# Stelio Savante

Stelio Savante is a South African actor that has appeared in 140 films, TV series and video games in the last three decades. He is known for his roles as a South African/Israeli journalist and undercover Mossad agent opposite Jim Caviezel and Claudia Karvan in the political thriller Infidel, a Portuguese mayor opposite Matt Dillon in the Hawaiian drama Running for Grace, a small town deputy directly opposite Anne Heche, in her final film performance in the noir What Remains, and a rogue policeman in the South African epic drama Colors of Heaven. In 2007 he became the first male South African-born Screen Actors Guild award nominee (Best Ensemble in a Comedy) for his recurring role on Ugly Betty followed by roles in the studio films My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. He is also known for the roles of Moses in the biblical series The Chosen, and the voice of Ajax in the popular video games Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Call of Duty: Mobile.

## Early life

A Capetonian of Greek, Italian, British, Ashkenazi, and Anatolian descent, his grandfather was a racing driver who placed and won medals at the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally. Fluent in Afrikaans and Greek, he graduated from Camps Bay High School, immigrated from South Africa to the United States when he was offered an international tennis scholarship by the University of West Alabama.

## Career

Following two decades of Lort contract theater in New York, his prime-time debut came in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a Bosnian–Muslim fundamentalist. Directed by Academy Award winner Juan Jose Campanella and also starring Bradley Cooper, the episode was nominated for an Emmy. Recurred as Steve on Ugly Betty, produced by Salma Hayek. He became the first male South African to receive a Screen Actor's Guild nomination along with the lead ensemble cast in 2007. Also a recurred in My Own Worst Enemy, with further guest star lead roles in J. J. Abrams' Undercovers opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw, The Suite Life on Deck, Person of Interest opposite Jim Caviezel, Without a Trace opposite Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Ivana Milicevic, Breakout Kings opposite Jimmi Simpson, and NCIS. As well as in the HBO series Togetherness directed by Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, in The Chosen by Dallas Jenkins and in the animated series Captain Fall.
Further television credits include FBI, Law & Order: Criminal Intent opposite Annabella Sciorra, The Sopranos, as Dan 'Schaffy' Schaffner in Jim Breuer's pilot Pulp Comics on Comedy Central and recurring as Antonio on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He portrayed Joe Masseria in the mini-series The Making of the Mob: New York for AMC and David Sarnoff in American Genius for National Geographic.
Starred directly opposite Anne Heche in What Remains directed by Nathan Scoggins, opposite Matt Dillon and Jim Caviezel in Running for Grace directed by David L. Cunningham, and opposite Michael Beach and George Blagden in the romantic comedy No Postage Necessary. He was cast opposite Jim Caviezel for the third time, also working directly opposite Claudia Karvan in Cyrus Nowrasteh's political thriller Infidel released by Cloudburst and MGM. Additional film credits include Twentieth Century Fox's My Super Ex-Girlfriend directed by Ivan Reitman, starring opposite Anna Faris, Eddie Izzard, Uma Thurman, and Rainn Wilson, and Ron Howard's Academy Award winner A Beautiful Mind opposite Russell Crowe. Ensemble leading roles in Sony Pictures Entertainment Starship Troopers 3: Marauder produced by Academy Award nominee David Lancaster, Movieguide award winner What If, and a lead role opposite Isaach De Bankole and Juliet Landau in Rudolf Buitendach's Where the Road Runs Out, the first feature filmed in Equatorial Guinea, winner of the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2014 San Diego Film Festival and the Black Reel Award for Outstanding World Cinema in 2017.
Also starred in Peter Greenaway's Eisenstein in Guanajuato nominated for the Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival., and the sex trafficking film Selling Isobel, winner Raindance Film Festival;s 'Indie Award' in 2016. He also voiced the role of Ajax in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
He received positive reviews for his role in the feature A Million Colours, which screened at the Montreal World Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, Atlantic Film Festival, and was also awarded two South African Film and Television Awards.
Theater credits include lead roles in the American and New York premiers of Arnie Sieren's award-winning Belgian play, My Blackie, Belgian playwright Jean-Yves Picq's The Case Of Kaspar Meyer, German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig's Arabian Night directed by Trip Cullman, Dan Gordon's Murder in the First directed by American Theatre Wing alumni Michael Parva, and Mortal Coils directed by Actors Studio lifetime member Ed Setrakian.

## Films And Plays Produced

Savante has produced and served in a producing role on such films as No Postage Necessary, Official Selection of the Heartland Film Festival starring George Blagden and Michael Beach, making history as the first film to ever release via blockchain technology using cryptocurrency as payment, and drama Selling Isobel starring opposite Lew Temple, and Alyson Stoner, winner at the 2016 Raindance film festival, released by Gravitas Ventures.
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks Stelio produced and performed 110 Stories Celebrity Benefit Performances with Katie Holmes, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa Leo, Cynthia Nixon, and Jeremy Piven. at the Skirball Center for The Performing Arts at NYU. It was directed by Gregory Mosher. Savante describes 110 Stories as a chance to give people closure about the attacks; he was in New York City at the time of the attacks, and cites that as a reason why he produces the play. In 2010, he also produced and performed the Los Angeles theater debut of 110 Stories Celebrity Benefit Performances at the Geffen Playhouse, with John Hawkes and Ed Asner directed by Mark Freiburger. All proceeds were donated to the Red Cross Los Angeles as aid to Haiti in the aftermath of their earthquake. In 2013, he produced and performed 110 Stories at Ebony Rep in Los Angeles. The proceeds were donated to Operation Gratitude. And again he produced and performed 110 Stories opposite Robert Forster and Mira Sorvino directed by his acting teacher Bill Alderson in 2016. As playwright, his one-act play Venom was self-produced Off Broadway and nominated as a finalist for Samuel French's Love Creek festival.
A longtime voice over artist, his Video game credits include: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Call of Duty: Mobile,Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Mass Effect 2, Army of Two: The 40th Day, a role in the live-action simulated video game Red Alert 3, and Midnight Club.

## Personal life

Savante was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2010 and has become a vocal advocate for other sufferers. He stated that the disease attacked his organs, including his liver. He was also diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in 2013. Savante is a Christian.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Work | Outcome |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Ugly Betty | Nominated |
| 2014 | San Diego Film Festival | Best Narrative Feature (shared with Rudolf Buitendach) | Where The Road Runs Out | Won |
| 2015 | Berlin International Film Festival | Teddy Ballot Volkswagen Audience Award | Eisenstein in Guanajuato | Nominated |
| 2015 | The Short Film Awards SOFIE Award | Best Actor in a Short Film | Once We Were Slaves | Won |
| 2015 | American Movie Award | Best Actor | Once We Were Slaves | Won |
| 2015 | Bare Bones International Film Festival | Best Actor in a Short Film | Once We Were Slaves | Nominated |
| 2015 | Attic Film Festival | Best Male Performance | Once We Were Slaves | Nominated |
| 2015 | International Christian Film Festival | Best Actor in a Short Film | Once We Were Slaves | Nominated |
| 2016 | Philadelphia Independent Film Festival | Best Actor | Once We Were Slaves | Nominated |
| 2018 | Manhattan Film Festival | Best Comedic Drama Feature | Avalanche | Won |
| 2021 | Manhattan Film Festival | Best Horror Feature | Destination Marfa | Won |
| 2022 | Political Film Society Award for Peace | Best Film | Pulled From Darkness | Nominated |
| 2024 | Austin Film Festival | Narrative Feature Award | Summer Of Violence | Nominated |
| 2024 | Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival | Best Picture | Summer Of Violence | Won |

## Selected filmography

| Year | Project | Role | Notes |
| 1995–1996 | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Antonio | 2 Episodes |
| 1996 | Close Up | Frankie | |
| 1998 | Pulp Comics: The Jim Breuer Show | Dan Schaffner | 1 Episode |
| 2000 | Astoria | Nick | US & Greece Theatrical |
| 2000 | The Sopranos | Gaetano Giarizzio | 1 Episode: "Full Leather Jacket" |
| 2000 | Guiding Light | Mr Black | 2 Episodes |
| 2001 | A Beautiful Mind | Lab Technician | Worldwide Release |
| 2003 | All My Children | Guard Berger | 7 Episodes |
| 2003 | Midnight Club II | Primo | Video Game |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Phil Bartoli | 1 Episode: "Unchained" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Milan Zergin | 1 Episode: "Night" |
| 2006 | My Super Ex Girlfriend | Leo | Worldwide Release |
| 2007 | NCIS | Danny Coyle | 1 Episode: "Requiem" |
| 2007 | Ugly Betty | Steve | Recurring 8 Episodes |
| 2008 | My Own Worst Enemy: Conspiracy Theory | Oliver Chelovich / John Bentley | 2 Episodes |
| 2008 | Corrado | Antonio | Worldwide Release |
| 2008 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 | Sergei | Video Game |
| 2008 | Starship Troopers 3: Marauder | "Bull" Brittles | Video |
| 2009 | Red Alert 3: Uprising | Sergei | Video Game |
| 2009 | Without a Trace | Dimitri Melvychenko | 1 Episode: "Heartbeats" |
| 2010 | Undercovers | Hollis Kruger | 1 Episode: "Instructions" |
| 2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Eclipse Security Guard | Video Game Stolen Memory DLC |
| 2010 | Army of Two: The 40th Day | Russian Elite / Russian Grunt / SA Guard / SA Elite / SA Grunt | Video Game |
| 2010 | A Million Colours | Major Shawn Dixon | Worldwide Release |
| 2010 | The Suite Life on Deck | Stefan | 1 episode: "Breakup in Paris" |
| 2010 | What If... | Joel | Worldwide Release |
| 2010 | Finding Hope Now | Ruben | |
| 2011 | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception | Indian Ocean Pirates / Various Characters | Video Game |
| 2011 | A Million Colours | Major Shawn Dixon | |
| 2012 | Where the Road Runs Out | Martin | |
| 2012 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier | Nigerian Mercenary / Additional Voices | Video Game |
| 2012 | Breakout Kings | Malko | 1 Episode: "Double Down" |
| 2013 | Jimmy | Mr. Laney | |
| 2013 | Selling Isobel | Alfonso | |
| 2013 | The Secret Village | Joe | |
| 2013 | Awakened | Benny | |
| 2014 | Once We Were Slaves | Demas | |
| 2014 | Pacific Standard Time | Marius Roos | |
| 2014 | Person of Interest | Aris Zappo | 1 Episode |
| 2015 | American Genius | David Sarnoff | |
| 2015 | Togetherness | Yanni | Episode |
| 2015 | Eisenstein in Guanajuato | Hunter S. Kimbrough | |
| 2015 | The Making of the Mob: New York | Joe Masseria | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Cassidy Way | Truck Driver | |
| 2016 | Apartment 407 | Alfonso | |
| 2016 | Media | Howard Boston | Television Movie |
| 2016 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | Shoreline Mercenary | Video Game |
| 2016 | Uncharted 4: A Thief's End | Villain Sniper | Video Game |
| 2017 | Odious | Eddie | |
| 2017 | Blood in the Water | Marius Roos | |
| 2017 | Army Dog | Sheriff Bill | |
| 2017 | Uncharted: The Lost Legacy | Shoreline Mercenary | Video Game |
| 2017 | Windsor | Pierre Gandy | |
| 2017 | Pronoia | Jeff | short |
| 2018 | Running for Grace | Mayor | Blue Fox, Netflix |
| 2018 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | Ajax | Video Game |
| 2018 | No Postage Necessary | Agent Ames | |
| 2018 | Arrested Development | "Gator" | Episode |
| 2018 | Death House | Dr. Roos | |
| 2018 | The Haves and the Have Nots | Dino Malone | Episode |
| 2018 | The Cleaning Lady | Michael | |
| 2019 | Bernie the Dolphin | Brock Winters | Lionsgate |
| 2019 | I Am That Man | Detective Olsen | On Demand |
| 2019 | The Message (Camp Arrowhead) | Gerald Walker | On Demand |
| 2019 | Rapid Eye Movement | Steve Larabee | Theatrical |
| 2020 | The Penitent Thief | Tiran | Amazon, On Demand; also producer |
| 2020 | The Chosen | Moses | PeacockTV |
| 2020 | Infidel | Pierre Barthes | Cloudburst, Universal |
| 2021 | Pups Alone | Lenny | Theatrical, Saban, Paramount |
| 2021 | Under the Stadium Lights | Producer | Theatrical, Saban, Paramount |
| 2021 | Destination Marfa | Vincent, The Hitchhiker | Released on DVD, Amazon, and Vudu |
| 2022 | Angry Neighbors | Damenial Krento | Lionsgate; also producer |
| 2022 | What Remains | Scott | STARZ, Gravitas Ventures; also executive producer |
| 2022 | Find Her | Feliz Leonard | Streaming; also producer |
| 2022 | Pursuit Of Freedom | Bedros | Theatrical, PureFlix |
| 2022 | Blackwood | Henri | Theatrical, SABAN |
| 2022 | Brut Force | Cuco | Streaming, XYZ |
| 2023 | Captain Fall | The Butterfly Thug | Netflix |
| 2023 | FBI | Fabian Shabani | CBS |
| 2023 | Nefarious | Detective Russo | Theatrical Release |
| 2023 | Mobking | Big Bill | Theatrical Release |
| 2025 | Sarah's Oil | TBA | Post-production |