PERSON: Peter Scanavino

Actor

Peter Muller Scanavino (born February 29, 1980) is an American actor. He currently stars as ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. In the long-running NBC crime/legal drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Scanavino grew up in Evergreen, Colorado, a community in the foothills of the Denver metropolitan area. He is of partial Italian descent through his paternal grandfather, who emigrated from Turin. Both his parents were in the medical field but encouraged him and his older brother to pursue the arts. He had no inclination towards acting until he participated in a high school production of Hamlet.

Scanavino studied at Boston University and decided to change his major to acting, but did not pass the audition. He dropped out and moved to New York City where he took classes at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

Scanavino starred in an episode of Netflix’s 2020 anthology series Social Distance as the father of his real-life son, Leo Bai-Scanavino.

Scanavino is married to painter Lisha Bai, with whom he has three children.

Scanavino is a fan of the New York Islanders.

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