Michael Karim Malarkey (born 21 June 1983) is a British-American actor and musician. He is best known for playing the role of

Enzo St. John ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American fantasy-drama Television show, television series which was first broadcast on The CW Television Network, The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin ...

in the series ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

''.

Early life

Malarkey was born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon, to Jim Malarkey, an

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

, and Nadia Bushrui, who has British,

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

origins. His grandfather was the famous Palestinian poet,

Suheil Bushrui Suheil Badi Bushrui (; September 14, 1929 – September 2, 2015) was a Palestinian professor, author, poet, critic, translator, and peace maker. He was a prominent scholar in regard to the life and works of the Lebanese-American author and poet ...

, the first Arab national to be appointed to the Chair of English at the American University of Beirut, a position he held from 1968 to 1986. He is the oldest of three brothers and was raised in

Yellow Springs, Ohio Yellow Springs is a Village (Ohio), village in northern Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area and is home to Antioch ...

. In 2006, Malarkey travelled to England to study at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

Career

Acting

Malarkey had his beginnings on the London stage appearing in various theatre productions including lead roles in ''

Spring Storm ''Spring Storm'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams. He began writing it when he was twenty-six years old, in 1937, while enrolled in the University of Iowa's drama school, and completed the play the following ...

'' by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

and '' Beyond the Horizon'' by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, an adaptation of ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

'' in the role of

Jay Gatsby Jay Gatsby () (originally named James Gatz) is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is an enigmatic ''nouveau riche'' millionaire who lives in a Long Island mansion where he oft ...

and in the Original London Company of ''

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956 at the Sun Studio, Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about th ...

'' in the role of singer

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. Malarkey also appeared in several film and television projects including recurring roles in series' ''Raw'' for

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

, ''

Mr. Sloane ''Mr. Sloane'' is a British comedy television series that was first broadcast on Sky Atlantic on 23 May 2014. The six-part series was written by Robert B. Weide, Aschlin Ditta and Oliver Lansley and directed by Robert B. Weide. It is set in Wat ...

'' with

Nick Frost Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...

and in the leading role for

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

pilot ''

The Selection ''The Selection'' is a young adult novel by Kiera Cass first published on April 14, 2012, by HarperCollins. It is the first in a five-book series, followed by '' The Elite'' (2013), ''The One'' (2014), ''The Heir'' (2015) and ''The Crown'' (May ...

'' before landing the role of Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John in season 5 of the television series ''

'' as a recurring character. After gaining popularity with the viewing public, Malarkey's role was upgraded to a series regular starting in Season 6 and through the end of Season 8. In 2017, he appeared as "Dizel" in an episode of

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

's ''

Jean-Claude Van Johnson ''Jean-Claude Van Johnson'' is an American action comedy-drama television series starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and produced by Ridley Scott with his production studio Scott Free Productions and Amazon Studios. It premiered on August 19, 2016. On ...

''. In the following year, it was announced Malarkey was cast as "Sam Foster" in

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snack ...

's crime drama series '' The Oath''. In 2019, Malarkey played the role of "Cinch Barton" in the thriller film ''

A Violent Separation ''A Violent Separation'' is a 2019 crime drama film directed by Kevin and Michael Goetz, written by Michael Arkof, and starring Brenton Thwaites, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Ben Robson and Claire Holt. Plot In a quiet Missouri town, Norman, a young de ...

''. That same year he starred as Captain Michael Quinn in ''

Project Blue Book Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by the United States Air Force from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Fo ...

'' for

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

. In September 2021, it was reported that Malarkey had a recurring role as Deputy Harvey on the second season of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's crime drama TV series '' Big Sky''. He then appeared in ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...

'' and ''

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

'' in 2022 and in the third season of '' Law & Order: Organized Crime'' in 2023. In February 2024, it was announced that Malarkey had joined the main cast for the second season of

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's conspiracy thriller series '' The Night Agent''.

Music

After finishing high school, Malarkey joined a local hardcore band called Shadyside. He became the frontman when the lead singer left the band. Malarkey spent five years with the group touring and recording in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

while simultaneously learning guitar. As a solo artist, after two EPs in 2014 and 2015, he released his debut full-length record, ''Mongrels'' on 8 September 2017 accompanied by music videos for singles ''Uncomfortably Numb'' and ''Mongrels''. The next year, he released another EP, ''Captain Solitaire''. In January 2020, Malarkey released his second album, ''Graveracer.''

Personal life

Malarkey has been married to English actress

Nadine Lewington Nadine Lewington (born 15 October 1980) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Dr. Maddy Young in the BBC medical drama series ''Holby City''. Early and personal life Born 15 October 1980, in Chelmsford, Essex, she is the elde ...

since 2009; they have two sons, born in 2014 and 2019. They appeared together in one episode of ''Project Blue Book''.

Filmography

Music video

Video games

Theatre

*2009: ''Inches Apart'' as Lee (Theatre 503, London – Winner of Theatre 503/Old Vic New Voices Award) *2010: ''Spring Storm'' as Arthur (The National Theatre, London) *2010: ''Beyond the Horizon'' as Robert (The National Theatre, London) *2011: ''

'' (musical) as

(Original London Company – Noël Coward Theatre, West End) *2012: ''The Intervention'' as Jed (Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh) *2012: ''

'' as

(Wilton's Music Hall, London)

Discography

;EPs *''Feed the Flames'' (2014) *''Knots'' (2015) * ''Captain Solitaire'' (2018) * ''Strays'' (2022) * ''Future Tense'' (2024) ;Singles * ''Feed the Flames'' (2014) * ''Dancing in the Grey'' (2015) * ''Scars'' (2017) * ''Mongrels'' (2017) * ''Dog Dream'' (2017) * ''I Just Want You'' (2017) * ''Captain Solitaire'' (2018) * ''To Be a Man (Mahogany Sessions)'' (2018) * ''Graveracer'' (2019) ;Studio albums * ''Mongrels'' (2017) * ''Graveracer'' (2020)

References

External links

*
Michael Malarkey Fansite
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malarkey, Michael American male television actors 1983 births Living people Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art British people of Lebanese descent British people of Irish descent British people of Italian descent British people of Palestinian descent American male stage actors American people of British descent American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent Lebanese emigrants to the United States Lebanese people of British descent Lebanese people of Italian descent Lebanese people of Palestinian descent Male actors from Beirut Male actors from Ohio People from Yellow Springs, Ohio American male film actors American male video game actors British male television actors British male film actors British male video game actors Academic staff of the American University of Beirut