Age: 39
Birthplace: Miami, Florida, U.S.
Yani Gellman (born September 2, 1985) is a Canadian film and television actor, known for playing Paolo Valisari in The Lizzie McGuire Movie and Garrett Reynolds in Pretty Little Liars.
Gellman was born in Miami, Florida to a Canadian father and an Australian mother. He is of Jewish heritage. He was named after a family friend, writer Jan Joors. His father was a reporter, and the family frequently moved during Gellman's childhood, living in Australia, Spain, and Texas before settling in Toronto.
Gellman's acting debut was in a 1998 episode of the television series, Animorphs. After appearing in several more television productions, he was cast in supporting roles in the 2000 film, Urban Legends: Final Cut and in 2002's Jason X. In both films, his characters eventually became victims of serial killers. He appeared in 2002's The Matthew Shepard Story as Pablo, the love interest of the title character. Gellman became known among teenage audiences after playing the part of Paolo Valisari, an Italian pop singer, in 2003's The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
Most recently, he has been cast in the Canadian series Monster Warriors. He plays a lawyer, Rafe Torres, in the long-running soap opera, The Young and the Restless. In April 2009 it was revealed that the character of Rafe Torres was gay. Gellman has also appeared as a model in numerous print ads, including Omega watches. He made a cameo in Degrassi Goes Hollywood, as well as playing Pete in multiple episodes of "Greek". He has recently played the role of police officer, Garrett Reynolds in hit TV show Pretty Little Liars. He has also starred as Diego in the hit TV show 90210.
Gellman speaks Spanish, having learned it during his time living in Spain. He has a university degree in political science.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Children of My Heart | Mederic | TV Movie |
2000 | Urban Legends: Final Cut | Rob | |
2001 | Sex, Lies & Obsession | Romeo | TV Movie |
2001 | Boss of Bosses | Young Paul Castellano | TV Movie |
2001 | Jason X | Stoney | |
2002 | The Matthew Shepard Story | Pablo | TV Movie |
2002 | Tru Confessions | Billy | TV Movie |
2003 | The Lizzie McGuire Movie | Paolo Valisari | |
2009 | Degrassi Goes Hollywood | The Shores Boy |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Goosebumps | Young Man | Two episodes (season 4: episodes: 73 and 74) |
1998 | Animorphs | Brad | "The Forgotten" (season 1: episode 13) |
2000 | The Famous Jett Jackson | JB Follower | "What You Wish For" (season 2: episode 26) |
2001 | Blue Murder | Patrick Lee | "All Saints" (season 1: episode 8) |
2002 | Mentors | King Tutankhamen | "Cursed" (season 4: episode 9) |
2002 | Guinevere Jones | Michael Medina | Lead Role, 26 episodes |
2003-2004 | Wild Card | Ryder | Recurring role, 8 Episodes |
2006-2007 | Monster Warriors | Antonio | Lead Role |
2007 | Trapped | Carlitos | (TV series documentary) |
2008-2011 | The Young and the Restless | Rafael Torres | 86 episodes |
2009 | Lincoln Heights | Marco Gutierrez | Two episodes, (season 4: episodes 4 and 5) |
2010 | Greek | Pete/Omega Chi | Three episodes (season 3: episodes 13, 14 and 16) |
2011-2012 | Pretty Little Liars | Officer Garrett Reynolds | Recurring role, 23 episodes |
2012 | 90210 | Diego Flores | 7 episodes |
2012 | The Mentalist | Julian Gallego | "Devil's Cherry" (season 5: episode 2) |
2012 | Beauty & the Beast | Sam | "All In" (season 1: episode 3) |
2013 | Criminal Minds | Mitchell Ruiz | "Broken" (season 8: episode 15) |
2014 | Castle | Manny Castro | "Law & Boarder" (season 6: episode 21) |
2015 | Blood & Oil | A.J. Menendez | Original pilot |