Steve Bastoni (born 4 March 1966) is an Italian-born Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Angel in Police Rescue and as Steve Parker in Neighbours.
His credits from over three decades as a working actor include The Matrix Reloaded, Blue Murder, Wentworth, Broke, Hawaii Five-0, The Water Diviner, Poker Face and many more.
Early life Bastoni was born in Rome, Italy, to Australian mother Val and Italian father Raffaele. His father was a five-time Italian kayak champion who competed for Italy in the double kayak event at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.
Bastoni’s interest in acting began after seeing a London production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the age of six.
When he was eight, Bastoni relocated to Melbourne with his mother and two sisters, after his parents separated. He often spent his childhood summers on the Mornington Peninsula, learning to surf in Sorrento. At age ten, Bastoni performed an amateur production alongside his mother, at the Adelaide Fringe. At primary school he often scored lead roles in the school productions, and performed in a school play called Minestrone, at the age of 11. He largely learnt acting on the job. While working a part-time job at an Italian restaurant in the inner city suburb of Carlton, Bastoni performed at La Mama, earning the nickname 'Hollywood' from his co-workers.
At the age of 16, Bastoni landed a role in short film Skipping Class, after which time he signed with an agent and got an Actors Equity Card. As a teenager, he also played basketball at state level, competing against former professional player Andrew Gaze in the under-16s.
Career
Film and television One of Bastoni's earliest screen roles was opposite Ben Mendelsohn, Nadine Garner and Greg Fleet in 1986 film The Still Point. He also had a recurring role in prison drama series Prisoner that same year.
At the age of 24, Bastoni landed his first lead role in a television series, playing Constable Yannis 'Angel' Angelopoulos in Police Rescue, alongside Gary Sweet, from 1991 to 1996. The role saw him twice nominated for an AFI Award for Best Lead Actor.
During this time, Bastoni also appeared in 1993 film The Heartbreak Kid, alongside Claudia Karvan and breakout star Alex Dimitriades. After his tenure on Police Rescue, Bastoni spent three months in America, where he was offered a five-episode stint in the series Superboy. Unable to procure a work permit in time, he was forced to turn down the offer. He went on to appear in other Australian series such as Wildside (1998) and Stingers (1999–2002).
In 1999, Bastoni starred with Adam Baldwin in Frances Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This was followed by a role in 2000 Golden Globe-nominated television film On the Beach, opposite Bryan Brown, Rachel Ward and Armand Assante. He also starred in 2000 film 15 Amore, earning him a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Alfredo, as well as a Film Critics Circle nomination in the same category.
He next appeared in the 2001 films South Pacific alongside Glenn Close and Harry Connick Jr., and He Died With a Felafel in His Hand opposite Noah Taylor. In 2002, he had a role in The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course before appearing in 2003 blockbuster The Matrix Reloaded with Keanu Reeves. 2006 saw him in Suburban Mayhem (2006).
In 2007, Bastoni began playing another of his best known roles, as Steve Parker in long-running soap opera Neighbours, a role he undertook until 2009. From 2009 to 2010, he hosted Missing Persons Unit, replacing Mike Munro. In 2010, he also appeared in the third installment of the Underbelly franchise, Underbelly: The Golden Mile, as Louis Bayeh.
Bastoni appeared in an episode of Sea Patrol, temporarily replacing Mike Flynn as the Commanding Officer aboard the fictional RAN vessel HMAS Hammersley, before playing the role of Don Kaplan in critically acclaimed Australian prison drama Wentworth. He also played homicide detective, Charlie Bezzina in Fat Tony & Co., a 2014 spin-off series of Underbelly, based on the Melbourne gangland war.
Other television credits include appearances in award winning miniseries Blue Murder, The Alice, Rush, Mr & Mrs Murder and the comedies Lowdown, Upper Middle Bogan, The Wrong Girl and How to Stay Married, as well as US series Hawaii Five-0.
Bastoni appeared in the 2013 film Drift, alongside Sam Worthington and Xavier Samuel, before playing the role of Omer in 2014 film The Water Diviner, alongside Russell Crowe. He starred as Steve in Truth (2015) alongside Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, and appeared in 2016 sport film Broke.
More recently, Bastoni has starred in Channel 9 drama series Bad Mothers in 2019, alongside Mandy McElhinney, Daniel MacPherson and Michala Banas. He also appeared in 2021 miniseries Australian Gangster and 2022 Russell Crowe-lead thriller film Poker Face.
Bastoni has also written and directed several short films, the first of which, The Gift, won several international awards. The film was shown in parliament in New South Wales and is part of the curriculum in Canada, where it is used to generate discussions about mental health.
Stage Bastoni's theatre work includes the playing role of Rocky in the 1987 Australian national tour of The Rocky Horror Show starring Daniel Abineri. Abineri then gave him the role of Charlie Fortune in his controversial rock musical Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom in 1989, starring alongside Russell Crowe and Nadine Garner.
He notably starred in Cameron Mackintosh's 2002 big budget musical production of Oliver! directed by Sam Mendes, which toured nationally and to Singapore. He played the role of Bill Sikes, alongside John Waters and Tamsin Carroll.
In 2012, Bastoni performed in Everynight, Everynight at Melbourne's Gasworks, for Frank Theatre Company, and in Jager Productions’ Barassi, as AFL legend Ron Barassi. He also appeared in a 2013 Belvoir production of The Threepenny Opera, playing Macheath.
In 2019, Bastoni starred in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, marking his debut for Melbourne Theatre Company. The same year, he also played the lead role of Jay Conway in Ulster American for Melbourne's Red Stitch Actors Theatre. He was nominated for Green Room Awards for both roles, as well as one for his earlier turn in Ben Elton’s Popcorn in 1999.
Other activities Bastoni serves as the founder and coordinator for the annual Peninsula Film Festival, held in Melbourne since 2011, and Victoria's biggest outdoor film festival.
Personal life Bastoni was in a relationship with actress Sarah Lambert, whom he met when she appeared in a 1991 episode of Police Rescue. He was also in a relationship with actress Melissa George in the mid-1990s. He was later in a long-term relationship with TV star Nina Zandnia.
Bastoni is married to Bianca Pirrotta, whom he met at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2005. They moved in together in Sydney not long after their courtship began. When Pirotta fell pregnant, the couple moved to Melbourne to be closer to family. They married in October 2007, three months after the birth of their first son. Together, the couple now have two sons and a daughter and live in the Melbourne suburb of Rosebud.
Bastoni has been open about his past struggles with addiction prior to the age of 40, crediting the birth of his son with turning his life around and finding recovery. Bastoni studied a Certificate 4 in Mental Health while making mental health plans and programs for workers in the mining industry. He conducts workshops in schools, encouraging young people to talk about their life experiences, in association with Australian not-for-profit suicide prevention organisation, R U OK?.
Awards Year Work Award Category Result Ref. 1991 Police Rescue AFI Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Television Drama 1996 1999 Popcorn Green Room Awards Best Male Actor in a Leading Role 2000 15 Amore AACTA Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role 2001 Film Critics Circle Best Actor – Male 2020 A View from the Bridge Green Room Awards Outstanding Performance 2020 Ulster American Green Room Awards
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1983 Skipping Class Steve Short 1984 Melvin, Son of Alvin Bullo 1986 The Still Point David 1987 The Lighthorsemen Turkish Demolition Soldier 1989 Closer and Closer Apart Sam Direct-to-video 1993 The Heartbreak Kid Dimitri Yiannos 1997 Wanted Rico 1998 15 Amore Alfredo 2001 He Died with a Felafel in His Hand Sydney Police Officer 2 2002 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course Deputy Director Reynolds 2003 The Matrix Reloaded Captain Soren 2005 Man-Thing Rene LaRoque Fink! (aka Pros and Ex-Cons) Willing 2006 Suburban Mayhem Detective Robert Andretti Macbeth Banquo One Last Shot Detective Short 2007 St George Short 2008 The Plex The Baron / 'Mad' Morgan Edwards 2011 The Tea Party Cubby Short 2012 Thought Tracker President Stanton Short 2013 Drift Miller 2014 The Water Diviner Ömer 2015 Truth Gil Schwartz Damage Control The Killer Short 2016 Broke Sherro 2018 The Widow Antonio Monaco Short 2019 The Whistleblower Harrison's Gunman 2021 Streamline Glenn Goodman Him Tom Ridgen 2022 262 Our Stories So Far Short Poker Face Paul Muccino Fumblelove Mack Short 2024 Take My Hand George 2025 The Mediator Mick Gatto Short Bang
Television