Christopher Meloni
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
With rugged looks and an imposing presence, Christopher Meloni frequently found himself cast in tough guy roles, but when given the chance the actor displayed surprising range, particularly in comedy. Meloni broke in via television and eventually began landing bit parts in feature films like "Clean Slate" (1994), "Junior" (1994) and "12 Monkeys" (1995). Meloni all but cemented his stature as a Mafia-type thug with his vicious performance in the sexually-charged thriller "Bound" (1996), which was followed by similarly brutish parts in series such as "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005) and the miniseries "The Last Don" (CBS, 1997). By the end of the decade, however, Meloni took on two equally intense roles as characters who could not have been more diametrically opposed to each other. On "Oz" (HBO, 1997-2003), Meloni gave a chilling performance as serial killer Chris Keller, and shortly thereafter he joined the cast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ) as Detective Elliot Stabler, a cop who tirelessly pursued perpetrators of the most heinous sexual crimes. As much as he would be known for his dramatically intense performances in films like Frank Miller's "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" (2014), Meloni would prove himself capable of delivering huge belly laughs with gut-busting cameos in films such as "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004) and David Wain's romantic comedy parody "They Came Together" (2014). Though he left "SVU" after 12 seasons in 2011, Meloni always found himself in the enviable position of being able to work in both drama and comedy with equal facility.
Born Christopher Peter Meloni on April 2, 1961 in Washington, D.C. to parents Robert, a successful endocrinologist, and Cecile, a proud homemaker, Meloni grew up in the nation's capital prior to attending the University of Colorado. Upon earning his bachelor's degree in history in 1983, he returned to the D.C. area, working in construction for a time, before pursuing acting. Meloni relocated to New York City, where he apprenticed at the famed Neighborhood Playhouse while earning a living as a bouncer at various clubs. During that period he took part in several obscure, off-Broadway productions and managed to land occasional television work, with a small recurring role on the daytime soap "Search for Tomorrow" (NBC, 1951-1987), as well as a brief appearance in an episode of the crime drama "The Equalizer" (CBS, 1985-89). With a more substantial returning part as ex-con turned quarterback, Johnny Gunn in the 5th season installment of the NFL comedy "1st & 10: Do It Again" (HBO, 1989-90), Meloni's career began to gain traction. When Meloni won the role of skirt-chasing man-child Frankie Fanelli, one of the titular brothers in the comedy, "The Fanelli Boys" (NBC, 1990-91), it should have been his big break. However, the painfully obvious, facile series about a stereotypical Italian-American family met with indifference from audiences, scorn from critics, and was soon cancelled. Undeterred, Meloni picked up work wherever he found it, with a featured role in the TV movie "When Will I Be Loved" (NBC, 1990), a co-starring turn in the miniseries "In a Child's Name" (CBS, 1991), and two seasons of recurring voice work as the wise-cracking Spike for the live-action/puppetry anomaly "Dinosaurs" (ABC, 1990-94).
Meloni had a co-starring role in "Without a Kiss Goodbye" (CBS, 1993), as the loyal husband of Laurie Samuels (Lisa Hartman Black), a woman wrongly convicted of poisoning her infant son. The following year, he also made the jump to the big screen with small parts in two feature films - the Dana Carvey amnesia comedy "Clean Slate" (1994) and "Junior" (1994), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a research scientist who accidentally becomes pregnant. Meloni also had the good fortune to make a brief appearance in the Terry Gilliam-directed "12 Monkeys" (1995), an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller starring Bruce Willis as a man sent back in time to prevent the extinction of mankind. He was able to flex a little more muscle as the brutish Mafia scion Johnny Marzonne in the neo-noir "Bound" (1996), written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers. The erotic crime thriller starred Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon as a pair of femme fatales who first become lovers, and then partners in crime. Although he ran the risk of being typecast, Meloni continued to accept tough guy roles, including a recurring turn as the vicious gun dealer, Jimmy Liery, on the long-running Steven Bochco procedural, "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005), as well as a recurring role on another Bochco production, "Brooklyn South" (CBS, 1997-98). A role in a similar vein came his way with the miniseries "Mario Paso's 'The Last Don'" (CBS, 1997), in which he received positive notices for his intense portrayal of Darryl Hannah's sadistic ex-husband. Meloni also made a small, but utterly hilarious impact as a take-no-guff gay hotel clerk in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998), starring Johnny Deep and directed once again by Terry Gilliam.
Around this time, things began to pick up for Meloni when he joined the cast of the award-winning prison drama "Oz" (HBO, 1997-2003). As inmate Chris Keller, a serial killer whose passions and brutality frequently endangered even those closest to him, Meloni received almost unanimous praise from critics and fans alike. There was also a 1998 turn as a bounty hunter in a two-part episode of the critically acclaimed crime drama "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1992-99). That same year, the actor also re-teamed with "Oz" co-star Rita Moreno for the indie family comedy "Carlo's Wake" (1998). A higher profile, but less challenging role as the jilted fiancé in the Julia Roberts-Richard Gere romantic comedy "Runaway Bride" (1999) preceded what would be Meloni's biggest role up to that point in his career. As the hot-tempered, driven Detective Elliot Stabler on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ) Meloni would garner a legion of fans for his committed portrayal of the passionate cop, earning himself a 2006 Emmy nomination for Best Actor. As with many of the more popular characters in the "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010) universe, Stabler made crossover appearances on the original series and its spin-offs, including "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (NBC, 2004-05). As busy as he was, Meloni still managed to find time to appear in projects such as the little-known summer camp comedy "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), co-starring Janeane Garafolo and Paul Rudd, and the TV movie "Dominick Dunne Presents: Murder in Greenwich" (USA, 2002) as controversial former-detective Mark Fuhrman.
Even as the usually grim "Law & Order: SVU" continued its long run, Meloni took rare opportunities to work his funny bone with hilarious cameos in the medical comedy "Scrubs" (NBC/ABC, 2001-2010) in 2003, and was barely recognizable in the raunchy "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004) as the insane "Freakshow." In the mawkish "Nights in Rodanthe" (2008), Meloni had the thankless task of playing the philandering husband of Diane Lane, once again losing the girl to Richard Gere. He had a bit of silly fun as Coach Davie Stewie, a humiliated one-time Olympic hopeful desperate to recapture his glory via his middle school students in "Gym Teacher" (Nickelodeon, 2008). The following year, he appeared in two long-delayed films, the apocalyptic teen horror movie "Carriers" (2009) and the John Krasinski-directed "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" (2009), based on the novel by David Foster Wallace. Meanwhile, Meloni ended his run on "SVU" after 12 seasons in order to pursue other projects, stating that he had a great run and left the show with promises of appearing as a guest star in the future. He moved on to a prominent recurring role on "True Blood" (HBO, 2008-2014) as Roman Zimojic, an ancient vampire and Guardian of the blood of Lilith during the series' fifth season. On the big screen, Meloni alternated between dramas including "White Bird in a Blizzard" (2014), and comic-book action films like Frank Miller's "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For" (2014) and "Man of Steel" (2013). Meloni returned to TV with the short-lived sitcom "Surviving Jack" (Fox 2014) and the anarchic prequel "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" (Netflix 2015- ).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1981
Dropped out of college during his junior year to move to Los Angeles; returned to Colorado after six weeks
1988
Early TV credit, a small role on an episode of "The Equalizer" (CBS)
1989
Cast as an ex-con turned quarterback on the HBO series "1st & Ten"
1990
Landed featured role in the NBC TV-movie "When Will I Be Loved?"
1990
Played Frankie, one of the title brothers on the NBC sitcom "The Fanelli Boys"
1991
Co-starred in the CBS miniseries "In a Child's Name"
1991
Voiced the recurring character of Spike on the ABC animated series "Dinosaurs"
1993
Cast in the TV-movie "Without a Kiss Goodbye" (CBS) as the husband of a woman wrongly convicted of poisoning their infant son
1994
Playing supporting role in "Junior," starring a pregnant Arnold Schwarzenegger
1994
Appeared in the Dana Carvey vehicle "Clean Slate"
1995
Starred in the one-act play "Who Made Robert De Niro King of America"
1995
Appeared in Terry Gilliam's thought-provoking time travel tale "12 Monkeys"
1996
Featured as the hotheaded son of a Mafia Don in the crime thriller "Bound"
1996
Landed recurring role on Steven Bochco's "NYPD Blue" (ABC) as Jimmy Leary, the love interest of Kim Delaney
1997
Cast in a recurring role on Steven Bochco's "Brooklyn South" (CBS)
1997
Played Daryl Hannah's ex-husband in "Mario Puzo's 'The Last Don'" (CBS)
1998
Re-teamed with Terry Gilliam for a small role in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"
1998
Played a bounty hunter in a two-part episode of "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC)
1998
Along with "Oz" co-star Rita Moreno, acted in the film "Carlo's Wake"
1998
Cast as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama "Oz"
1999
Played the sports-obsessed Coach Bob opposite Julia Roberts in "Runaway Bride"
1999
Cast as Detective Elliot Stabler on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC), earned an Emmy (2006) nomination for Best Actor; left the show after 12 seasons
2001
Acted in the ensemble comedy "Wet Hot American Summer"
2002
Portrayed Mark Fuhrman in TV-movie "Murder in Greenwich" (USA Network), which was based on the unsolved murder of Martha Moxley
2004
Played almost-unrecognizable role of 'Freakshow' in comedy feature "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle"
2008
Co-starred with Diane Lane and Richard Gere in "Nights in Rodanthe"
2009
Featured in the horror "Carriers"
2012
Joined the cast of HBO's "True Blood" as 500-year-old vampire Roman
2013
Played Colonel Nathan Hardy in the superhero film "Man of Steel"
2014
Began appearing as Jack Dunlevy on "Surviving Jack"
2015
Reprised the role of Gene in the prequel series "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp."
2016
Joined the cast of the historical drama "Underground"
Family
Companions
