Daniel Caltagirone (born 18 June 1972) is an English actor, 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
''Lock, Stock...'' is a seven-part British television crime drama series, co-written and created by Guy Ritchie, as a spin-off from his 1998 film ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels''. The series first broadcast on Channel 4 on 29 May 2000 wi ...
'', where he played series lead Moon. He is father to two children with ex-wife Melanie Sykes.
Early life
Caltagirone was born and brought up in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
. He spent a considerable amount of time as a child in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he has relatives.
Acting career
Caltagirone went on to attend the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
, graduating in 1997. It was during his last year at Guildhall that he was discovered by an
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
talent scout and cast as a lead in
Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...
's ''
Going Wrong
''Going Wrong'' is a psychological thriller by English crime writer Ruth Rendell.
The novel was published in 1990 by Hutchinson in the UK and Mysterious Press in the US.
Synopsis
When he was a young man, Guy Curran led a local street gang an ...
''. He finished filming his first film role, ''
Legionnaire
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
'', alongside
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
in the summer of 1998.
Shortly after, he spent a season at the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
. Whilst at the RSC he was spotted by director
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
and cast as Unhygenix in '' The Beach'' starring Leonardo Di Caprio Before commencing work on ''The Beach'', he joined the cast of ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' for a role in "
The One with Ross's Wedding
"The One with Ross's Wedding" is the two-part fourth-season finale of the American television sitcom ''Friends'', comprising the 96th and 97th episodes of the series overall. Originally broadcast by NBC on May 7, 1998, the episode features Ross, Mo ...
", shot mostly in London. In 1999, he was cast by
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
as one of the leads in ''Lock Stock'', the TV spin off of the film ''
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Mackinto ...
''.
Caltagirone then starred in
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...
's '' The Pianist'' which went on to win an array of international awards, including
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
and
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as ''Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Di ...
. Shortly after finishing filming on ''Tomb Raider'' he was cast in the critically acclaimed movie '' The Fall''. Directed by
Tarsem Singh
Tarsem Singh Dhandwar (born 26 May 1961), known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials. He directed ''The Cell (film), The Cell'' (2000), ''The Fall (2006 film), The Fall'' (2006, ...
, Caltagirone played the dual roles of Hollywood star
Archibald Sinclair
Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party.
Backgr ...
and Governor Odious.
In 2006 Caltagirone starred in ''
The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
'', the controversial two part
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
which aired in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The film starring
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
and
Donnie Wahlberg
Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, record producer, and film producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has had roles in the ''Saw ...
dramatizes the events leading up to the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. Caltagirone was cast as one of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
operatives who were allegedly sent to kill
Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
. In 2009, he played ex-
SAS
SAS or Sas may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers
* ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series
* Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...
The Tudors
''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...
'' in 2010. He starred at
The Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...
in ''.45,'' playing alongside fellow ''Tudors'' alumna
Natalie Dormer
Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Medici: Masters of Florence''.. 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. Palermo Today 10th September 2021.