer Daniel Enchautegui while the officer was investigating a burglary in New York City. The officer was killed, and Brancato and Armento face murder charges.