Michael Ciannilli

Michael Ciannilli is an American actor, producer, writer, model, and professional speaker. He has appeared in numerous TV, film, print, voiceover, and podcast productions. He has spoken to many national and international audiences. Michael began his acting career in 1996 being featured in several episodes of the TV series The Cape produced by MTM Productions. In 1997, Michael wrote and starred in an online video series called, "Landing to Launch." On each episode, he would take viewers on an up close and personal tour of an exciting on location spot at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During each episode, he would also provide commentary by narrating the history of each location all while interacting live directly with his audience. The following year, Ciannilli hosted the first ever live launch commentary broadcast on the internet featuring the launch of astronaut John Glenn's historic return to space on the space shuttle Discovery. Throughout the early 2000's, he worked on a variety of projects including live commentary on The Weather Channel, Public Broadcasting System's series titled Taste of Central New York, CNN's documentary series CNN Presents 100th Flight NASA's Space Shuttle Status Report, and several additional live space shuttle launch commentaries and International Space Station shows. He also provided voice over work for NASA training videos. On the radio front, Ciannilli was featured on several Florida radio station programs in addition to the National Public Radio Syndicated Show All Things Considered. Director Michael Bay cast Ciannilli for the role of Launch Director in the 2011 feature film Transformers Dark of the Moon. Later that same year, Ciannilli was featured in the popular TV series Cake Boss on The Learning Channel. In the episode titled Space Shuttle, Stepping Up & Surprise, Michael interacted with series star Buddy Valesco. From 2012-2014, he was also featured in several TV commercials including Walt Disney World's Epcot Showcase, and the Center for the Advancement of Science and Space non-profit organization among others. In 2015, he was chosen as the on-location liaison lead in support of the film Tomorrowland. This role offered him the opportunity to work closely on site with stars George Clooney and Tim McGraw. In 2016, Ciannilli returned to the big screen in the Eric Emerick crime drama called Happiness starring in the role of Johnny, a down-on-his-luck mobster hit man. Early 2017 saw the release of the Phil Lister directed film Renaissance. In this sci-fi film, Michael played the role of a futuristic crew member on a mission to save earth from total destruction. Due to the previous year's success of Happiness, a sequel was written and Ciannilli reprised his role later that year earning strong reviews of his performance. The sequel titled Dumb Luck was screened at the Melbourne Independent Film Festival in the fall of 2017 and earned award nominations. In early 2018, Michael played the role of a Good Samaritan in the film drama Ask God, a film written and directed by Sue Dontell. In early summer 2018, Ciannilli received the script for a new film titled The Model. In this light-hearted comedy, Michael was cast in the starring role as the flamboyant and eccentric artist Christoph. This would turn out to be one of his most challenging but favorite characters to play in his career. The film was released in late 2018 and received a best picture award at the Melbourne Independent Film Festival. In 2019, he was cast in the comedy drama Behind Closed Doors as one of the lead characters. This film was directed and produced by the Florida Independent Filmmakers Association. In 2020, Ciannilli starred in the dark drama Water's Edge directed by Tom Loomis, featuring a complex character with a hidden dark side. Water's Edge was debuted at Melbourne Independent Film Festival later that fall.