Blessed with a piercing, blue-eyed glint, brawny looks, cocky "tough guy" stance and effortless charisma, TV's Christopher Meloni has grabbed audiences' attention, male and female alike, finding breakthrough small screen stardom playing both sides of the law. Audiences first were taken in by his sexually arresting portrayal of a sociopathic killer in the gripping prison drama _"Oz" .
Originally from Washington DC, Chris now lives in New York with his production designer wife, Sherman Williams. Chris worked as a construction worker prior to getting his acting break. He got a degree in history at the University of Colorado.
Daughter Sophia Eva Pietra, born in Los Angeles on March 23, 2001. Son Dante Amadeo, born in New York on January 2, 2004. Both were born by a surrogate mother.
Used to work as a bouncer, a bartender, and a personal trainer before launching his acting career.
Is half Italian, half French-Canadian (Quebecois)
His two best known characters are on opposite sides of the law. On "Oz" , he played Chris Keller, a perverted bisexual, sociopathic serial killer who terrorizes his fellow inmates. On "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" , he plays Elliot Stabler, a sex-crimes investigator so protective of his family and so intense in his hatred of criminals, that like Keller, he fantasizes about getting away with killing them. Ironically, Melonis acting background is mainly in comedy.
Is often said to resemble a young Robert De Niro.
Particularly early on in his career, he was often confused for actor Elias Koteas.
Signed a deal to continue "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for two more seasons in which he will be paid $6.5 million annually.
An accomplished card shark.
Was scheduled to appear on "Inside the Actors Studio" with Dick Wolf , Chris Noth , and S. Epatha Merkerson , but had to back out due to an illness.
Godmother of his daughter Sophia is Mariska Hargitay.
He wears a fake tattoo of the United States Marine Corps emblem (the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor) on his arm for his role in SVU (as seen in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 7 episodes, Season 8, Episode 8: "Underbelly" and Season 6, Episode 5: "Outcry".) He has a real tattoo of a butterfly on his upper thigh, and a cubist representation of the crucifixion of Christ tattooed on his upper left arm.
Accepted the honors at his old alma mater (St. Stephens and St. Agnes School in Alexandria) as the 1978 undefeated football team for which he quarterbacked was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
He has played the same character (Detective Elliot Stabler) in three different television series: "Law & Order" , "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" .
Warner Brothers Animation had originally hoped to have Meloni reprise the role of the heroic Green Lantern Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights after having played the part in Green Lantern: First Flight but Meloni was not available due to his Law & Order schedule. Nathan Fillion replaced him.
(August 2005) He is currently playing "Eddie Carbone" in Arthur Miller s "A View From A Bridge" in The Gate Theatre, Dublin. It runs until the end of September.
John Travolta encouraged him to become a pilot and he has a license to fly a jet.
First met the co-writer and his co-star from Wet Hot American Summer and "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" Michael Showalter at a chess shop in New York City without knowing he was also an actor. Meloni stated he regretted having beat Showalter at chess when he was auditioning for the film.
Close friends with Mariska Hargitay.
The surprising thing about fatherhood was finding my inner mush. Now I want to share it with the world. .
