Vincenzo Leonardo "Enzo" Cilenti (born 8 August 1974) is a British actor, known for his roles in works such as The Theory of Everything, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and Game of Thrones.

Enzo Cilenti
Cilenti at the premiere of Free Fire at Toronto Film Festival in 2016
Born
Vincenzo Leonardo Cilenti

(1974-08-08) 8 August 1974 (age 49)
Years active1998–present
Spouse
(m. 2002)
Children2

Early life

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Cilenti was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire to Italian parents from Foiano di Val Fortore (in the province of Benevento). He worked with his girlfriend, actress Sienna Guillory, in the 2001 film Late Night Shopping. The two were married in 2002, and they have continued to appear together in various works. In February 2011 Guillory gave birth to their twin daughters, Valentina and Lucia, named after Guillory's grandmother and grand aunt, who were also twin sisters.

After attending Bradford Grammar School, a degree in French and Spanish at the University of Nottingham followed and led to him working as a night porter and a bodyguard on the Cote D'Azur and in Mexico City respectively.

Career

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His first professional acting role came in Trial & Retribution, which led to the role of Grant in the world premiere of Liz Lochhead's Perfect Days at The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. Here he was spotted by Wendy Brazington who was casting Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland which at the time had the working title Snarl Up. He played graphic artist Peter Saville on his second collaboration with Winterbottom, the Palme d'Or-nominated 24 Hour Party People.

He has appeared in plays both on and off the West End, notably lead roles in Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things at The New Ambassadors Theatre, and the European premiere of the Pulitzer prize-winning play Anna in the Tropics at the Hampstead Theatre.

In 2007, Cilenti had a recurring role in the CBS series NCIS as terrorist Mamoun Sharif.[1]

He also performed at The Royal Court in a series of plays written and directed by Russian artists entirely in Russian; in Thai ballet as Orpheus in Backpacker Orpheus, a play devised entirely from people's experiences in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake; and in conceptual theatre for new-writing company Paines Plough in a series of shows (including a one-man show) commissioned over a number of seasons by Miuccia Prada to showcase collections for her Miu Miu line at Milan Fashion Week.

Cilenti also directed a short film called Getalife, and in 2015 produced, wrote and appeared in his first feature-length movie The Wicked Within.[2]

His first novel, Mediterranean Homesick Blues, co-written with Ben Chatfield, was published in 2012.

He appeared in Kick-Ass 2 (2013)[3] and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).[4] In The Theory of Everything, he portrayed astrophysicist Kip Thorne.[5]

In 2015 he joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Yezzan zo Qaggaz.[6][7] He also appeared in the BBC series Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in the role of Childermass.[8][9]

Cilenti played the part of Aubrey Hackett in the Amazon Studios series The Last Tycoon, which was released in July 2017.[10][11]

In 2019 he played the role of Joe Lyppiatt (in a gender-swap for the character Joanna) in Noël Coward's Present Laughter at the Old Vic in London opposite Andrew Scott.

He lives in London and Los Angeles.[citation needed]

Filmography

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Film

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YearFilmRoleNotes
1999WonderlandDarren
2001Late Night ShoppingLenny
200224 Hour Party PeoplePeter Saville
2004MillionsFrancis of Assisi
2005Colour Me KubrickWaldegrave
2007NextMr. Jones
2009In the LoopBob Adriano
The Fourth KindScott Stracinsky
NineLeopardi
2011The Rum DiaryDigby
2013Kick-Ass 2Lou
SupercolliderLeo Tarsky
2014Guardians of the GalaxyWatchtower Guard
The Theory of EverythingKip Thorne
2015The MartianMike Watkins
High-RiseAdrian Talbot
The Man Who Knew InfinityDoctor
2016Bridget Jones's BabyGianni
Free FireBernie
The Man with the Iron HeartAdolf Opálka
2018Juliet, NakedBarnesy
2019GreedYoung Eric Weeks
2021Outside the WireMiller
2022Across the River and into the TreesGran Maestro
2023Heart of StoneMulvaney
2024The BeekeeperRico Anzalone

Television

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YearTitleRoleNotes
1998Trial & RetributionAntonio Bellini2 episodes
1998The BillJerome Taylor1 episode
2000HeartbeatPaolo Mazzetti1 episode
2003SpooksCarlo Franceschini4 episodes, uncredited
2003Where the Heart IsCarl1 episode
2003Coming UpTommy1 episode
2005No AngelsJoe1 episode
2005RomeEvander Pulchio4 episodes
2005The Virgin QueenJean de SimierMiniseries, 1 episode
2006-2007NCISMamoun Sharif2 episodes
2011Lie to MeJohn Lightman1 episode
2012HouseMatt Johnson1 episode
2013Prisoners' WivesMick4 episodes
2015Wolf HallAntonio BonvisiMiniseries, 2 episodes
2015Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellJohn ChildermassMiniseries, 7 episodes
2015Lady Chatterley's LoverVictor LinleyTelevision film
2015Jekyll and HydeCaptain DanceMain role, 8 episodes
2015-2016Game of ThronesYezzan zo Qaggaz4 episodes
2016Hooten & the LadyTramacca1 episode
2016GrantchesterFelix Davis1 episode
2016-2017The Last TycoonAubrey HackettMain role, 9 episodes
2019LutherJeremy Lake4 episodes
2019Les MisérablesRivetteMiniseries, 4 episodes
2021BreedersGeorge3 episodes
2021DominaTiberius NeroMain role, 3 episodes
2021The Girlfriend ExperienceSeanRecurring role, 7 episodes
2022-presentThe Serpent QueenCosimo RuggeriMain role, 8 episodes
2023The CrownMario BrennaGuest, season 6, episode 2 "Two Photographs"

References

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  1. ^ "TV Review: NCIS – "Sharif Returns"". blogcritics.org. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. ^ "The Wicked Within (Review) | INFLUX Magazine". influxmagazine.com. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  3. ^ "An Interview with Enzo Cilenti". fohnhouse.blogspot.ca. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  4. ^ "'Guardians of Galaxy' casts Enzo Cilenti". digitalspy.com. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  5. ^ Tunzelmann, Alex von (7 January 2015). "The Theory of Everything skips over the black holes of marriage and science". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Game of Thrones season five cast announced at Comic Con!". Watchers on the Wall. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  7. ^ Debnath, Neela (26 May 2015). "Game of Thrones actor Enzo Cilenti says his Yezzan is a 'very different take' from books". express.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: About the Show". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Meet the man behind Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell's Childermass: Enzo Cilenti". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (16 December 2015). "Mark O'Brien & Enzo Cilenti Join 'The Last Tycoon'; Kalia Prescott In 'Imaginary Friend' Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  11. ^ The Last Tycoon (TV Series 2016– ), retrieved 8 August 2017
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