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Who is Danny Pino?
American actor Daniel Gonzalo ‘Danny’ Pino was born under the zodiac sign Aries on 15 April 1974, in Miami, Florida USA. He has 31 acting credits, and is perhaps known best for starring as Scotty Valens in all 156 episodes of the crime mystery series “Cold Case”, co-starring John Finn and Kathryn Morris, and which Meredith Stiehm created. It follows a female police officer as she’s working on old cases, the series aired from 2003 through 2010, and won 12 of the 39 awards for which it was nominated.
Danny’s currently shooting for the upcoming series “Hotel Cocaine”, in which he’ll be starring as Roman Compte.
Education and early life
Danny was raised in Miami alongside his brother Jaime Pino, by their Cuban parents about whom Danny rarely speaks in public because he respects their privacy; it’s believed that his mother and father were the owners of their own small business in Miami.
He studied at Rockway Middle School prior to progressing to Miami Coral Park High School; he was a teenager when he became interested in acting and began appearing in school plays, while Danny was also into playing football and basketball.
He matriculated in 1992, and then enrolled at Florida International University, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 1996, after which Danny continued his education at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2000.
Roles in TV series
Danny’s debut TV series role was playing the lead character Clay in all 13 episodes of the 2001 comedy “Men, Women & Dogs”, which also starred Heather Stephens and Bill Bellamy, and was created by Dan Staley and Rob Long. It follows four best friends as they’re trying to find girlfriends.
In 2003, Danny portrayed Armadillo Quintero in four episodes of the popular crime thriller “The Shield”, which starred Michael Chiklis and Catherine Dent, and which Shawn Ryan created. It follows the life Vic Mackey, a corrupt police officer, the series aired from 2002 to 2008, and won 14 of the 77 awards for which it was nominated. The remainder of the decade saw Danny appear in two TV series, playing Scotty Valens in the 2007 episode “Cold Reveal” of the crime mystery “CSI: NY”, and Adam Scott in two episodes of the 2010 crime action “Burn Notice”.
The year 2016 saw him star as Luke Healy in all 13 episodes of the horror comedy “BrainDead”, which also starred Aaron Tveit and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and was created by Robert and Michelle King. It follows alien insects as they’re eating the brains of American politicians.
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" actor Danny Pino explains why he chose to attend the HollyShorts Film Festival amid the ongoing actors strike. pic.twitter.com/UF5tmVs5BX
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) August 11, 2023
From 2011 through 2021, Danny played Detective Nick Amaro in 95 episodes of the crime mystery “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, which today stars Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay, and was created back in 1999 by Dick Wolf. It follows a squad of detectives as they’re working in New York City, and the series has won 57 of its 230 award nominations.
Since 2018, Danny’s been staring as Miguel Galindo in the crime thriller “Mayans M. C.”, which follows a man who’s just been released from jail, and is now creating his new outlaw identity.
Roles in movies
Danny’s debut film role was playing Burn Victim in the 2002 crime thriller “Point of Origin”, and some of his following roles were in the 2003 biographical comedy “Lucy”, the 2004 crime science fiction “NYPD 2069”, and the 2005 mystery thriller “Between”.
Also in 2005, he portrayed Alberto Mora in the popular romantic drama “The Lost City”, which starred Bill Murray and Ines Sastre, and which Andy Garcia directed. It follows the lives of a wealthy Havana club owner and his family, and the movie won two of its five award nominations. Some of Danny’s following roles were in the 2006 family adventure “Flicka”, the 2008 crime mystery “The Burning Plain”, and the 2010 crime thriller “Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright”.
The year 2011 saw him play Douglas Romero in the drama “Metro”, which starred Noah Emmerich and Madchen Amick, and was written and directed by Stephen Gaghan; it follows a hostage negotiator whose former wife has been kidnapped. A couple of Danny’s following roles were in the 2018 short drama “Mayans M.C. – Inside Season 1: The Mayans Table Read”, the 2019 short drama “FX Mayans M.C. Season 2: First Look”, and the 2020 thriller “Fatale”.
Most recently, in 2021, he played Larry Mora in the musical “Dear Evan Hansen”, which starred Julianne Moore and Ben Platt, and was directed by Stephen Chbosky. It follows a teenager who’s suffering from social anxiety disorder, and has learned to accept himself the way he is, now that his classmate’s committed suicide; the movie won one of its nine award nominations.
Other credits
Danny wrote two episodes of the series “Cold Case” in 2009 and 2010, and directed two episodes of the series “Mayans M. C.” in 2022 and 2023.
Some of his recent talk-show appearances have been in “Sidewalks Entertainment”, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and “The Drew Barrymore Show”.
Awards and nominations
Danny’s won two of his 10 award nominations: a 2010 Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actor – Television for his performance in “Cold Case”, and a 2015 Imagen Foundation Award for Best Supporting Actor – Television for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”.
He was also nominated for three ALMA Awards and five other Imagen Foundation Awards, all for his performance in “Cold Case” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”.
Love life and wife
Danny can rarely be heard speaking about his love life in interviews but some details about it are still known. He married American actress Lilly Pino Bernal in a private ceremony on 15 February 2002, attended by only their closest friends and family members; Lilly has only a single acting credit, portraying Rosa’s Mother in the 2006 short movie “Rosa”.
Lilly gave birth to their son Luca Daniel on 15 February 2006, and their second son Julian Franco followed on 5 June 2007.
There are no other women whom Danny’s perhaps been with, that we know about; he’s married to Lilly Pino Bernal as of September 2023, and they have two sons together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Danny’s fluent in both English and Spanish.
He’s quite popular on Instagram, as over 200,000 people are following him on the network today, on which he’s posted close to 300 pictures and videos; most of his content is in one way or another related to acting.
Danny’s passionate about travelling, and has been to a number of US states and South American countries; his favorite city to travel to is London, England.
He and his wife are philanthropists, and have donated money to a number of causes, mostly to support underprivileged children.
One of Danny’s favorite actors is Antonio Banderas, and some of his favorite movies include “Puss in Boots”, “Pain and Glory” and “The Mask of Zorro”.
Appearance and net worth
Danny’s age is 49. He has brown hair and eyes, weighs around 175lbs (79kgs) and is 6ft (1.83m) tall.
Danny’s net worth’s been estimated at over $3 million, as of September 2023.