Watch Christopher Meloni Videos

Christopher Peter Meloni (born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz. Meloni was born the youngest of three children in Washington, D.C., the son of Cecile, a homemaker, and Dr. Charles R Meloni, an endocrinologist. His maternal ancestry is French Canadian and his paternal ancestry is Sardinian (Italy). Meloni is a typical and widely diffused Sardinian surname. He attended St. Stephen's School (now St.... MORE

Christopher Peter Meloni (born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz. Meloni was born the youngest of three children in Washington, D.C., the son of Cecile, a homemaker, and Dr. Charles R Meloni, an endocrinologist. His maternal ancestry is French Canadian and his paternal ancestry is Sardinian (Italy). Meloni is a typical and widely diffused Sardinian surname. He attended St. Stephen's School (now St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he first studied acting, graduating with a degree in history in 1983. After graduation, Meloni went to New York where he continued his studies with Sanford Meisner at the famed Neighborhood Playhouse, as well as the Center for the Media Arts. Meloni worked as a construction worker prior to getting his acting break. He has also worked as a bouncer, bartender, and personal trainer. Meloni worked his way up the acting ladder with commercials, short-lived TV series', and bit parts in a number of films. His first noticeable LESS