Giancarlo "Gian" Sammarco (born 30 January 1970) is an English nurse and former child actor. He is best known for playing the title role in the television dramatisations of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1985) and its sequel, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1987).
Early life and education Born in Northampton, England, the son of Jacqueline and Pietro Salvatore Sammarco, Gian Sammarco is one of a large family of Italian descent. He attended Kingsthorpe Upper School (now Kingsthorpe College) in that town. The artistic director of the Royal Theatre in Northampton, Michael Napier Brown, selected Sammarco from 200 boys who auditioned to appear in his first theatre production, The Innocents.
Career He was among 100 boys auditioned by Thames Television for the role of Adrian Mole, having been suggested by Michael Napier Brown. Napier Brown also recommended another actor, Lindsey Stagg, also from Northampton, who won the role of Pandora Braithwaite. In 1987 he toured the UK in the play Widow's Weeds by Anthony Shaffer.Widow's Weeds on Anthony Shaffer's website
Apart from the two series of 'Adrian Mole', Sammarco's other television appearances included an interview on Des O'Connor Tonight (1985), co-presenting the first series of the children's Saturday morning show Get Fresh (1986), playing Whizzkid in the 1988 Doctor Who story The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, and the geeky trainspotter in the Press Gang episode "Something Terrible" (1990). His last acting role was in the 1990 children's Indiana Jones-style comedy series, Jackson Pace: The Great Years, alongside Keith Allen and Josie Lawrence.
Personal life In August 1990, Sammarco married Stephanie Bates at the Northampton Register Office. Bates was a fan of the Adrian Mole series and had written to him regularly until the relationship blossomed. Sammarco and Bates had a son, Jonathan, who was born 19 January 1992. Sammarco then gave up acting soon after the birth of his son and trained as a nurse. He is now a psychiatric nurse at the Berrywood Hospital in Northampton.
In 1998, he subsequently married Joanne Young, a nursing colleague, and continues to live in Northampton.'The Strange Secret Life of Adrian Mole, 29 3 /4; Growing Pains: Twice Married Giancarlo Sammarco Goes From Child Star to Geriatric Nurse' Scottish Daily Record 1999
Filmography
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1985The Secret Diary of Adrian MoleAdrian Mole6 episodes1985, 1992Screen TwoJennings / Boy2 episodes1986CrossroadsJason HathawayEpisode #1.43121986Get FreshHimself20 episodes1987The Growing Pains of Adrian MoleAdrian Mole6 episodes1988Doctor WhoWhizzkid3 episodes1989The Two of UsWolfmanEpisode: "The Party"1990Press GangBenjamin DrexilEpisode: "Something Terrible"1990Jackson Pace: The Great YearsFilo5 episodes
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