Matt Di Angelo

Last updated

Matt Di Angelo
Born
Mario Angelo S Constantinou

(1987-05-01) 1 May 1987 (age 37)
Enfield, London, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1997–present
Spouse
Sophia Perry
​
(m. 2021)​
Children2

Mario Angelo Stavrou Constantinou [1] (born 1 May 1987), [2] [3] professionally known as Matt Di Angelo, is a British actor and singer, best known for his role as Dean Wicks in the BBC soap opera EastEnders . He also portrayed Sean Kennedy in the BBC drama series Hustle . [4]

Contents

Early life

Di Angelo was born in Enfield, London, England, to parents of Greek and Irish descent. He attended Southgate School, and studied acting, singing and dancing at Boden Studios (Enfield/Barnet), and the Sylvia Young Theatre School. [5]

Career

Di Angelo's first acting role was as Robbie in the television series Harbour Lights in the episode: "Rites of Passage" which first aired on 28 May 2000. Then he played Felix in the CBBC musical comedy series I Dream in 2004. This resulted in him making a few appearances in the Sunday morning children's TV show Smile . He appeared in the film Telling Lies in 2006.

That same year he began appearing in his best-known role as Deano Wicks in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders , he made his first appearance on 2 January 2006. It was announced on 18 August 2007 that Di Angelo would be leaving EastEnders following the departure of Phil Daniels (who played his on-screen stepfather Kevin Wicks). He described his departure as "a shock". [6] Di Angelo finished filming EastEnders 12 December 2007 and his last appearance in the series aired on 7 February 2008.

Di Angelo's portfolio includes television commercials and modelling, and he has been a guest on a number of programmes, such as The Paul O'Grady Show , Saturday Kitchen , Ready Steady Cook , Hole in the Wall , Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong , Weakest Link and The Friday Night Project .

From 11 December 2008 until 31 January 2009 he played the character of Hal in the play Loot in north London's Tricycle Theatre, then at Theatre Royal, Newcastle 3–7 February 2009. [7]

He played Sean from series 5 to 8 of the 2009 series of the hit BBC One series, Hustle. He played Fitz Kreiner in the Doctor Who audio play The Company of Friends.

On 20 April 2009, Di Angelo's agent announced on their website [8] that he would be filming a guest role in Casualty. This will be the series two-part finale 'No Fjords in Finland' which is due to air on Saturday 25 July and Saturday 1 August 2009. The agent advised that he was busy recording a new pilot show called Fried Brain Sandwich about a stand up comedian, to be directed by Guy Jenkin ( Outnumbered and Drop the Dead Donkey ).

On 21 July 2009, Di Angelo's agent announced on their website that he would be playing the lead role of Jack Stradler in the low-budget film Following Footsteps. He films throughout August for Perry Pictures. [9]

Earlier in the year Di Angelo supported 'A Night Less Ordinary' a free ticket scheme for young people launched by Arts Council England in February 2009. [10]

In May 2010, Di Angelo was filming Whiskey Robber for Parallel Pictures and series 7 of Hustle. [11]

In April 2012, industry trade daily Screen International announced Di Angelo had been cast as the lead in British crime thriller Two Days in the Smoke alongside Stephen Marcus, Alan Ford, Lili Bordán and Velibor Topić. [12]

In April 2014, Di Angelo returned to EastEnders, to reprise the role as Dean Wicks. [13] In October 2015, it was announced that he would once again be leaving EastEnders. [14] His last episode was on 5 February 2016.

On 30 March 2016, it was announced that Di Angelo had been cast in the second series of Ordinary Lies. [15] Filming began in Cardiff, Wales on 21 March 2016.

Strictly Come Dancing

In 2007, Di Angelo competed as a contestant in series 5 of Strictly Come Dancing , where he was partnered with professional dancer Flavia Cacace. He and Cacace finished the competition as the runners-up, losing to Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler. They later competed in the 2007 Christmas special of the show, landing in third place.

They also competed together in the Strictly Come Dancing live arena tour from January to February 2008, and had won more shows than any other couple by coming first overall sixteen times and second ten times. [16]

Personal life

Di Angelo married professional wedding planner Sophia Perry in 2021; [17] [18] the couple have twins, a boy and a girl, born in August 2022. [19] [20]

Filmography

Films

YearFilmRole
2008Telling LiesDerek
2010Following FootstepsJack Stadler
2012 Two Days in the Smoke Brad Walker

Television

YearShowRoleNotes
2000 Harbour Lights Robbie1 episode
2004 I Dream Felix13 episodes
2006–2008,
2014–2016,
2023–2024		 EastEnders Dean Wicks 406+ episodes
2007 Strictly Come Dancing ContestantHimself
Ready Steady Cook ContestantCelebrity Ready Steady Cook
2008 Dani's House Delivery Man1 episode
2009–2012 Hustle Sean Kennedy24 episodes
2009 Casualty Tom2 episodes
2011 Death in Paradise Darren Moore1 episode
2012–2014 Borgia Francesco Alidosi 11 episodes
2016 Ordinary Lies FletchSeries 2; 6 episodes

Radio

YearShowRoleNotes
2009 Doctor Who Fitz Kreiner 1 episode

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2006 British Soap Awards Sexiest MaleEastEndersNominated [21]
2007British Soap AwardsSexiest MaleEastEndersNominated [22]
2014 Inside Soap Awards Best Bad BoyEastEndersShortlisted [23]
2015Inside Soap AwardsBest ActorEastEndersNominated [24]
2015Inside Soap AwardsBest Bad BoyEastEndersShortlisted [25]
2024 National Film Awards UK Best Supporting Actor in a TV SeriesEastEndersPending [26]
2024RadioTimes.com Soap AwardsBest VillainEastEndersPending [27]

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References

  1. ↑ "Mario Angelo Stavrou CONSTANTINOU personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
  2. ↑ "Matt Di Angelo". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 5 June 2008. 1st May 1987, London, UK
  3. ↑ McCaffrey, Julie (5 January 2008). "Matt di Angelo exclusive". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Hustle: Episode 1" . Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Sylvia Young Theatre School (Ex-students)". Sylvia Young Theatre School. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "Leaving Enders is a shock" Archived 15 October 2007 at archive.today , MyParkMag.co.uk, 29 August 2007
  7. ↑ Tricycle Theatre Archived 22 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine . Tricycle.co.uk (12 June 2012). Retrieved on 20 June 2012.
  8. ↑ Rossmore Management Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved on 20 June 2012.
  9. ↑ Film News. Rossmore Management. Retrieved on 20 June 2012.
  10. ↑ Stars launch A Night Less Ordinary, OfficialLondonTheatre.com
  11. ↑ News. Rossmore Management. Retrieved on 20 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Wilcock, Jessica. (23 April 2012) Matt Di Angelo to star in Two Days In The Smoke | News | Screen. Screendaily.com. Retrieved on 20 June 2012.
  13. ↑ Deano to return from Down Under.
  14. ↑ Fletcher, Harry (22 October 2015). "EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo is leaving his role as Dean Wicks". Digital Spy . Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "BBC – Stellar cast announced for second series of hit BBC drama Ordinary Lies – Media Centre".
  16. ↑ "Previous Winners". Strictly Come Dancing Live!. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  17. ↑ Seddon, Dan (6 September 2021). "EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo marries partner Sophia Perry". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Flannery, Amanda (6 September 2021). "EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo marries partner Sophia Perry". FM104. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  19. ↑ Davies, Rachael (25 August 202). "Strictly's Matt Di Angelo announces birth of twins with wife Sophia Perry". Cambridge News. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  20. ↑ Mwitumwa, Monde (25 August 2022). "BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Matt Di Angelo announces birth of twins with sweet photo" . Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  21. ↑ "British Television Soap Awards". thecustard.tv. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  22. ↑ "The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  23. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (1 October 2014). "Inside Soap Awards 2014: See the full winners list". Digital Spy . Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  24. ↑ Dainty, Sophie (14 July 2015). "Inside Soap Awards 2015 longlist revealed: Who's in line for Best Actor, Actress and Newcomer?". Digital Spy . Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  25. ↑ Sandwell, Ian (29 September 2015). "EastEnders and Emmerdale lead 'final four' shortlists for the Inside Soap Awards 2015". Digital Spy . Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  26. ↑ Armstrong, Jeff (29 April 2024). "The National Film Awards unveils nominations for 10th anniversary celebration". National Film Academy. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  27. ↑ Daly, Helen (9 May 2024). "RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024 nominations revealed". Radio Times . Retrieved 9 May 2024.
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