MTV Guy

Background:

“My best MTV moment was when I saw a trailer at the Movie Awards with my name on it. It said Kirsten Dunst, Carson Daly, and then my name.” Nick Zano.

A former lifeguard at Wild Rapids Water Park in Florida and shoe salesman at Kenneth Cole, Nick Zano got his first break as a News Anchor on MTV, where he also hosted “Movie House” (2002-2004).

He then gained even more recognition while playing Amanda Bynes' true love Vince on the WB hit sitcom “What I Like About You” (2002-2006) and portraying Dr. Jonathan Sanderson, a doctor whom Sandy (played by Haylie Duff) dated, in the season eleven (2007) of The WB family drama series "7th Heaven."

Meanwhile, Zano has appeared in the films "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), "Fat Albert" (2004), and "College" (2008). He will next be seen in the upcoming films "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "Final Destination 4."

On a more personal note, the 6' 1" actor has dated his “What I Like About You” co-star Amanda Bynes (born on April 3, 1986; dated 2003-2004), “Laguna Beach” star Kristin Cavallari (born on January 14, 1987; dated January 2006-December 2007), and "7th Heaven" co-star Haylie Duff (born on February 19, 1985; together as of February 2008).

Nicholas Crapanzano

Childhood and Family:

Born in Nutley, New Jersey, on March 8, 1978, Nicholas Crapanzano, who has legally changed his name to Nick Zano, followed his family moved south to West Palm Beach, Florida. He finished his high school education at Wellington High School, Wellington, Florida, where he was active in the drama and television departments throughout his junior and senior years.

“I enjoyed everything about high school. It was the best four years of my life.” Nick Zano.

Zano was raised by his great grandmother, grandmother, mother and two aunts. He is left-handed and likes painting and playing football and video games. He has a dog named Rocco.

As of 2001, Zano, who is into comedies, resides in Los Angeles.

"My favorite way to chill is on the couch, with my feet on the coffee table, playing video games." Nick Zano.

What I Like About You

Career:

“My aspirations were different than what my family expected for me, but I was just thinking outside the box.” Nick Zano.

Originally dreaming of becoming a Navy SEAL as a kid, Nick Zano began inspired to become an actor after watching Martin Scorsese's Academy Award winning 1990 crime drama film “Goodfellas.” In high school, he was active in the drama and television departments, joining fellow classmates in producing a weekly off-beat skit comedy show that aired on the school's television station. He also wrote, starred in and directed student films that made their way to the JVC Universal Film Competition, a festival in which over 800 local high schools participate.

"Before becoming an actor, I started to get call-backs, and I became that guy who almost always got the job." Nick Zano.

The aspiring actor moved to Los Angeles in June 2001. He commenced an endless series of auditions for parts and got his first booked job in Los Angeles was for a movie where they wanted a Japanese acrobat. He also took part in various productions, including as the associate producer for Living Position, a World AIDS Day television special hosted by Lou Diamond Phillips.

Meanwhile, Zano, who once worked at Wild Rapids Water Park in Florida as a lifeguard, became a shoe salesman at Kenneth Cole. It was while he was selling shoes in a trendy Los Angeles boutique that a customer, who was an employee at MTV, went back to her office and told her supervisors she'd just met a man who would be a wonderful on-air personality. This meeting would lead Zano landing the hosting job of MTV's cinema-themed talk program “Movie House” (2002-2004), which is taped in a Los Angeles Theatre.

“Everyday is an embarrassing moment, but when I was interviewing Willem Dafoe, I kept calling him 'William.' I just had to set down the microphone and say, 'Dude, this is my first day.' It was pretty funny.” Nick Zano.

During this time, he became host of MTV's Movie House Shorts for MTV News, MTV's 2002 Movie Awards Pre-Show and Post-Show, and MTV 2002 Video Music Awards Pre-Show. He also appeared as a guest on MTV's “Total Request Live” (TRL) and became guest host for MTV News.

Zano's MTV stint has opened many doors for him. In 2002, he had an uncredited role as James in Steven Spielberg's film loosely adaptated from the 1980 book by Frank Abagnale Jr. and Stan Redding, "Catch Me if You Can," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. He also landed a co-starring role with Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth on The WB sitcom "What I Like About You," in which he played Bynes' true love, Vince, during seasons two through four (2003-2006).

During his "What I Like About You" tenure, Zano co-starred with Delta Burke in the comedic made-for-television movie "Sweet Potato Queens" (2003) and played Shiri Appleby's love interest, Quinn Andrews, in the based-on-play romantic comedy TV movie "Everything You Want" (2005). He also returned to the wide screen in Joel Zwick's live-action/animated film based on the Filmation animated series "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," "Fat Albert" (2004), starring Kenan Thompson as the title character.

Following the demise of "What I Like About You," Zano went back to the MTV camp to host their makeover-themed reality show, “Why Can't I Be You?” (2006-), which he also produced. He also had a recurring role, as Dr. Jonathan Sanderson, a doctor whom Sandy (played by Haylie Duff) dated, in the season eleven (2007) of The WB family drama series "7th Heaven," and was cast with Frankie Muniz, Harvey Keitel, and Amber Valletta in Howard Himelstein's romantic coming-of-age film "My Sexiest Year" (2007).

Recently, in 2008, Zano's cinematic breakthrough arrived when he snagged a plum role as Teague, one of the disgusting antics of fraternity brothers, in Deb Hagan's teen comedy film, "College," alongside Drake Bell, Andrew Caldwell, and Kevin Covais.

Zano is currently on the set and will soon wrap "Joy Ride: End of the Road," an action/thriller in which he plays the lead, and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," an upcoming 2008 live-action comedy film by Walt Disney Pictures directed by Raja Gosnell which featuring the voice work of Drew Barrymore. He is also working on an upcoming installment to the long-running "Final Destination" supernatural thriller franchise, "Final Destination 4," directed by David R. Ellis.

Awards:
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