[2] Known for often portraying violent mobsters and criminals, he was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in Raging Bull (1980), Billy Batts in Goodfellas (1990), and Frank Marino in Casino (1995).

Vincent also voiced Salvatore Leone in the Grand Theft Auto video game series from 2001 to 2005.

[7][8] Vincent and Pesci later landed parts in the low-budget gangster film The Death Collector (1976), where they were spotted by Robert De Niro.

[10] One of his notable appearances in foreign films was as a supporting character in Juan José Jusid's Made in Argentina (1987), in which he played Vito, a wealthy Manhattan businessman who befriends the film's protagonist, a substance-abuse counselor who treated Vito's son, played by Luis Brandoni.

[11] For example, in Scorsese's film Goodfellas (1990), he played Billy Batts, a made man in the Gambino crime family;[12] he also played a role in Scorsese's film Casino (1995) as Frank Marino (based on real-life gangster Frank Cullotta), the sidekick of Pesci's character.

[10] Vincent appeared in a small role in the 1998 film Belly, starring Nas and DMX and directed by Hype Williams.

[9] In 2003, Vincent portrayed Danny Santini in the film This Thing of Ours, whose associate producer was Sonny Franzese, longtime mobster and underboss of the Colombo crime family, and whose director was Genovese crime family capo Danny Provenzano (grandnephew of Anthony Provenzano).

[22] The following year, he made a cameo appearance alongside fellow Sopranos actor Steve Schirripa in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Vegas" (2009).

A resident of Nutley, New Jersey, Vincent used his drumming skills in an impromptu performance at a township holiday concert.

[30] Director John Gallagher, who worked with Vincent on Street Hunter and The Deli, noted that the actor lied about his age to avoid discrimination, and therefore many sources listed his birth year as 1939.