Peter Scanavino | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Muller Scanavino February 29, 1980 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Spouse | Lisha Bai |
| Children | 3 |
Peter Muller Scanavino (born February 29, 1980) is an American actor. He stars as ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. in the long-running NBC crime/legal drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit .
Scanavino grew up in Evergreen, Colorado, a community in the foothills of the Denver metropolitan area. He is of partial Italian descent through his paternal grandfather, who emigrated from Turin. [1] Both his parents were in the medical field but encouraged him and his older brother to pursue the arts. He had no inclination towards acting until he participated in a high school production of Hamlet . [2]
Scanavino studied at Boston University and decided to change his major to acting, but did not pass the audition. [3] He dropped out and moved to New York City where he took classes at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. [2]
Since 2005, Scanavino has had dozens of minor roles in theater, films and on television, most notably Deception (2008), The Good Wife , and The Blacklist . [4] [5]
In 2005, Scanavino guest-starred on the NBC crime-drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent in the fifth-season episode "Diamond Dogs" as petty criminal Johnny Feist. He was also a guest on Law & Order as a suspect who was a graphic designer in the 2009 episode "Just A Girl in the World".
In 2010, Scanavino took some time away from acting to pursue his interest in cooking. After graduating with a certificate in Culinary Arts from The French Culinary Institute in New York, he began a brief stint working in the kitchen of Dan Barber's Michelin-starred restaurant Blue Hill in Greenwich Village. [6]
In 2013, Scanavino guest-starred on the long-running NBC crime-drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in Season 14, Episode 13, "Monster's Legacy", as Johnny Dubcek. The same year, he starred in the independent romantic-comedy film Mutual Friends , directed by Matthew Watts. [7] [8]
In 2014, Scanavino joined SVU in its sixteenth season, this time as Dominick Carisi Jr., nicknamed Sonny, a new SVU detective. Initially in a recurring capacity, Scanavino was promoted to the main cast in the fifth episode of the same season. According to SVU Executive Producer Warren Leight, Carisi "come[s] in and shake[s] things up" and is "a guy who maybe needs a little bit of refining." [9] [10]
Scanavino noted that Carisi is "a total outsider. He's brusque and he doesn't really get the nuances and he's not very experienced so he puts his foot in his mouth a lot of times. But he's learning. He's picking it up. I think he's a good detective, but he's got a lot to learn on how to approach cases." [11] [12]
Scanavino starred in an episode of Netflix's 2020 anthology series Social Distance as the father of his real-life son, Leo Bai-Scanavino. [13]
Scanavino is married to painter Lisha Bai, with whom he has three children. [14] [15] [16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | On the Shoulder | Gus | |
| 2006 | Under Surveillance | Cult leader | |
| 2008 | Deception | Rhiga desk clerk | |
| 2008 | The Informers | Leon | |
| 2010 | Happythankyoumoreplease | Ira | |
| 2010 | Zenith | Jack | |
| 2011 | Javelina | Chance | |
| 2012 | Watching TV with the Red Chinese | Czapinczyk | |
| 2012 | Frances Ha | Chef | |
| 2013 | The Cold Lands | Carter | |
| 2013 | Mutual Friends | Nate |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Jonny Zero | Travis | Episode: "No Good Deed" |
| 2005 | Third Watch | Stephen | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Robert Hassel | Episode: "Boys Will Be Boys" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Johnny Feist | Episode: "Diamond Dogs" |
| 2006 | The Bedford Diaries | Gunther Halstead | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Royal Pains | Mr. Blackman | Episode: "Am I Blue?" |
| 2009 | Law & Order | Jim Anderson | Episode: "Just a Girl in the World" |
| 2010 | Old Friends | Co-worker | Web series; episode: "Sunday" |
| 2012 | A Gifted Man | Scotty Cartolano | Episode: "In Case of Letting Go" |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Grant Duverney | Episode: "Gloves Come Off" |
| 2013–present | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Johnny Dubcek | Episode: "Monster's Legacy" |
| Det./ADA Dominick Carisi Jr. | Series regular | ||
| 2013 | Do No Harm | Kyle Corrigan | Episode: "Don't Answer the Phone" |
| 2013 | Golden Boy | Eddie Roque | Episode: "Next Question" |
| 2013 | Unforgettable | Alex | Episode: "Maps & Legends" |
| 2014 | Banshee | Breece Connors | Episode: "The Thunder Man" |
| 2014 | The Blacklist | Christopher Maly/Craig Keen | Episode: "Milton Bobbit (No. 135)" |
| 2014 | Person of Interest | Adams | Episode: "Deus Ex Machina" |
| 2014 | The Leftovers | Skinny | Episode: "Two Boats and a Helicopter" |
| 2015 | Chicago P.D. | Det. Dominick Carisi Jr. | Episode: "The Number of Rats" |
| 2020 | Social Distance | Greg | Episode: “You Gotta Ding-Dong Fling-Flong the Whole Narrative” |
| 2021, 2023–2024 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | ADA Dominick Carisi Jr. | Episode: "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of", "With Many Names" & "The Last Supper" |
| 2022 | Law & Order | ADA Dominick Carisi Jr. | Episode: "Gimme Shelter – Part Three" |
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| National | |
