Whether you love them, can’t stand them, or are indifferent to them, there is no denying that the Kardashian-Jenner clan make headlines just for showing up somewhere. And if you happen to be seen interacting with any one of them, chances are that you will make headlines, too. Just ask actor Michele Morrone. He was spotted being all friendly with Khloé Kardashian at Milan Fashion Week, and it instantly made headlines, as people wondered whether or not the two were dating.
More from MamásLatinas: Khloé Kardashian's beauty transformation over the years
Supposedly, the two had never met before they came across each other at the Dolce & Gabbana show, where they were seated next to each other. Interesting, since they took a sexy pic backstage and seemed very comfortable with each other at an after-party for the show. Regardless of their relationship status, the attention they generated just for spending a little time together made anyone paying attention curious about Michele Morrone, including us. Here’s what we can tell you about him.
He’s not exactly unknown.
On Instagram alone, he has 15.5 million followers. Not as many as Khloé’s 273 million followers, but he definitely has a very large fan base. Plus, he had a front-row seat at the Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan, and they tend to give those to “important” people.
How did he get so many followers?
He credits the release of his first big movie, 365 Days on Netflix, for getting him attention and followers. The movie came out in 2020. "It was a major turning point in my life," the actor told People in an interview. "Before the movie came out I had 4,000 followers on Instagram. And the night after the movie was released on the platform, I woke up and had 2.6 million followers."
He was born in Italy.
He was born in Reggio Calabria on October 3, 1990. He is the youngest of four children. He has three sisters. After watching a Harry Potter film when he was 11, he was inspired to pursue a career in acting and enrolled in an after-school acting program at his middle school. He was only 12 years old when his father died in 2003.
Much of his early acting training came from watching films.
"I used to go to a small theater in my small town in the south of Italy, but I never really took courses or classes of acting, because here in Italy, they're very, very expensive, all these classes. And my mom couldn't really afford it,” he shared. Instead, he would pick actors whose work he admired and study them by watching their movies.
His first acting job was for a beer commercial.
After he graduated from college, he landed the job at his first audition, which was for a beer commercial. He was so excited about being cast because everyone would see him. But he didn’t realize that the commercial was going to be turned into animation. Nobody ended up recognizing the cartoon version of him that ended up on the commercial.
He is also a musician.
He released Dark Room, a full album, in 2020. According to his website, the album has racked up more than 1 billion total streams across all digital platforms. Two singles from that album were featured on the movie 365 Days.
He’s also a model.
Of course he is; just look at him! He’s modeled for the likes of Dolce & Gabbana and Guess. A Guess campaign was actually his first big modeling gig, and it came after his star-turning performance in 365 Days.
He’s making big money now, but that wasn’t always the case.
Before he landed the Netflix movie, he was working as a gardener and making about $600 a month. He had every intention of returning to that job if he needed to, but he hasn’t had to do that and is raking in far more money now.
He’s had other not-so-glamorous jobs as well.
"After graduation [from college] I went to live in Rome, the capital of cinema here in Italy," he says. "I wanted to live there because I wanted to become an actor. I found a small job building parquet floors,” he shares.
He has two children.
His sons are named Marcus and Brando. “Being a dad is one of the most amazing things life can give you. We love to go to the beach and just relax, play, or I'll grab my guitar and start making music," he says.
His song ‘Angels’ is dedicated to his sons.
“In it, I describe a dream I had. We were all flying through the air without a care in the world, jumping from cloud to cloud. This song is my own very personal prayer for my kids. It’s my heartfelt apology that I can’t always be there for them and spend time with them,” he shares on his website.
He speaks Italian, English, and Arabic.
He’s from Italy, hence the Italian. He learned English because his goal was to work in the US as an actor. He learned Arabic because his ex-wife, with whom he shares his sons, is Lebanese and his kids live in Beirut.
He doesn’t know how many tattoos he has.
"Oh, God. I lost my number [of tattoos] I have," says Michele. "I think I have 30 tattoos all over my body. And I don't want to stop it. I see my body as a book. I like to ink every important thing that happened in my life,” he says.
He wants to do more than ‘sexy’ roles.
Not that he isn't grateful for playing the sexy Don Massimo Torricelli in 365 Days, it’s just that he would like to play different kinds of roles as well. “I'd love to do an action-comedy or a historical drama. It's very satisfying always to change your personality to show the public that you are a chameleon, you can do a lot of things. I love Marvel movies and it would be really fun to play the evil wizard in one of these magical movies,” he explains.
Clearly, he works out.
You can tell from looking at him that exercise is a big part of his life, because you don’t get muscles like that from doing nothing. He says he gets up early, makes himself “a very huge breakfast,” and goes to the gym about four times a week.
