Daniel Caltagirone (born 18 June 1972) is an English actor,[1] best known for his roles in The Beach, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and the Oscar-winning film The Pianist. His breakthrough role came in the television series Lock Stock, where he played series lead Moon. He is father to two children with ex-wife Melanie Sykes.[2][3]

Daniel Caltagirone
Born (1972-06-18) 18 June 1972 (age 52)
London, England
Occupation(s)Actor, producer
Spouse
(m. 2001; div. 2009)

Early life

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Caltagirone was born and brought up in London, where he attended St Ignatius College, Enfield. He spent a considerable amount of time as a child in New York City, where he has relatives.

Acting career

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Caltagirone went on to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,[4] graduating in 1997. It was during his last year at Guildhall that he was discovered by an ITV talent scout and cast as a lead in Ruth Rendell's Going Wrong. He finished filming his first film role, Legionnaire, alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in the summer of 1998.[citation needed]

Shortly after, he spent a season at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Whilst at the RSC he was spotted by director Danny Boyle and cast as Unhygenix in The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio[5] Before commencing work on The Beach, he joined the cast of Friends for a role in "The One with Ross's Wedding", filmed mostly in London. In 1999, he was cast by Guy Ritchie as one of the leads in Lock Stock, the TV spin off of the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.[6]

Caltagirone then starred in Roman Polanski's The Pianist which went on to win an array of international awards, including Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screen Play.[7]

In 2003 he appeared in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life with Angelina Jolie and Gerard Butler. Shortly after finishing filming on Tomb Raider he was cast in the movie The Fall. Directed by Tarsem Singh, Caltagirone played the dual roles of Hollywood star Archibald Sinclair and Governor Odious.[citation needed]

In 2006 Caltagirone starred in The Path to 9/11, the two part miniseries which aired in the United States on ABC. The film starring Harvey Keitel and Donnie Wahlberg dramatizes the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Caltagirone was cast as one of the CIA operatives who were allegedly sent to kill Osama bin Laden. In 2009, he played ex-SAS Captain Gideon Stone in The Fixer. He portrayed aristocrat Girolamo de Treviso in The Tudors in 2010. He then performed at The Hampstead Theatre in .45, playing alongside fellow Tudors alumna Natalie Dormer in 2011. In 2016, he appeared in the TV series Medici: Masters of Florence.[citation needed]. In 2020 he played Will Arnot in Death in Paradise.

In September 2021, Caltagirone was honoured with the Nations Award in Venice for Outstanding Contribution to Film.[8]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 Legionnaire Guido Rosetti
2000 The Beach Unhygenix
2000 Mad About Mambo Carlos Rega
2002 The Pianist Majorek
2002 The Four Feathers Gustave
2003 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life Nicholas Petraki
2006 The Fall Sinclair / Governor Odious
2006 After... Nate
2010 The Reeds Joe
2011 Lipstikka Michael
2012 Outpost: Black Sun Macavoy
2013 Convenience Tommy
2015 Dough Stephen Dayan
2016 Smoking Guns Richard Holt
2016 Eliminators Ray
2020 Original Gangster Campbell
2024 Thangalaan Lord Clement Tamil film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1997 Heartbeat Liam Episode: "In on the Act"
1997, 2008 The Bill Billy Figgis / Simon Watson 2 episodes
1998 Friends The Waiter Episode: "The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2"
1998 The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Danny Danilo 3 episodes
1999 The Cyberstalking Taylor Television film
1999, 2000 A Touch of Frost Ray English 2 episodes
2000 Harbour Lights Harry Badden Episode: "A Quiet Storm"
2000 Lock, Stock... Moon 7 episodes
2001 The Lost Battalion Pvt. Phillip Cepeglia Television film
2006 The Path to 9/11 Mark 2 episodes
2008 The Passion Eban
2009 Above Suspicion DS Paul Barolli
2009 The Fixer Gideon Stone Episode #2.3
2010 Silent Witness Peter Snelling 2 episodes
2010 The Tudors Girolamo da Treviso
2010 Time Machine: Rise of the Morlocks Hoyle Television film
2012 The Fear Eddie Timms Episode #1.1
2015 Crossing Lines Robert Penny Episode: "Redux"
2016 Medici Pazzi 7 episodes
2017–2019 Britannia Brutus 10 episodes
2019 Ransom Inspector Lorenzo Maramoldo Episode: "It's a Ravenzo"
2019 1944: Should We Bomb Auschwitz? John W. Pehle Television film
2020 Death in Paradise Will 'Wolfie' Arnot Episode: "Murder on Mosquito Island"
2020 Agatha and the Midnight Murders Eli Schneider Television film
2021 Domina Ledipus Episode: "Fall"

References

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  1. ^ Daniel Caltagirone profile, independenttalent.com; accessed 3 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Melanie Sykes, 50, stuns fans with incredible workout body". HELLO!. 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  3. ^ "Mel Sykes breaks up with Italian husband". independent. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  4. ^ A Clockwork Orange — The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 13 March 1997.
  5. ^ My hols: actor Daniel Caltagirone, thetimes.co.uk; accessed 3 December 2017.
  6. ^ Cast of North Pole, rebisfilm.com; accessed 3 December 2017.
  7. ^ "2002 Domestic Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  8. ^ Palermo Today, 10th September 2021.
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