Damian Maffei
Encyclopedia
Damian Paul Maffei is an American actor known for his work on stage and in independent movies
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
. Maffei is especially heralded for his work in horror films, including the highly-touted Closed for the Season.
Early Life
Damian was born in Maspeth, QueensMaspeth, Queens
Maspeth is a small community in the borough of Queens in New York City. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside and Sunnyside to the north, Long Island City to the northwest, Greenpoint to the west, East Williamsburg to the southwest, Fresh Pond and Ridgewood to the south, and...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he spent the first four years of his life. He and his family—which included his parents Mary and William along with his brothers John and Jeremy and his sister Jennifer—then moved to Levittown, New York
Levittown, New York
Levittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
, where he attended Abbey Lane Elementary School and Wisdom Middle School. But it was during his years at Division High School that he first felt the urge to try his hand at acting. He took his first theatre class there and auditioned for the school musical, Little Shop of Horrors. He won the part of the voice of Audrey 2. Damian was officially now a thespian. Up to that point in his life, baseball had always been his first love; but he promptly realized that his future vocation and new life’s passion was destined to be in the performing arts. He no longer had time for baseball, now devoting all his time and energy into learning his newfound craft. For the remainder of his high school years, he was the lead actor in all the school’s plays and musicals, including Prince Dauntless in Once Upon a Mattress and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
Upon his graduation, Maffei attended Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College is a two-year college. It is located in East Garden City, New York, USA. The school is in Nassau County on Long Island. NCC maintains a nationwide reputation for academic excellence and ease of transferability to four-year institutions.- History :Created as part of the...
, where he studied under Victor Abravaya. Damian’s first role was Alec in Raft of the Medusa. This undertaking was a turning point in Damian’s career, as Abravaya, the play’s director as well as a life-long student and advocate of the Sanford Meisner acting technique, pushed Maffei to bring additional depth and development to his character and to his artistry. At Abravaya’s behest, Damian entered the highly respected William Esper Studios in Manhattan. It was there that Maffei studied the Meisner technique, honing and refining his acting skills.
Career
Damian began his career by taking on the demanding role of Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man at the Cultural Arts Playhouse in New York. A rousing success, Maffei continued his stage work, taking on roles in such diverse works as Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile and, most recently, The Narrator in A Night of Joe R. Lansdale.Seeking to further expand his acting repertoire, Damian became involved with his first independent film, Ghost Lake. Having become a fan of horror films by the age of nine, Maffei pulled out every stop to become a part of the Ghost Lake project. Not only was he rewarded with the part of the Young Fisherman in the film, but Maffei also proved to be a hard worker on the set by taking on the additional duties of grip and props.
In 2008, Maffei was honored to win a first-of-its-kind internet competition for his acting prowess. Prevailing over thousands of fellow actors, Damian's remarkable reputation helped him land the lead role of Jack in the totally internet-based acting competition, LiveMansion: The Movie. All the characters for this about-to-be-made major movie were chosen by their fans via internet voting. Damian's audition, in particular, was singled out for special recognition by one of the judges.
Maffei’s resume continued to grow, as he added the role of Michael in the indie film, 7 Couches, the story of a young man couch-surfing his way to the meaning of life. In 2009, Damian and writer/director Brian James Fitzpatrick optioned the movie rights to Mister Weed-Eater
Mister Weed-Eater
Mister Weed-Eater is a short story by American writer Joe R. Lansdale.-Editions:First published in Lansdale’s 1993 Electric Gumbo, subsequently republished in his 1994 compilation Writer of the Purple Rage, "Mister Weed-Eater" was republished again in the 2001 anthology High Cotton...
, an adaptation of a story by the same name from celebrated horror and crime author Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
, who took on the title of executive producer for the screen adaptation. Maffei signed on as one of the main actors and co-producer for the project. In March 2010, the long-anticipated Closed for the Season
Closed for the Season (film)
Closed for the Season is a 2010 supernatural thriller film written and directed by Jay Woelfel, starring Aimee Brooks, Damian Maffei, and Joe Unger. -Plot:...
premiered at the widely-acclaimed horror convention, Monster-Mania 14. A supernatural thriller set in an abandoned amusement park, Closed for the Season
Closed for the Season (film)
Closed for the Season is a 2010 supernatural thriller film written and directed by Jay Woelfel, starring Aimee Brooks, Damian Maffei, and Joe Unger. -Plot:...
starred, in addition to Mr. Maffei, Aimee Brooks and Joe Unger. In July of the same year, the first-ever theatrical screening of Damian's film Ext. Life played at the Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
International Film Expo.
In between his busy movie schedule, Maffei continues his stage appearances. In the Spring of 2010 Damian appeared as Ted in the highly successful run of the world premiere of Miracle Day
Miracle Day
Miracle Day is a 2010 theatrical production written and directed by Tom Sime, who was Writer in Residence at an off-Broadway venue, Bleecker Street Theatre in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, where the play premiered on May 10, 2010...
at the Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street is a street in New York City's Manhattan borough. It is perhaps most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street is a spine that connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was once a major center for American bohemia.Bleecker...
Theatre in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Damian's next venture is scheduled to be playing Hank, the lead in Suckerfish, a play produced by famed actor Thomas Jane
Thomas Jane
Thomas Jane is an American actor known for his roles in the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, the 2001 TV film 61*, the 2004 film The Punisher and the 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist...
, star of HBO's Hung
Hung
Hung can refer to:People:* Hùng Vương, a king of Vietnam* Hung Hei-Gun, founder of the martial art Hung Gar Kung Fu* Hung Shing, Chinese government official during the Tang dynasty...
.
Personal Life
Damian is married to Erin (2006–present) and, together, they have one son.Although a life-long resident of New York, Maffei is unequivocally a more-than-enthusiastic fan of the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
.
At the age of five, Damian would frequently stage his unique impression of Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
, stomping stuffed animals while roaring like the famed monster.
Damian is a huge admirer of actor Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
, who starred in The Return of the Living Dead, one of Maffei's favorite horror films.
Film
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"|- style="text-align:center;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Character
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Director
|-
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| Mister Weed-Eater || 2011 || Harold || Lead || (Pre-production) Muse Productions
|-
| Ext. Life || 2010 || Dave || Supporting || Kevin Kolsch
|-
| Closed for the Season
Closed for the Season (film)
Closed for the Season is a 2010 supernatural thriller film written and directed by Jay Woelfel, starring Aimee Brooks, Damian Maffei, and Joe Unger. -Plot:...
|| 2010 || James || Lead || Jay Woelfel
|-
| 7 Couches || 2009 || Michael || Lead || Chris Connolly
|-
| LiveMansion: The Movie || 2008 || Jack || Lead ||
|-
| Ghost Lake || 2004 || Young Fisherman || Supporting || Jay Woelfel
|-
| Nikos || 2003 || Brunette Cop || Featured || Andreas Schnass
|-
| The Offering || 1996 || Drug Park Kid #11|| Featured || Howard Posner
|}
Theatre
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"|- style="text-align:center;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Play
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Production Company
|-
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| Suckerfish || Hank || Thomas Jane
|-
| Miracle Day
Miracle Day
Miracle Day is a 2010 theatrical production written and directed by Tom Sime, who was Writer in Residence at an off-Broadway venue, Bleecker Street Theatre in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, where the play premiered on May 10, 2010...
|| Ted || The Modern Stage
|-
| A Night of Joe R. Lansdale || The Narrator || Bellmojo Productions
|-
| The Music Man || Harold Hill || Cultural Arts Playhouse
|-
| Cabaret || Ernst || Rockville Centre Guild for the Arts
|}