Carmine Giovinazzo

Was raised in Staten Island, NY. Although both his father and sister were police officers, the family never expected young Carmine to follow in their steps; his heart was clearly with athletics. At the same time, the athlete channeled his seemingly limitless energy into creative pursuits, such as music, drawing and even making short films. Giovinazzo's passion for sports, especially roller hockey and baseball, earned him accolades throughout his youth. In high school he was an all-star shortstop, earning a scholarship to play for Wagner College. He was also invited to work out for the Chicago Cubs. But after three years of playing college ball, a back injury cut his baseball dreams short. A temporarily crushed Giovinazzo did what he had always done in the past: turn to such creative outlets as painting and writing poetry. But as time went by, it was clear that acting was his true gift.Pursuing acting with all the energy and drive he had channeled into sports, Giovinazzo performed in local NYU student films, as well as other independent productions, all in an effort to gain experience and forge contacts. In 1997, Giovinazzo moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his career aspirations. Not long after putting down roots, he found a manager and landed an audition, winning a guest spot on the cult hit, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003) as a teenage bad seed. From there he played bit parts on several shows, including USA Network's "Pacific Blue" (1996-2000) in 1997, NBC's "Providence" (1999-2002) and the short-lived UPN comedy "Shasta McNasty" (1999-2000), both in 1999. He also appeared in some independent movies, including, "Locomotive" (1997), "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" (1998), "Fallen Arches" (1998), and "The Big Brass Ring" (1999). He also landed a small role in the 1999 Kevin Costner baseball film, "For the Love of the Game." After a few more smaller projects, including the films, "Terror Tract" (2000), "The Learning Curve" (2001), and a 2001 episode of the NBC series, "UC: Undercover" (2001-02), Giovinazzo secured a small part in director Ridley Scott's military flick, "Black Hawk Down" (2001) - a source of great pride to the actor.Giovinazzo made his first appearance on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15) in the 2002 episode, "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold," playing a character named Thumpy G. He went on to appear on both spin-off series, "CSI: Miami" (CBS, 2002-12) and "CSI: NY," making Giovinazzo one of the few actors to appear on all three programs. His lead character of Det. Danny Messer, a kid from the streets who studied hard and made good as a detective, was first introduced in a 2004 "CSI: Miami" episode, "MIA/NYC Nonstop." Giovinazzo's performance was so compelling, the character not only moved up to regular status in the fall of 2004, he was transferred over to the third franchise, "CSI: NY," starring Gary Sinise and Melina Kanakaredes.Between "CSI" gigs, he appeared in a 2003 episode of "The Guardian" (CBS, 2001-04), had a small role in the made-for-TV movie, "Columbo: Columbo Likes the Night Life," (ABC, 2003) and starred opposite William H. Macy in the WWII film, "In Enemy Hands" (2004). Later, Giovinazzo briefly appeared in the indie comedy "This is Not a Test" (2008) and the gritty crime drama "Life is Hot in Cracktown" (2009), the latter of which was written and directed by cousin Buddy Giovinazzo and based on his novel of the same name. As his duties on "CSI: NY" continued apace, the actor's personal life went through a series of dramatic changes. In the summer of 2010, Giovinazzo married "General Hospital" (ABC, 1963-) actress Vanessa Marcil in a private ceremony in New York. Nearly one year later, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child, only to break the sad news via Marcil's Twitter page that she had experienced a number of miscarriages. By August 2012, Giovinazzo's wife of two years filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.