Curiosidades

John Travolta encouraged him to become a pilot and he has a license to fly a jet.

Godmother of his daughter Sophia is Mariska Hargitay.

Daughter Sophia Eva Pietra, born in Los Angeles on March 23, 2001. Son Dante Amadeo, born in New York on January 2, 2004. Both were born by a surrogate mother.

Used to work as a bouncer, a bartender, and a personal trainer before launching his acting career.

Accepted the honors at his old alma mater (St. Stephens and St. Agnes School in Alexandria) as the 1978 undefeated football team for which he quarterbacked was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

An accomplished card shark.

His two best known characters are on opposite sides of the law. On Oz (1997), he played Chris Keller, a perverted bisexual, sociopathic serial killer who terrorizes his fellow inmates. On Lei & Ordem: Unidade de Vítimas Especiais (1999) , he plays Elliot Stabler, a sex-crimes investigator so protective of his family and so intense in his hatred of criminals, that like Keller, he fantasizes about getting away with killing them. Ironically, Meloni's acting background is mainly in comedy.

Particularly early on in his career, he was often confused for actor Elias Koteas.

Signed a deal to continue Lei & Ordem: Unidade de Vítimas Especiais (1999) for two more seasons in which he will be paid $6.5 million annually (2007).

His father is of Italian descent, with roots in Velva, Castiglione Chiavarese, Genova, and his mother is of French-Canadian ancestry. On the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012), he discovered that his great-grandfather Enrico Meloni was left at a foundling wheel at birth in a hospital, where he was given the surname Meloni by the staff; and that one of his mother's distant ancestors was a Puritan boy from Massachusetts who was kidnapped by Native Americans and absorbed into French-Canadian culture.

Originally from Washington DC, Chris now lives in New York with his production designer wife, Sherman Williams. Chris worked as a construction worker prior to getting his acting break. He got a degree in history at the University of Colorado.

Close friends with Mariska Hargitay.

He wears a fake tattoo of the United States Marine Corps emblem (the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor) on his arm for his role in SVU (as seen in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 7 episodes, Season 8, Episode 8: "Underbelly" and Season 6, Episode 5: "Outcry".) He has a real tattoo of a butterfly on his upper thigh, and a cubist representation of the crucifixion of Christ tattooed on his upper left arm.

He has played the same character (Detective Elliot Stabler) in four different series: Lei & Ordem (1990), Lei & Ordem: Unidade de Vítimas Especiais (1999), Lei & Ordem: Processos Judiciais (2005) and Lei & Ordem: Crime Organizado (2021).

Warner Brothers Animation had originally hoped to have Meloni reprise the role of the heroic Green Lantern Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011) after having played the part in Green Lantern: First Flight (2009) but Meloni was not available due to his Law & Order schedule. Nathan Fillion replaced him.

First met the co-writer and his co-star from Mais um Verão Americano (2001) and Wet Hot American Summer: Primeiro Dia de Acampamento (2015) Michael Showalter at a chess shop in New York City without knowing he was also an actor. Meloni stated he regretted having beat Showalter at chess when he was auditioning for the film.

Was scheduled to appear on The Actors Studio (1994) with Dick Wolf, Chris Noth, and S. Epatha Merkerson, but had to back out due to an illness.

He is a lifelong Democrat.

Is often said to resemble Robert De Niro.

He is currently playing "Eddie Carbone" in Arthur Miller's "A View From A Bridge" in The Gate Theatre, Dublin. It runs until the end of September. (agosto de 2005)