In the 1980s, Pileggi starred in several films including "Three O'Clock High" as Duke "The Duker" Herman, an overzealous tough-as-nails high school parking lot security guard, and in "Shocker" as body-possessing serial killer Horace Pinker. The latter was directed by horror icon Wes Craven. Pileggi appeared playing the villain in the 1991 television film, "Knight Rider 2000", a sequel movie to the original television series "Knight Rider". Pileggi also appeared briefly in the 1992 film "Basic Instinct" as an investigating police officer in the interrogation scene of Michael Douglas. He also appeared in the 1995 vampire film "Vampire in Brooklyn" (also directed by Craven) starring Eddie Murphy as an Italian mobster.