Official peter facinelli biography template

Peter Facinelli

Peter Facinelli (fa-chə-NELI; born November 26, 1973)[1] is an American actor. He starred as Donovan "Van" Ray on the Fox series Fastlane from 2002 to 2003. He played Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novel series, and is also known for his role as Mike Dexter in the 1998 film Can't Hardly Wait. Facinelli was a regular on the Showtime comedy-drama series Nurse Jackie, portraying the role of Dr. Fitch "Coop" Cooper. He portrayed Maxwell Lord on the first season of the TV series Supergirl.

Peter Facinelli

Facinelli at GalaxyCon Columbus in 2024

Born (1973-11-26) November 26, 1973 (age 51)

New York City, U.S.

CitizenshipItalian American
Alma materTisch School of Arts
Occupation(s)Actor, film producer
Years active1995–present
Spouse
Partner(s)Lily Anne Harrison (2016–present; engaged)
Children4
RelativesLetizia Paternoster (niece)

Early life

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Facinelli grew up in Ozone Park, Queens, the son of Italian immigrants Bruna (née Reich), a homemaker, and Pierino Facinelli, a waiter.[2][3] His parents are from the Val di Non valley in Trentino, northern Italy. His father is from Revò, while his mother is from Spormaggiore.[3][4] He was raised Catholic[2] and attended St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, New York.[5]

He studied acting at New York University,[6] as well as at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in New York City.

Career

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Facinelli made his feature film debut in Rebecca Miller's Angela in 1995 and came to the attention of critics in the TV-movie The Price of Love later that year. In 1996, Facinelli played opposite his then-future wife Jennie Garth in An Unfinished Affair. Other TV roles followed, including a part in After Jimmy (1996) and a college dropout in Calm at Sunset. Facinelli co-starred with Amanda Peet and Michael Vartan in the 1997 AIDS-themed drama Touch Me (1997) and co-starred as a high school student in two 1998 features with Ethan Embry and Breckin Meyer, Dancer, Texas Pop. 81, and Can't Hardly Wait, which also starred Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Facinelli appeared in the sci-fi film Supernova starring James Spader in 2000. He made appearances in Riding in Cars with Boys in 2001 and The Scorpion King in 2002, followed by a leading role in the Fox drama Fastlane. Facinelli had a recurring role in the HBO series Six Feet Under in 2004 and a role in the FX original series Damages beginning in 2007. Facinelli starred in Hollow Man 2 with Christian Slater. It was released direct-to-video in May 2006.

In 2006, he was cast in Touch the Top of the World, a true story of Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb Mount Everest. The film is based on his best selling autobiography.

 

After wrapping up Finding Amanda with Matthew Broderick, Facinelli played Carlisle Cullen in the film adaptation of Twilight, based on the book by Stephenie Meyer.[7] According to an interview, "I almost didn't read for Twilight. My agent said, 'Do you want to do a vampire movie?' And I was like, 'No.' I was totally thinking blood and guts and bats in caves, like some kind of horror movie. They literally talked me into reading the book and I actually enjoyed the book a lot."[6] Facinelli continued his portrayal in the sequels of the film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon,[8]The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.[9]

He played Dr. Fitch Cooper for seven seasons on the Showtimedark comedy series Nurse Jackie.[10]

He is the founder of the production company Facinelli Films. Their first feature film, Loosies, which was written entirely by Facinelli, was filmed in 2011.[6] He starred in the film, which is a story of a New York pickpocket that being produced by Verdi Corrente Productions.[11] In 2011 he also wrote and produced the Hallmark Channel telefilm Accidentally in Love which starred his then-wife Jennie Garth. In 2015, he played Maxwell Lord in Supergirl.

In 2015 Facinelli co-wrote the novel After the Red Rain with Barry Lyga and Robert DeFranco.[12] It is set on a future Earth whose population is grappling with dwindling resources.

Personal life

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Facinelli met actress Jennie Garth on the set of An Unfinished Affair in 1995.[13] Facinelli and Garth married on January 20, 2001, in a traditional Catholic ceremony.[13] They have three daughters.[2] In March 2012, Facinelli filed for divorce from Garth,[14] which was finalized in June 2013.[15]

Facinelli began dating actress Jaimie Alexander in 2012 after meeting on the set of Loosies.[16][17] They became engaged in March 2015,[18] and announced they had ended their engagement in February 2016.[19]

On January 1, 2020, Facinelli became engaged to Lily Anne Harrison.[20] They have one child.[21]

Facinelli is Catholic.[22] In 2009, Facinelli acquired Italian citizenship through jus sanguinis to shoot a film in Europe that required that all actors be European citizens.[23] Cyclist Letizia Paternoster is Facinelli's niece.[24]

Filmography

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Film

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Television

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References

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  1. ^"UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019". United Press International. November 26, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  2. ^ abcTauber, Michelle (November 11, 2002). "Vroom, Vroom!". People. Archived from the original on June 10, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  3. ^ ab"PETER FACINELLI: Un vampiro dalla val di Non" (in Italian). Mondotrentino.net. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  4. ^In Trentino, giornale on-line del Trentino, ed. (December 19, 2008). "Dalla Val di Non a Hollywood" (in Italian). Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  5. ^Roleke, John (December 24, 2009). "Twilight Star Home for the Holidays in Queens". About.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  6. ^ abcKugel, Allison (December 12, 2011). "Peter Facinelli Talks Producing His First Indie Film, Loosies, Nurse Jackie, & Almost Passing on Twilight". PR.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  7. ^Carroll, Larry (February 19, 2008). "'Twilight' Film's First Family Revealed: Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser Lead Cullen Clan". MTV. Archived from the original on February 21, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  8. ^Carroll, Larry (November 26, 2008). "Peter Facinelli Excited To Play Carlisle Cullen Again In 'New Moon'". MTV. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  9. ^"Cullen Family Stars Sign on For 'Breaking Dawn' – Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. May 19, 2010. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  10. ^"Nurse Jackie: Official Site". Sho.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  11. ^Fernandez, Jay A. (June 17, 2010). "Vincent Gallo, Michael Madsen join 'Loosies'". Hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  12. ^Lyga, Barry; Facinelli, Peter; DeFranco, Robert (August 2015). After the Red Rain. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN.
  13. ^ ab"'Jennie Garth Has Red-and-White Wedding'". ABC News. February 1, 2001. Archived from the original on January 29, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  14. ^"Peter Facinelli Files for Divorce from Jennie Garth". People. March 28, 2012. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  15. ^"Jennie Garth & Peter Facinelli: Divorce Final – Nicest Divorce Ever". TMZ. June 12, 2013. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  16. ^Michelle Ward (November 30, 2012). "Peter Facinelli Finds Love with Costar Jaimie Alexander". People. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  17. ^Cynthia Littleton (August 25, 2014). "Inside the Emmy Parties: MPTF's Evening Before, Showtime, NBC, ICM Partners Cap Emmy Eve". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  18. ^Andriakos, Jacqueline (March 18, 2015). "Peter Facinelli was engaged to Jaimie Alexander". People. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  19. ^Chiu, Melody. "Jaimie Alexander and Peter Facinelli End Their Engagement". People. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  20. ^"Peter Facinelli Is Engaged to Girlfriend Lily Anne Harrison After Mexico Vacation Proposal". People. January 2, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  21. ^"Twilight's Peter Facinelli welcomes first son". Mum's Grapevine. September 11, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  22. ^Pop, Faith Goes (April 29, 2012). "Jennie Garth's Divorce Is Making Her an Ex-Catholic". patheos.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015.
  23. ^June 2009, Helen Earnshaw | 5. "Peter Facinelli Becomes Italian Citizen". www.femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved October 14, 2020.: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^Un mondo di Letizia: medaglie, pizza e la solitudine della montagna. gnewsonline.it.

External links

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