Gian Sammarco
Gian Sammarco | |
|---|---|
| Born | Giancarlo Sammarco 30 January 1970 Northampton,England |
| Occupation(s) | Actor (former), nurse |
| Children | 1 |
Giancarlo[1]"Gian"Sammarco(born 30 January 1970) is an English nurse and formerchild actor.He is best known for playing thetitle rolein thetelevision dramatisationsofThe Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾(1985) and its sequel,The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole(1987).
Early life and education[edit]
Born inNorthampton,England, the son of Jacqueline and Pietro Salvatore Sammarco, Gian Sammarco is one of a large family of Italian descent. He attended Kingsthorpe Upper School (nowKingsthorpe College) in that town.[citation needed]The artistic director of theRoyal Theatrein Northampton,Michael Napier Brown,selected Sammarco from 200 boys who auditioned to appear in his first theatre production,The Innocents.[2]
Career[edit]
He was among 100 boys auditioned byThames Televisionfor the role ofAdrian Mole,having been suggested byMichael Napier Brown.Napier Brown also recommended another actor,Lindsey Stagg,also from Northampton, who won the role ofPandora Braithwaite.[2]In 1987 he toured the UK in the playWidow's WeedsbyAnthony Shaffer.[3]
Apart from the two series of 'Adrian Mole', Sammarco's other television appearances included an interview onDes O'Connor Tonight(1985), co-presenting the first series of the children's Saturday morning showGet Fresh(1986),[4]playing Whizzkid in the 1988Doctor WhostoryThe Greatest Show in the Galaxy,and the geekytrainspotterin thePress Gangepisode "Something Terrible"(1990). His last acting role was in the 1990 children'sIndiana Jones-style comedy series,Jackson Pace: The Great Years,alongsideKeith AllenandJosie Lawrence.
Personal life[edit]
In August 1990, Sammarco married Stephanie Bates at the Northampton Register Office. Bates was a fan of the Adrian Mole series and had written to him regularly until the relationship blossomed. Sammarco and Bates had a son, Jon, who was born 19 January 1992. Sammarco then gave up acting soon after the birth of his son and trained as a nurse. He is now a psychiatric nurse at theBerrywood Hospitalin Northampton.[citation needed]
In 1998, he subsequently married Joanne Young, a nursing colleague, and continues to live in Northampton.[2]
Filmography[edit]
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole | Adrian Mole | 6 episodes |
| 1985, 1992 | Screen Two | Jennings / Boy | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Crossroads | Jason Hathaway | Episode #1.4312 |
| 1986 | Get Fresh | Himself | 20 episodes |
| 1987 | The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole | Adrian Mole | 6 episodes |
| 1988 | Doctor Who | Whizzkid | 3 episodes |
| 1989 | The Two of Us | Wolfman | Episode: "The Party" |
| 1990 | Press Gang | Benjamin Drexil | Episode: "Something Terrible" |
| 1990 | Jackson Pace: The Great Years | Filo | 5 episodes |
References[edit]
- ^Daily Record,Glasgow, Scotland, 19 October 1999
- ^abc'The Strange Secret Life of Adrian Mole, 29 3 /4; Growing Pains: Twice Married Giancarlo Sammarco Goes From Child Star to Geriatric Nurse'Scottish Daily Record1999
- ^Widow's Weedson Anthony Shaffer's websiteArchived2013-10-09 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Get Fresh".Retrieved26 January2008.
