South African born New Yorker with over three decades of award winning performances. A student of Robert X. Modica, Deborah Kampmeier, William Alderson, Don Bloomfield, & Diane Venora, his training is deeply rooted in theater & improvisation & heavily influenced by French New Wave & Italian Neo Realism. Has consistently worked with critically acclaimed directors, producers & talent including J.J. Abrams, Juan Jose Campanella, Jim Caviezel, David Chase, Russell Crowe, Matt Dillon, The Duplass Brothers, Peter Greenaway, Ron Howard, David Lancaster, Tyler Perry, Ivan Reitman, Diane Venora & Dick Wolf. Frequently volunteers on-stage in NY & LA by simultaneously producing & performing Sarah Tuft's "110 Stories" to raise funds for charity. His fellow cast has included Edie Falco, James Gandolfini, Katie Holmes, Cynthia Nixon, John Hawkes, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa Leo, Jeremy Piven, Mira Sorvino, Susan Sarandon, Tony Shalhoub, Tamara Tunie, Kathleen Turner, John Turturro, & Diane Venora. Acknowledged by Al Pacino, F. Murray Abraham & several NY theater critics for his lead performance in the play Mortal Coils, directed by the Actor's Studio Ed Setrakian at the Mint Theater. Is a board member of the River Street Theater Company, alongside Matthew Carnahan, Robert Carnegie, Jeff Goldblum, David Mamet, Jon Voight & his acting teacher William Alderson who serves as president. Breakthrough role came in Law & Order Special Victim's Unit in 2005. Starring opposite Mariska Hargitay, Chris Meloni, Bradley Cooper, Angela Lansbury & Alfred Molina as the chilling yet engaging fundamentalist Milan Zergin. His performance attracted New York talent manager Estelle Lasher. With Lasher's support, he continued to thrive. Landing a guest star lead opposite Annabella Sciorra & Christopher Noth on Law & Order Criminal Intent, a comedic supporting role and 6th billing opposite Eddie Izzard, Luke Wilson, Rainn Wilson & Uma Thurman in Twentieth Century Fox's My Super Ex Girlfriend, an ensemble lead in Sony's Starship Troopers Marauder produced by David Lancaster, & nabbing a coveted recurring role on the Emmy award winning Ugly Betty for which he received a SAG award nomination (The first South African male to be nominated) along with the lead cast. Has been a steady product of critically acclaimed independent films distributed worldwide & lauded at Berlin, AFI, Palm Springs, Raindance, Hong Kong, Seattle, & the American Movie Awards where Stelio won best actor in 2015. Known additionally for a staple of well received recurring & guest star roles, & two decades of LORT Contract New York stage credits that include favorable reviews from the NY Times. Received critical praise for his recurring portrayal of real life mafia boss Joe 'The Boss' Masseria in AMC's The Making Of The Mob: New York with Previously TV's Sarah Bunting stating 'Stelio is reminiscent of James Gandolfini, I liked a certain gravitas-emblance to the Fini that I saw in Stelio'. His portrayal was also hailed by The Examiner's Diane Zoller Ciatto. Has also been recognized for his roles as a ruthless policeman in the South African film Colors Of Heaven, as a tormented hit-man with a conscience in Pronoia & for his role as a rebellious Jewish prisoner in Once We Were Slaves; winning Best Actor at the above mentioned prestigious American Movie Awards, the SOFIE Awards & a Gold Remi at Worldfest Houston. Was nominated for a Teddy Award (as part of the ensemble lead cast) at Berlin film festival in Peter Greenaway's Golden Bear nominated Eisenstein In Guanajuato which released theatrically in several dozen countries. His performance as Hunter Kimbrough noted as memorable by Film Journal's David Noh. Entertainment Tonight's Nischelle Turner also recgonized his understatedly powerful performance as Howard Boston in TV One's Media directed by Craig Ross Jr. A popular voice over artist, he recurred in Call Of Duty's IW7 and DLC as the 'FTL Soldier' or 'Faster Than Light' character. Was inducted into the Alpha Psi Omega honors society for his achievement in American collegiate theater at the University of West Alabama and in 2014 served on the actor's panel of the San Diego film festival with Josh Duhamel, Tom Berenger and Dennis Haysbert, hosted by Variety and film critics Jeffrey Lyons and Ben Lyons. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Management - Pamela Wagner
