FDR High School Alum Wins His First Emmy For Netflix Show “Ripley”

FDR alum Joseph Servodio is making everyone proud by recently winning his first Emmy. The visual effects producer won the award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode for his work on the Netflix series "Ripley," starring Dakota Fanning and Andrew Scott.

After attending FDR High School in Hyde Park, Servodio went on to the New York Film Academy. Joseph received a BFA in FilMMAking at the NYFA Los Angeles campus. According to his IMDb, Joseph Servodio is known for Ripley (2024), Dune: Part One (2021) and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

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The episode in question in which he won the Emmy for was "III Sommerso" on Netflix's Ripley. Ripley is an American neo-noir psychological thriller miniseries created, written and directed by Steven Zaillian, based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Starring Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, with Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf, the eight-episode limited series is the first adaptation of Highsmith's novel to a series.

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In the show, a wealthy man hires down-on-his-luck grifter Tom Ripley to Travel to Italy to urge his vagabond son to return home; Tom's acceptance of the job is the first step in a life of deceit, fraud and murder. If any of this sounds familiar, its because it was adapted into a film in 1999 with Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Matt Damon as Tom Ripley.

SPOILERS FOR RIPLEY AHEAD

In Episode 3, "III Sommerso," Tom receives a letter from Herbert, informing him that his attempts to persuade Dickie to return have been a failure. Dickie also receives a letter from his father telling him to be wary of Tom. Dickie offers to take Tom on a trip to Sanremo. They rent a small boat, and when they are far from shore, Dickie tells him that he and Marge are going to spend Christmas with Freddie in Cortina without him.

When Dickie turns around to re-start the motor, Tom beats him to death with an oar. He ties the corpse to the boat's anchor, after removing and pocketing Dickie's personal accessories. When Tom attempts to dump the body overboard, his feet get caught in the anchor rope and he nearly drowns. He survives, and succeeds in heaving Dickie's body into the water. Back on shore, Tom submerges the boat, and wearing Dickie's ring, leaves Sanremo.

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Joseph Servodio said that thirty seconds on the Emmy stage wasn’t nearly enough time to thank everyone who made this achievement possible. So, he used Instagram! He said,

Thank you to my incredible parents, Cathy and Bernie, as well as my siblings, Michael, Rosanna, Lisa, and Anthony. Your support, from making movies in my room as a little kid to day one of film school to my first Emmy, has meant the world to me. Especially Rosanna who moved all the way to LA with me and was by my side every single step of the way. Thank you to my friends who have been the comedic relief in my life after the toughest, longest days on set or at the office. And to my incredible team, Rolf, Garrett, Brooke, and Fara. Working with you all was like working with my best friends. Thank you to my mentors, Maricel, James, and Mitch who not only taught me everything I know about VFX but also gave me my first job as a PA only 7 years ago. Lastly, thank you to the hundreds of talented artists around the world who brought this show to life and to the Television Academy for recognizing our work with this honor.

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