Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 with the musical "Hair". He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jefferson Award for portraying Richard Roma in the first American productions of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize–winning play "Glengarry Glen Ross", the first of many collaborations with Mamet. His long-standing association with Mamet includes the premieres of "A Life in the Theatre", "The Disappearance of the Jews" and "Speed-the-Plow" on Broadway. Mantegna also directed a highly lauded production of Mamet's "Lakeboat", which enjoyed a successful theatrical run in Los Angeles. He later directed the film version of "Lakeboat". In addition to theatrical appearances directed by Mamet, Mantegna appeared in Mamet's films "House of Games" (1987), "Things Change" (1988), "Homicide" (1991), and "Redbelt" (2008).