Stelio Savante
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Stelio Savante born 1970, in Cape Town, South Africa is a South African film and television actor living in the United States. [1] Is a native English speaker (Anglo South African) and fluent in Afrikaans and Greek. [2]
[edit] Biography
His career path and acting roots can be traced back to primary and high school plays in Cape Town. At Camps Bay High School at the age of 16 he won the best actor award in the annual one act play festival competition. After coming to the USA on a tennis scholarship 1990 courtesy of the University of West Alabama, he was persuaded to try out for a college play. Was later nominated for and awarded the Alpha Psi Omega blazer and tie accolade for acting achievement in university plays to go along with his theater major. Community and regional theater roles with good reviews [3]were soon to ensue and Stelio relocated to New York where he was married in 1992.
[edit] Film, Television & Stage
Several lead and supporting roles in Off Broadway shows and independent films in the mid and late nineties were soon followed by recurring television roles on the Conan O’ Brien Show and as Guard Berger on All My Children. Then he was cast as the lead in ‘Worm Day’ at the celebrated Actor’s Studio. Small supporting roles on Sopranos and in A Beautiful Mind and Hong Kong action flick Manhattan Chase were next but Stelio was still looking for that break through role.
In 2001, Sarah Tuft, founder of the Director’s and Actor’s (D & A) workshop cast Stelio in the lead role of Ecuadorian photographer Bolivar Arellano opposite Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, James Gandolfini, Edie Falco and Mary Stuart Masterson in the acclaimed 9/11 piece 110 stories at the 400 seat Joseph Papp Public Theater. The relatively unknown actor was then invited to study with Robert X Modica of the neighbourhood playhouse and Sandy Meisner fame.
In 2005, primetime network show Law & Order Special Victims Unit was looking to cast an actor that could portray a Bosnian-Muslim fundamentalist. Stelio guest starred as the villain opposite Mariszka Hargitay and Angela Lansbury. Later the episode was nominated for Emmy Awards and Golden Globes.
Other high profile roles followed, including: a guest star lead as an Italian American mob hitman on Law & Order Criminal Intent opposite Chris Noth and Annabella Sciorra, a lead role as an American Sergeant in the WWII film, The Coldest Winter [4] which took the ‘best feature film’ award at the Hollywood DV Festival, a lead role as an abusive Greek father in the independent film, Pulse [5],[6] a lead role in the NY and Off Broadway premier of Arabian Night, a supporting role in Solidarity, and a supporting role and 6th billing in the Hollywood comedy My Super Ex Girlfriend.
As a playwright his play ‘Venom’ was nominated as one act play of the year by Samuel French, the world’s biggest play publisher for their Love Creek festival. His screenplay ‘White Gold’ was awarded best screenplay at the 2001 Narrowsburg Film Festival.
ABC network then offered Stelio a recurring role on the new primetime network series, Ugly Betty, produced by Salma Hayek, and he relocated to Los Angeles where he is now studying with Bill Alderson.
Filmography
| Project | Character | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ugly Betty | Steve | 2007 |
| Ugly Betty | Steve | 2006 |
| My Super Ex Girlfriend | Leo | 2006 |
| The Coldest Winter | Sergeant Warner | 2005 |
| Pulse | Yanni | 2005 |
| Law & Order Criminal Intent | Phil Bartoli | 2005 |
| Solidarity | Adam | 2005 |
| Law & Order Special Victims Unit | Milan Zergin | 2004 |
| All My Children | Guard Berger | 2003 |
| Midnight Club | Primo | 2003 |
| Nobody Beats Charlie | Frank | 2002 |
| Urban Jungle | De Sandt | 2002 |
| Dying To Live | Dr Ross | 2001 |
| Astoria | Nick | 2000 |
| The Sopranos | Gaetano Giarizzio | 2000 |
| A Grave Debt | Devo | 2000 |
| Guiding Light | Mr Black | 2000 |
| The Last of the Communists | Andrei | 1999 |
| The Clean Break | Ivan | 1998 |
| Close Up | Frankie | 1997 |
![[2]](http://imdb.com/gallery/hh/0767445/HH/0767445/iid_920169.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Savante,%20Stelio){kind=link}