Eventually Halsey realized he would have to drop the Italian act if he was going to get paid as an actor.

"I got yelled at for having the Pacino complex," said Halsey, a Robbinsville resident born in Trenton, who has made a career out of being the working-man’s entertainer. "That’s where it all started for me. You learn as you go along that you have to do things your own way."

Little did Halsey know at the time of his early days learning his craft at Florida’s School Of The Arts and the Acting Studio in New York that he would be appearing nationally in Wednesday night’s "Law & Order" episode on NBC.

Trying to avoid using his New Jersey accent and quenching his addiction to Godfather movies turned out to be the best move for Halsey.

Working off-Broadway and waiting tables at an Italian restaurant at 75th Street in New York City, Halsey becamea working actor when Bill Cosby came knocking toward the final days of "The Cosby Show."

Halsey flew out to California to play the interracial love interest for the Pam character on the show, but producers scrapped that storyline and instead he played Wayne the pizza delivery boy in an episode where Cosby secretly ordered the pizza while the rest of the family was ordered to stick to a strict diet away from junk food.

"It started with ‘Mr. Cosby, here’s your pizza,’ and ended up turning into a seven- or eight line-conversation with him and his oldest daughter, Sandra," said Halsey, who still receives $100 royalty checks from the show since it still runs in syndication.

"It was a very exciting time to be on the set," Halsey remembered. "Mr. Cosby was great. He sat me down in his office and taught me a lot about the business. He was one of the greatest guys I ever worked with."

A member of the Actor’s Union, Halsey’s career continued with appearances on "America’s Most Wanted" -- where he played a tough-nosed detective -- and "One Life to Live" -- where he played everything from the bass player in a country rock band, a bartender and a local drunk.

The former McCorristin High School student’s top paying gig is "Law & Order" -- an episode where Halsey couldn’t shake the bar-hopping typecast.

In an episode titled "Vendetta," Halsey plays "Bill," a blue-collar Brooklynite who’s sick of low-life people creating drama at his local bar.

Investigating a disturbance in the back of the bar, Halsey’s character finds the dead body of a Yankees fan who caught a foul ball at Yankee Stadium -- costing the team the World Series.

"It’s funny because there’s a line in the show where the detectives asked who would have done it and the detective says, ‘The list of suspects is the whole New York City phone book,’" Halsey joked. "And I get to say ‘jerkweed’ on national television."

While "Law & Order" is Halsey’s biggest gig to date, right now he’s happy doing soup operas and playing small, paying roles on TV.

When he’s not in front of the camera, Halsey sings lead and plays bass in the local rock band Bigger Than Plastic with his boyhood friends from the Villa Park section of Trenton.

His band, a cross between The Sex Pistols and Stone Temple Pilots, just signed up with Philadelphia’s American Artists Management team.

Searching for a record deal, their single "Prom Queen" is currently invading satellite radio stations nationwide.

"We rehearse and record at night and work around whatever acting work I get," Halsey said. "I honestly inspire just to work, whether it’s music, acting or both. I’m fortunate I’m doing both."