Cliff Parisi Biography

Cliff Parisi (born 24 May 1960) is a British actor of Italian descent, largely recognised for his performance as Rick 'Minty' Peterson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He is currently appearing in the BBC period drama Call the Midwife.

Career

Parisi began his career in 1982 when he started touring the United Kingdom as a stand-up comedian. He continued working as a stand-up comedian for the next seven years before being offered a bit part in the film Queen of Hearts in 1989. Interested in taking up acting, Parisi changed his vocation and after a series of bit parts landed his first noticeable character: Lunchbox in the TV series Chancer. Parisi was then given bigger parts on television, most noticeably on the TV series' Kavanagh QC, Bramwell and A Prince Among Men. After finishing the former TV series, Parisi then auditioned for what would be his most famous role: Minty Peterson in EastEnders. He was recommended for the part by close friend and EastEnders actor Steve McFadden and since his inception into the soap opera in 2002 the public have seen his character Minty form a close friendship with Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) and evolve from a cold-hearted landlord to a hapless unlucky-in-love mechanic and then to finding love with both established characters Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison) and Manda Best (Josie Lawrence). He made his final appearance on 21 September 2010, ending 8 years on the show.

In December 2010 he starred in the pantomime "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

In 2012, Parisi filmed a guest role with Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, playing the character of Walt.

Since 2012, Parisi has starred in the BBC period drama Call the Midwife, appearing as Fred.

Parisi also appeared in the 5th and final series of British Sitcom 'Outnumbered', as concerned parent Ed Poll.

Personal life

Parisi has four children; Mandy (born 1981) Dean (born 1987) were born from previous relationships. On 14 July 2009 Parisi announced that he and his girlfriend, BBC producer Tara Wyer, were expecting a baby together. Tara gave birth to Cliff's fourth child, a son named Arthur, on 28 December 2009. The couple first met in February 2009 before formally beginning a relationship in April and, since discovering the pregnancy, lived together in Parisi's home in Highgate, North London and plan to marry.

Filmography

• Queen of Hearts (1989) - Manager
• A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1990)
• Can You Hear Me Thinking? (1990) - Biker
• KYTV (1990, 1993)
• Chancer (1990) - Lunchbox
• The Pleasure Principle (1991) - Police Officer
• Boon (1991) - John Preston
• The Guilty (1992) - Cliff
• Gone to Seed (1992) - Robin
• Sean's Show (1992) - Police Officer
• The Darling Buds of May (1993) - Bill Jackson
• The Upper Hand (1993) - Gary
• Bermuda Grace (1994) - Gary Foster
• Drop the Dead Donkey (1994) - Paramedic
• Under the Moon (1995) - Clifford
• N7 (1995) - Alvin
• Kavanagh QC (1995-2001) - Tom Buckley
• Bramwell & Bramwell II (1995-96) - Daniel Bentley
• Glam Metal Detectives (1995) - Security Guard
• Pie in the Sky (1996) - Inspector Dave Smith
• A Prince Among Men (1997) - Dave Perry
• The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) - Uri
• Our Boy (1997) - Jeff
• The Saint (1997) - Pub Waiter
• Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's... (1997) - Sprott
• Kiss Me Kate (TV series) (1998) - Tony
• From Hell (2001) - Bartender
• Hot Money (2001) - Bob Hoodless
• Casualty (2000) - Paul Farrell
• Sunburn (2000) - Reggie Roach
• EastEnders (2002-2010) - Richard "Minty" Peterson
• Helen West (2002)
• Bedtime (2002)
• Waking the Dead (2003) - Tony King
• The Bill (2003) - Anthony Spall
• Hustle (2012) - Arnie
• Call the Midwife (2012-present) - Fred
• Hollyoaks (2012) - Walt
• Outnumbered (2014) - Ed Poll