Paolo Rotondo

Paolo Rotondo is a New Zealand director, writer and actor of stage and screen.

Rotondo was born in Napoli, Italy, from a Neapolitan father and New Zealand mother of Irish descent. He grew up in Italy and moved to New Zealand when he was eleven.

As an actor, Rotondo is best known for his character Andrew Solomon on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. In 2016 he released his debut feature film "Orphans & Kingdoms" to great critical acclaim. He was a lead in the New Zealand feature film Stickmen. Television roles include on Xena: Warrior Princess, and When We Go to War. He was nominated for TV Guide Best actor' on two occasions. In 2016 Paolo played Johnny Torrio, Al Capone's infamous mentor in the US Television series The Making of the Mob: Chicago.

As a writer Rotondo has written for film and theatre. The short films The Freezer and Dead Letters were both supported by the New Zealand Film Commission and are studied in New Zealand high schools. Plays he has written include Little Che inspired by The Motorcycle Diaries and Strange Resting Places co-written with Rob Mokaraka, produced by Taki Rua Productions and based on family stories of the Māori Battalion in Italy in World War II. Strange Resting Places was performed for over nine years and been published by Playmarket. It was also the opening feature-length episode of the six-part television series Atamira. It aired on Māori TV on 25 April 2012 at 8.30pm.

As a TV Commercial Director Paolo is represented by Flying Fish films New Zealand. He directed the film Orphans and Kingdoms which was released for general exhibition in April 2016.[10]

He lives in the Hawkes Bay with his partner Renee Mark and their two children.[11]

Rotondo and Mark run a regular national film festival called Cinema Italiano: The Italian Film Festival.[11]