Yani Gellman

Canadian actor

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Yani Gellman

Born|  (1985-09-02) September 2, 1985 (age 39)

Miami, Florida, U.S.

Occupation| Actor
Years active| 1998–present

Yani Gellman (born September 2, 1985) is a Canadian film and television actor, known for playing Paolo Valisari in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Garrett Reynolds in Pretty Little Liars and Diego Flores in 90210.

## Early life

[edit]

Gellman was born in Miami, Florida, to a Canadian father and an Australian mother, and lived in North York, Canada. He is of Russian Jewish, English, and Spanish descent.[1] He was named after a family friend, writer Jan Yoors. His father was a reporter, and the family frequently moved during Gellman's childhood, living in Australia, Spain, and Texas before settling in Toronto.[2] Gellman speaks Spanish, having learned it during his time living in Spain. He has a university degree in political science.

## Career

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Gellman's acting debut was in a 1998 episode of the television series, Animorphs. After appearing in several more television productions, he was cast in supporting roles in the 2000 film, Urban Legends: Final Cut and in 2001's Jason X. In both films, his characters eventually became victims of serial killers. He appeared in 2002's The Matthew Shepard Story as Pablo, the love interest of the title character. Gellman became known among teenage audiences after playing the part of Paolo Valisari, an Italian pop singer and the main antagonist of 2003's The Lizzie McGuire Movie.

He has been cast in the Canadian series Monster Warriors. From 2008 to 2012 he played Rafe Torres in the long-running soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Gellman has also appeared as a model in numerous print ads, including Omega watches. He made a cameo in Degrassi Goes Hollywood, as well as playing Pete in multiple episodes of "Greek". He has recently played the role of police officer, Garrett Reynolds in hit TV show Pretty Little Liars. He has also starred as Diego in the hit TV show 90210.

In 2017, Gellman appeared in the underwater survival thriller film 47 Meters Down which was released in theaters on 16 June 2017.[3]

## Filmography

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### Film

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Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

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|
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2000  | Urban Legends: Final Cut | Rob  |
2001  | Jason X | Stoney  |
2003  | The Lizzie McGuire Movie | Paolo Valisari  |
2013  | Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th | Himself  | Documentary film
2017  | 47 Meters Down | Louis  |
2023  | Departing Seniors | Mr. Arda  |

### Television

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Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
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1998  | Goosebumps | Young Man  | 2 episodes
Animorphs | Brad  | Episode: "The Forgotten"
2000  | The Famous Jett Jackson | JB Follower  | Episode: "What You Wish For"
2001  | Blue Murder | Patrick Lee  | Episode: "All Saints"
Sex, Lies & Obsession | Romeo  | Television film
Boss of Bosses | Young Paul Castellano[4]
2002  | The Matthew Shepard Story | Pablo
Mentors | King Tutankhamen  | Episode: "Cursed"
Tru Confessions | Billy  | Television film
Guinevere Jones | Michael Medina  | Lead role (26 episodes)
2003–2004  | Wild Card | Ryder  | Recurring role, 8 episodes
2006–2007  | Monster Warriors | Antonio  | Lead role
2007  | Trapped | Carlitos  | Documentary series
2008–2012  | The Young and the Restless | Rafe Torres | 86 episodes
2009  | Degrassi Goes Hollywood | The Shores Boy  | Television film
Lincoln Heights | Marco Gutierrez  | 2 episodes
2010  | Greek | Pete / Omega Chi  | 3 episodes
2011–2012  | Pretty Little Liars | Officer Garrett Reynolds  | Recurring role (23 episodes)
2012  | 90210 | Diego Flores  | 7 episodes
The Mentalist | Julian Gallego  | Episode: "Devil's Cherry"
Beauty & the Beast | Sam  | Episode: "All In"
2013  | Criminal Minds | Mitchell Ruiz  | Episode: "Broken"
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Doug Lasky  | Episode: "Ghosts of the Past"
The Client List | Diego Shankman  | Episode: "I Miss Back Then"
Category 5 | Pete Keller  | Television film
2014  | Castle | Manny Castro  | Episode: "Law & Boarder"
Major Crimes | Dante  | Episode: "Major Crimes"
2015  | Trigger Point | Jared Church  | Television film
Blood & Oil | A.J. Menendez  | Episode: "Pilot"
iZombie | Gabriel  | 2 episodes
CSI: Cyber | Jackson Richmond  | Episode: "Shades of Grey"
2017  | The Psycho She Met Online | Tyler Hexley  | Television film
The Saint | Doyle Cosentino
2018  | Dynasty | Manuel  | 3 episodes
2019  | Bosch | Jose Esquivel Jr.  | 4 episodes
2024  | A Bestselling Kind of Love | Tom  | Television film

### Web

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Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

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|
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2012  | Pretty Dirty Secrets | Garrett Reynolds  | Episode: "I'm a Free Man"

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Yani Gellman on working with Burt Reynolds and growing up in North York - Do - June 2014 - Toronto". Postcity.com. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
2. ^ Alachua Today Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Solzman, Danielle (June 18, 2015). "47 Meters Down: A Shark-Thrilling Tale of Survival". solzyatthemovies. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
4. ^ "Acting up in Canada" at playbackonline.ca

## External links

[edit]

* Yani Gellman at IMDb
* "The Young and the Sexless", interview in Out Magazine

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States