Who is Michael Cimino?
Cimino is an award-winning American actor, probably best known to the world as Victor Salazar in the TV series “Love, Victor” (2020-2022) and as Lance in the film “Senior Year” (2022), in addition to several other popular roles that he’s secured so far in his career.
Michael Cimino Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Michael was born on 10 November 1999, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Of Italian-German ancestry on his father’s side, and Puerto Rican through his mother’s side; Michael is the son of Philip Cimino and his wife,Deb. His parents divorced, and he has a half-sister, Sofia Cimino, through his father’s remarriage.
He experienced racist slurs and bullying throughout school, stating that his peers would insult him, throw him on the floor, and beat him. He found solace in acting, having joined an acting group when eight years old. Once he matriculated from high school, he focused on acting full-time, opting not to enroll in any college.
Career Beginnings
Before he made his acting debut, Michael appeared in a Geico commercial. In 2015 he appeared in the short film “Limitless Potential”, followed by several appearances in 2016, including as Lorenzo in the Nickelodeon sitcom pilot “Hopefuls”, and as Youg Teijo – the young character of Avan Jogia – in the action crime-drama film “Shangri-La Suite”, with Emily Browning, Luke Grimes and Avan Jogia in the lead roles.
Moreover, he starred in the television comedy movie “Slammed”, written and directed by Court Crandall and co-starring Dan Bauer and Alan Chow.
He moved to Los Angeles in 2017 in pursuit of more acting opportunities. He scored a few minor roles, such as Young Sadiq in the short-lived TV action crime-drama series “Training Day”, which starred Bill Paxton, Justin Cornwell, and Katrina Law, and Dej in the short comedy film “Dog Days”, both in 2018.
Rise to Prominence
He got his big break in 2019, with the role of Bob Palmieri in the horror mystery-thriller film “Annabelle Comes Home”, the sequel to 2014’s “Annabelle” and 2017’s “Annabelle: Creation”, and also the seventh film in the ‘Conjuring Universe’ franchise. His co-stars were Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson and Mckenna Grace, and the film became a box office hit, grossing over $30 million in five days and a worldwide total of over $230 million.
The film’s success identified Michael as a rising young star, and he cleverly used the momentum – he immediately secured the lead role in the short film “No Child Left Behind”, however, what really pushed him to the top was the role of Victor in the Disney+ series “Love, Victor”. He was announced as the lead character, a new student in a new school with an unsure sexual orientation and overall identity. The series was based on the 2018 film “Love, Simon” and created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.
It premiered on Hulu on 17 June 2020 and ran for 28 episodes and three seasons until 15 June 2022. Michael won the Imagen Award in the category for Best Actor – Television (Comedy), but he also received death threats from the LGBTQ+ community for taking up a gay character as a straight male. Moreover, he faced homophobic comments from his close family; however, he remained calm during these trying times, and did his job professionally, even changing some people’s opinions along the way.
He supports the LGBTQ+ community and says that these people are ordinary and struggling in society, though they don’t need to.
His hard work and dedication earned him yet another prominent role, selected as Logan in the Podcast series “Black Box”, co-starring Joel McHale, Kelsey Grammer and Brec Bassinger. Next, Michael portrayed the lead character in the film “Heartlight, written and directed by Frank Parrillo, and co-starring William McNamara.
In 2022, Michael secured the role of Lance in the comedy film “Senior Year”, directed by Alex Hardcastle and starring Rebel Wilson, Angourie Rice, and Mary Holland. Most recently, he was Mason in the Podcast series “Jane Anonymous”, and Daniel in another Podcast series, “Daniel X: Genesis”, written by Aaron Tracy, and with Abigail Breslin, Jimmi Simpson and Mercedes Ruehl in the lead roles.
Furthermore, he joined the voice actors’ team in the animated TV action-adventure series “Hamster & Gretel”, comprised of such stars as Beck Bennett and Carolina Rabassa, voicing Kevin in all 30 episodes of the praised series.
His next project is another animated series, “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”, which is currently in production and will have a rich list of Hollywood stars, including Luiz Guzman, Alison Brie and Maya Hawke, among others.
Music Career
In addition to acting, Michael is a singer; he showcased his talents for the first time when he sang and played guitar in the song he wrote, “Everything I Own”, which was used for the “Annabelle Comes Home” soundtrack.
Michael released his first single, “Love Addict” on 15 June 2021, followed by “Little Blue Car”, and “Cigarettes and Incense”. In 2022, Cimino’s songs “The Love Was Real”, “Make Me Wanna Dance”, and “Stole Me”, were released.
Moreover, he recorded “I Can Be Bad”, “Overpowering the Grid”, and “How You Feel About Me”, used as the soundtrack for “Hamster & Gretel”.
Net Worth
As of mid- 2022, Michael Cimino’s net worth has been estimated at over $1 million, earned through his acting career, during which he’s appeared in more than 15 film and TV titles. His recordings have also added to his overall wealth.
Personal Life, Dating, Girlfriend, Gay?
Although he portrays Victor, a gay man, Michael has stated that he’s straight but that he doesn’t want to put himself in a box, and is open to a change of heart at some point in his life, if it is to happen.
He was in a relationship with Mava Gomez, a social media star, from 2018 to 2019. The couple was often together at red-carpet events, including the “Annabel Comes Home” premiere, and uploaded pictures of themselves on social media handles. However, the two broke up not long after that, and since then, Michael has apparently remained single, and focused on his career.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
The popular actor and singer has dark brown hair and brown eyes. He stands at a height of 5ft 10ins (1.78m), while he weighs approximately 150lbs (68kgs). He is a huge tattoo fan, and has them on his right arm, and below his chest on the left side of his abdomen.
