in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Nurse Jackie, Twilight

Actor Peter Facinelli currently is most recognized for playing two doctors - Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the compassionate vampire doctor and father of Edward Cullen in the blockbuster "Twilight Saga" franchise, and Dr. Fitch "Coop" Cooper on the Emmy Award nominated Showtime comedy, "Nurse Jackie." He is also well known for playing Mike Dexter in the teen comedy, "Can’t Hardly Wait." Born November 26, 1973, in New York, the son of Italian immigrants, Peter grew up in Ozone Park, a borough of Queens, N.Y., and attended St.

Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, N.Y. He attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and was just 15 credits from graduating when he was cast in a guest role on "Law and Order." He was soon cast in another guest role on the short-lived television show, The "Wright Verdicts." He continued to get work and never went back to NYU. In 1995, Peter made his feature film as Lucifer in Rebecca Miller’s "Angela," and later that year came to the attention of critics in the TV-movie "The Price of Love." In 1996, Peter played opposite his future wife, Jennie Garth, in the television movie, "An Unfinished Affair." Other TV movie roles followed, including a part in "After Jimmy" (1996) and a college dropout in "Calm at Sunset." Peter co-starred with Amanda Peet and Michael Vartan in the 1997 AIDS-themed drama "Touch Me" (1997), and co-starred as a high school student in two 1998 features with Ethan Embry and Breckin Meyer - "Dancer, Texas Pop. 81," and the classic teen comedy, "Can’t Hardly Wait." In 1999 he starred in "The Big Kahuna" opposite Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito, and "Blue Ridge Fall." In 2000, Peter appeared in the sci-fi film "Supernova," followed by appearances in the films "Stealing Time" (2001), "Tempted" (2001), "Riding in Cars with Boys" (2001) and "The Scorpion King" (2002).

Peter starred as Donovan "Van" Ray in the Fox action drama "Fastlane," which aired one season, 2002-2003. The following year Peter had a recurring role as an art student named Jimmy in the acclaimed HBO series "Six Feet Under," for which he was nominated as a member of the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance for by an Ensemble in Drama Series. He starred as Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man ever to reach the top of Mount Everest, in the made for TV biopic, "Touch the Top of the World" (2006).

That year he also appeared in "The Lather Effect," "Arc," "Hollow Man 2," and loaned his voice talent, alongside his wife, to an episode of the animated television show "American Dad." In 2007, he began a memorable role in an eight episode arc on the FX original series "Damages," followed by a supporting role in the movie "Finding Amanda" starring Matthew Broderick. In November 2008, Peter first appeared as Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the leader and father figure of the vampire Cullen coven in "Twilight." He went on the reprise the role of Carlisle in 2009’s "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," 2010’s “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” and 2011's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1." He will be appearing as Edward Cullen’s father one more time in the highly-anticipated final installment, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2” on November 16, 2012.

In 2009, Peter started picking up extra shifts by doing doctor double duty when he took on the role of Dr. Fitch “Coop” Cooper on the new Showtime original series "Nurse Jackie." The Emmy nominated comedy will begin its fourth season in spring 2012. In early 2011, Jennie Garth starred in the Hallmark Channel original movie "Accidentally in Love," which Peter wrote and produced.

The feature film "Loosies," which Peter wrote, produced, and stars in, is currently available On Demand through many U.S. cable providers and is expected in theaters in early 2012. It was recently announced that Peter will star alongside Guy Pearce and John Goodman in "Thicker," a movie based on Terry Nemeroff's 2005 award-winning short film, "Enfants Terribles," which Peter also starred in. Peter is married to actress, Jennie Garth, and together they have three daughters – Luca Bella, Lola Ray, and Fiona Eve.

They currently reside on a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley area, near Santa Barbara, Calif. Peter is known for his accessibility with fans. He often appears at Twilight Conventions, and makes appearances at shopping malls and other events to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

Peter also supports the American Red Cross, the Christopher Reeves Foundation, The Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, and The Whaleman Foundation. For the latest news on Peter Facinelli, visit his website, www.peter-facinelli.com and follow him on twitter, @peterfacinelli. .

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