Dennis Christopher facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dennis Christopher
Christopher in 2005
Born	Dennis Christopher Carrelli (1950-12-02) December 2, 1950 (age 74) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1967–2016

Dennis Christopher Carrelli (born December 2, 1950) is an American actor who has retired from acting. He is known for his roles in movies like Breaking Away (1979), Chariots of Fire (1981), and Django Unchained (2012). He also appeared in the TV miniseries It (1990).

Dennis Christopher's Early Life

Dennis Christopher Carrelli was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 2, 1950. He was the youngest of four children. His father, Vincent Albert Carrelli, worked as an insurance salesman. His mother was Anna Marie Doogan.

He went to Monsignor Bonner High School and graduated in 1968. After high school, he attended Temple University but left in 1969 to pursue acting.

Dennis Christopher's Acting Career

Dennis Christopher started his acting journey in 1967. He had a small role in a TV show called The Time Tunnel. Later, he met famous director Federico Fellini in Rome. This meeting led to Christopher getting a part as a hippie in Fellini's 1972 film, Roma.

Dennis Christopher with Pat Ast (left) and Shelley Duvall (right) in August 1975.

Breaking Away: A Big Break

Christopher's most famous role was playing Dave Stohler in the movie Breaking Away (1979). This film is about young people growing up. His acting in this movie was highly praised. He won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. He also received the Youth in Film Award for Best Juvenile Actor. He was even nominated for a Golden Globe award.

Other Notable Roles

After Breaking Away, Christopher took on many different roles. He played American track star Charlie Paddock in the movie Chariots of Fire (1981). He was also Eric Binford in the thriller Fade to Black (1980).

On television, he played Eddie Kaspbrak in Stephen King's miniseries It (1990). He also appeared in the HBO series Deadwood. Christopher even guest-starred in two Star Trek episodes. These were "The Search (Part II)" on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and "Detained" on Star Trek: Enterprise. He also played the demon-sorcerer Cyvus Vail in three episodes of Angel.

Working with Quentin Tarantino

In 2012, Dennis Christopher was cast as Leonide Moguy in Quentin Tarantino's movie Django Unchained. Tarantino told Christopher that he had watched all of Christopher's films. Christopher really enjoyed working on Django Unchained. He said that making the film made him very happy.

Film Roles

Dennis Christopher has appeared in many films. Here are some of them:

Television Roles

Dennis Christopher has also had many roles on television:

See also

In Spanish: Dennis Christopher para niños