Fastlane

Background:

“On an everyday basis, I'm just pretty casual. I like to get dressed up for a party, but I never want to be a suit guy. Suits are too stuffy for me.” Peter Facinelli

Italian-American actor Peter Facinelli, husband of former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Jennie Garth, was first noticed playing prominent roles in the teen features "Dancer, Texas, Pop. 81" (1998) and "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998). He has since added to his resume significant roles in such films as "The Big Kahuna" (1999), "Riding in Cars with Boys" (2001) and "The Scorpion King" (2002). He will next be seen in the upcoming films "Finding Amanda," "Reaper," "Twilight" and "Thicker."

On the small screen, TV viewers could catch him starring as Donovan 'Van' Ray on Fox’s buddy cop drama series "Fastlane" (2002-2003). He also had recurring roles on the HBO drama series "Six Feet Under" and on FX’s legal thriller "Damages."

The 5' 10" handsome actor has three daughters with actress Jennie Garth, whom he married in 2001.

“I want to look good. Why let yourself go and be eating tons of doughnuts at the craft service table? I think there is a certain responsibility.” Peter Facinelli

Italian Roots

Childhood and Family:

In Ozone Park, Queens, New York, Peter Facinelli was born on November 26, 1973. Son of Italian immigrants Peter Sr. (born in 1940) and Bruna (born in 1944), Peter has three older sisters, JoAnne (born in 1967), Lisa (born in 1968), and Linda (born in 1970). He attended St. Francis Preparatory High School in Fresh Meadows, New York, and did one year at St. John’s University, in Jamaica, New York. He later studied acting at the NYU-affiliated Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in New York City under such teachers as William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Giancarlo Esposito, and Camryn Manheim.

“Sometimes I'll lose sight of her in the store and then my eye catches her and I'm like, 'That is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.' Then I think, 'God, that's my wife. I'm so lucky.' Those kinds of moments hit me and they hit me often.” Peter Facinelli (about his wife Jennie Garth)

On the set of the ABC movie “An Unfinished Affair” (1996), Peter met former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Jennie Garth (born on April 3, 1972), who played his ex-lover in the movie. Jennie, who converted to the Roman Catholic faith so that she and Peter could have a Roman Catholic wedding, married Peter on January 20, 2001, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Montecito, California. Their daughter, Luca Bella Facinelli (born on June 22, 1997), 3 years old at the time, was the flower girl. Their wedding was featured in Instyle weddings. Peter and Jennie later had two more daughters, Lola Ray Facinelli (born on December 6, 2002) and Fiona Eve Facinelli (born on September 30, 2006).

“There's nothing like coming home and seeing Luca Bella [his daughter]. I totally recommend fatherhood. It's wild. It's grounding.” Peter Facinelli

Peter is a vegetarian and coaches his daughters’ soccer and baseball teams. He loves old cars and owns a '62 Thunderbird convertible. He lives in Los Angeles with his family and is taking Kung Fu lesson in North Hollywood.

Can't Hardly Wait

Career:

Becoming interested in acting in college, Peter Facinelli studied the craft under the supervision of William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Giancarlo Esposito, and Camryn Manheim at the NYU-affiliated Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in New York City, where he appeared in several stage plays.

In the mid 1990s, the aspiring actor made his feature film debut as the devil Lucifer in Rebecca Miller's directional debut, the award winning "Angela" (1995; starring Miranda Stuart Rhyne), which won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film and the Gotham Awards. That same year, he appeared in two made-for-television movies, "The Runaways" and "The Price of Love.” He was also spotted as a guest in an episode of the NBC drama television series "Law & Order.”

The following year, Facinelli played Tim Matheson's son and the target of his father's jealous ex-lover (played by Jennie Garth) in the ABC movie "An Unfinished Affair" (1996). He next portrayed Jimmy Stapp in the CBS movie "After Jimmy," and starred as a 18-year-old who quits college and decides to become a fisherman like his father (played by Michael Moriarty) in "Calm at Sunset", a CBS "Hallmark Hall of Fame" production based on Paul Watkins' novel. Peter returned to the wide screen in the film adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates novel, "Foxfire," playing Hedy Burress' boyfriend Ethan.

Facinelli spent the rest of the decade acting in films. After starring opposite Amanda Peet and Michael Vartan in H. Gordon Boos' romantic drama "Touch Me" (1997), he had prominent roles in the teen features "Dancer, Texas, Pop. 81" (1998), a comedy by writer/director Tim McCanlies in which he played best friends with Breckin Meyer, Ethan Embry, and Eddie Mills, and "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998), a romantic comedy by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan in which he co-starred as Jennifer Love Hewitt's boyfriend Mike Dexter.

He added to his resume starring roles in Robert DeFranco's romantic drama comedy "Telling You" (1998) and John Swanbeck's movie adapted from a play titled "Hospitality Suite" written by Roger Rueff, "The Big Kahuna" (1999; with Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito).

On working with Spacey and DeVito in “The Big Kahuna,” Facinelli revealed, “What was really inspirational to me was that both of them came on board and weren’t bossy. They didn’t tell the director where to put the camera or tell me how to act. They were ego-less.”

Facinelli also starred as a high-school quarterback in James Rowe's crime/drama, "Blue Ridge Fall" (1999).

The new millennium saw Facinelli in Walter Hill's thriller "Supernova" and Matt Brown's romantic "Ropewalk," alongside Michele Hicks and Ever Carradine. He also starred in the directorial debut of ex-Eurythmics member Dave Stewart, the dark comedy crime film "Honest," and appeared in the Tony Markes and Adam Rifkin directed "Welcome to Hollywood," alongside such Hollywood figures as Dennis Hopper, Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, and Cameron Diaz.

In 2001, Peter starred in Marc Fusco's comedy/drama "Rennie's Landing" and portrayed a young man hired by Burt Reynolds' dying wealthy businessman character in Bill Bennett's thriller "Tempted."

“To work with talented actors makes my job easier.” Peter Facinelli

He also appeared with Drew Barrymore in Penny Marshall's film based on the autobiography by Beverly D'Onofrio, "Riding in Cars With Boys.”

From 2002 to 2003, Facinelli starred on Fox’s buddy cop drama series "Fastlane" and was cast as Jimmy in the HBO drama series "Six Feet Under." He stayed on the show from 2004 to 2005 and earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

During this time, Facinelli continued working in films and could be seen in Chuck Russell's movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "The Scorpion King" (2002), and Terry Nemeroff's drama/comedy "Enfants terribles" (2005; opposite Christopher Lloyd), which won a REMI AWARD at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. He also co-starred with Adam Arkin in D.W. Brown's short drama film, "Chloe" (2005).

In 2006, Facinelli appeared with Sarah Clarke, Monica Keena, and Eric Stoltz in Sarah Kelly's comedy, "The Lather Effect," and won a Best Actor Award at the Cleveland Indie. He also co-starred with Christian Slater in the direct-to-video released science fiction film, "Hollow Man 2.”

On television, Facinelli portrayed Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man ever to reach the top of Mount Everest, in the TV movie "Touch the Top of the World." He also appeared in the pilot episode of the crime/drama "Enemies" and guest-starred in an episode of Fox’s satirical animated series "American Dad!"

In 2007, Facinelli played the recurring role of Gregory Malina, a consultant and Patty's (played by Glenn Close) key witness, on FX’s Golden Globe-nominated legal thriller series, "Damages" and appeared in the comedy series "Insatiable." He was also seen in two short films, "Battle Olympia," a sport/action by Jesse Davey, and "Lily," a drama/thriller by Daniel Boneville.

Facinelli will next be seen alongside Matthew Broderick and Brittany Snow in Peter Tolan's upcoming 2008 comedy film "Finding Amanda" and Brian Diederich's 26-minute short film, "Reaper," in which he portrays Jesus, opposite Aaron Pont's Reaper. He is currently filming "Twilight," an upcoming film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel of the same name.

Facinelli is also filming "Thicker," an upcoming drama/comedy by writer/director Terry Nemeroff in which he co-stars with Jason Lee, Christopher Lloyd, Rachel Miner, Peter Stormare, and Fairuza Balk.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with a lot of great actors. It’s like tennis; when you’re playing with someone who’s really good, it makes you raise your game.” Peter Facinelli

Awards:

• Cleveland Indie Gathering: Best Actor, "Arc," 2006