Marini was born in Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes, France, to a Greek mother and Italian father.[3] He worked as a baker in his father's bakery from the age of eight. After completing high school, he joined the French army and was stationed in Paris, where he served as a fireman in the Paris Fire Brigade. There, Marini met Fred Goudon, a photographer who introduced him to the world of modeling. After fulfilling his military duties in his early twenties, he went to the United States to learn English while working as a model. One of his first jobs was a television commercial for Bud Light beer. He made his acting debut at the age of 29, in the 2005 horror film Screech of the Decapitated.[4]
In 2009, Marini was introduced as a recurring character on ABC's family drama Brothers & Sisters. He played Luc Laurent, the French love interest of Rachel Griffiths' character Sarah Walker, in what was slated to be a five-episode arc,[7] but was promoted to series regular in 2010.[8]Brothers & Sisters was cancelled by ABC in May 2011, after the fifth season ended. He also appeared as Bay Kennish's biological father, Angelo Sorrento, in Switched at Birth. On September 18, 2012,[9] it was announced that he would become a series regular for the second season.
Dancing with the Stars
Marini and his professional partner Cheryl Burke came in as the runners-up of the eighth season of the American televised ballroom dancing competition Dancing with the Stars. On May 19, 2009, then-seventeen-year-old gymnast Shawn Johnson and her partner Mark Ballas were crowned champions of that season, defeating Marini and Burke by 1%. Marini returned alongside professional partner Peta Murgatroyd for the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars; the pair finished in sixth place.