Peter Facinelli
Biography
Peter Facinelli was born in Queens, New York, the youngest child of Bruna (Reich) and Pierino Facinelli, a waiter. His parents are Italian immigrants, originally from Trentino, Northern Italy. He has three sisters. Peter was educated at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, New York, and went on to attend St. John's University, but left after a year to follow his interest in acting at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, also in New York. There Facinelli was taught by such distinguished actors as Academy Award nominees William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman.
He made his screen debut in 1995, appearing in Rebecca Miller's Angela (1995) and has worked consistently ever since. Notable projects include The Price of Love (1995), An Unfinished Affair (1996) (where he met his future wife, Jennie Garth), Touch Me (1997) and The Scorpion King (2002). Facinelli has also had re-occurring roles in such TV shows such as Fastlane (2002), Six Feet Under (2001), Damages (2007) and Nurse Jackie (2009). In 2008, he won the role of Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the wildly popular Twilight (2008) and its sequels.
Family
Jennie Garth (20 January 2001 - 11 June 2013) ( 3 children)
Trivia
Has three children with ex-wife Jennie Garth: daughters Luca Bella Facinelli (born June 29, 1997), Lola Ray Facinelli (born December 6, 2002) and Fiona Facinelli (born September 30, 2006).
Met Jennie Garth while filming An Unfinished Affair (1996).
Grew up in Ozone Park, Queens, New York.
Studied acting at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, New York City, New York under such teachers as William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Giancarlo Esposito and Camryn Manheim.
Italian-American.
Attended St. Francis Preparatory High School in Fresh Meadows, New York.
He started dating actress Jaimie Alexander in 2012. In March 2015 they got engaged, but the couple later split in February 2016.
Friends with Jerry O' Connell.
Personal Quotes
(2011, on career choices) I switch it up and do something different. I get bored if I do the same thing over and over. When I look back at the characters I've played, they've all been so distinctly different from each other. "Mike Dexter" from Can't Hardly Wait (1998) is completely different than the character I played in The Scorpion King (2002), which is completely different than the Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) role or the role I played on Damages (2007). Put that next to the guy that I played in Fastlane (2002), then put the character in "Fastlane" next to Twilight (2008)'s "Carlisle", and put that character next to Nurse Jackie (2009)'s "Dr. Cooper", and they're all so vastly different that, whenever my agent says, "What do you want to do next?", I say, "Whatever I haven't done before". I like shaking it up and doing different things.
I remember waiting in line all away around the block for Superman premier and I thought "wow this is amazing, all those people are here to see this movie, it must be something special". And then you come to Comic-Con and people camp out for days and it puts things to perspective, like how amazing movies are and how movies can bring groups of people together for their passion, and they make friends... I thing anytime something can bring people together in a positive way it's a great thing.
Last week I was in London at an awards show, then I flew home and was in an RV park with my wife and kids in our motorhome, this week I'm in NY doing a charity event, and tomorrow I'll be coaching my daughters soccer practice. I guess the range of roles I play on film stem from the range of roles I play in real life.
