Gilles Marini

Gilles Marini (born January 26, 1976) is a French actor from Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. After working as a baker in his father's bakery since he was 8 years old and graduating from high school, Gilles joined the French army and was stationed in Paris, where he acted as a fireman for the famous Brigade des Sapeurs Pompiers de Paris. It was in Paris where Marini met Fred Goudon, a famous photographer who introduced him to the world of modeling. After fulfilling his military duties, he went to the United States to learn English while working as a model.

Marini began his career as a model in his early twenties. 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 flick "Screech of the Decapitated".

He is most well-known for playing the role of Dante in Sex and the City: The Movie in which he did a full frontal scene. He has been seen on the television shows Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, Criminal Minds, Windfall, as well as several daytime dramas, including The Bold and the Beautiful and Passions. His recent film credits include "One and the Other (L'Une et L'Autre)," and "The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down."

He has a wife, Carole, a son, Georges, and a daughter, Juliana.

This fall he will be introduced as a recurring character on ABC's hit family drama Brothers & Sisters, on which we will play the love interest of Rachel Griffiths' character Sarah Walker.

Gilles Marini Rates the New Season of 'Dancing with the Stars'

Copyright 2009 Adam Larkey / ABC

Last season's "Dancing with the Stars" runner-up, Gilles Marini, who has joined the cast of "Brothers and Sisters" for five episodes -- possibly more, talks to ET about the new cast of the hit dance competition.

"I want to see Mark Dacascos rise and show amazing things because I know he is athletic and I know he can pull out some amazing dances. I cannot wait to see him," Gilles tells ET.

"The other front runners, I think, would be Mya, Aaron Carter and Donny Osmond," he continues. "Those three are really professional entertainers and dancers. There is no doubt about it. For me, it is hard to relate to them. I like to relate to the people who are dancing on 'Dancing with the Stars,' so for me, I need to relate to someone who has never danced before. I want to see that person commit to it and have a very hard work ethic. I believe this is what I did last year. I was proud of what I accomplished with Cheryl Burke."

On February 8, 2009, it was announced that Marini would participate in the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. His professional partner was Dancing with the Stars season 2 and 3 champion Cheryl Burke.^[4] He and Burke scored the first perfect 30 of the season in week 4 on March 30, 2009, for their performance of the Argentine Tango, the performance prompted judge Carrie Ann Inaba to blush heavily and judge Bruno Tonioli to pronounce him as "the quintessential Latin lover." On May 11 in week 10, Marini scored a perfect 60 out of 60 for his waltz and salsa. On the May 19, 2009 season finale, he was the runner-up to Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson. Tom Bergeron stated that the difference separating the two was less than 1%.