Nino Cimino
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Born in the Chicago area to Italian immigrants, his mother Angela from Rome, his father Vincenzo from Sicily, Nino Cimino, who speaks both English and Italian, grew up working at his family’s Italian restaurant. Growing up in a big Italian household with 5 siblings, 3 boys and 3 girls total, there was always a lot of love and delicious food in the home. To this day, Nino’s siblings and relatives have kept various Italian restaurant locations operating around the United States.
Not wanting the life of a restaurant owner, Nino decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting and filmmaking. Studying for two years at the Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica, under acting teacher Piero Dusa, Nino pulled off a rare feet in booking his very first commercial audition, a major boost of confidence to a young actor’s early career
After years of going on auditions and not being able to book anything, Nino decided to take matters into his own hand. He began to write, direct, and act in several short films which he produced himself. Over a 5 year span, Nino kept putting these short films out, learning from each project and eventually building towards something bigger.
In 2008 he decided to start putting together his life savings to fund his first independent feature film, which would go on to be American Mobster:Miami Shakedown. Besides funding the project all by himself, Nino also wrote it, produced it, and played the lead character "Nick Romano". This mafia drama was able to get veteran actors Robert Miano and Frank Stallone to appear in the movie. After a year of development, and through much "hustling" on Nino’s part, filming finally began in May of 2009. After 2 years of tenaciously shopping the finished movie around, Nino was able to sell the distribution rights to Gregory Hatanaka’s Cinema Epoch, releasing the movie in 2012.
The fact that with in a 4 year span, Nino, who was still relatively early in his career, was able to write, fund, produce, act in, and sell American Mobster for distribution all on his own, with no help from sales agents or other resources, is a feat that Nino is very proud of. Independent filmmaking at its finest.
Over the years, Nino has collaborated on many feature film projects with Cinema Epoch, in which Nino has served as producer, writer, and actor. These films have all found a home on various streaming sites. Some notable ones are the holiday mafia comedy A Wiseguy Christmas, which was nominated for Best Comedy at the 2021 Santa Clarita Film Festival, also the popular streaming urban drama Crack, and even a sequel to American Mobster titled American Mobster: Retribution, in which Nino reprised playing the character "Nick Romano".
In 2025, Nino tried his hand at producing and acting in his first series pilot Libations, a comedy based on characters working at and patronizing a local Los Angeles neighborhood bar. In 2026, Nino has been developing his first vertical series I Got A Job For You, a twelve part-2 minute episode series which Nino will write, produce, direct, and act in. Wanting to always keep up with the times and expand his storytelling to all mediums, Nino is very excited to develop this project.
Nino’s main pride and joy above all else will always be his young daughter Marley Cimino. Marley lives part time with her mother in Florida, and part time with Nino and his mother in Los Angeles. Being somewhat of an entertainer herself, Marley has already appeared in a couple of feature films that Nino has produced. Nino’s main wish is to one day develop, write, and produce a project that both him and Marley can act in together.
Not wanting the life of a restaurant owner, Nino decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting and filmmaking. Studying for two years at the Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica, under acting teacher Piero Dusa, Nino pulled off a rare feet in booking his very first commercial audition, a major boost of confidence to a young actor’s early career
After years of going on auditions and not being able to book anything, Nino decided to take matters into his own hand. He began to write, direct, and act in several short films which he produced himself. Over a 5 year span, Nino kept putting these short films out, learning from each project and eventually building towards something bigger.
In 2008 he decided to start putting together his life savings to fund his first independent feature film, which would go on to be American Mobster:Miami Shakedown. Besides funding the project all by himself, Nino also wrote it, produced it, and played the lead character "Nick Romano". This mafia drama was able to get veteran actors Robert Miano and Frank Stallone to appear in the movie. After a year of development, and through much "hustling" on Nino’s part, filming finally began in May of 2009. After 2 years of tenaciously shopping the finished movie around, Nino was able to sell the distribution rights to Gregory Hatanaka’s Cinema Epoch, releasing the movie in 2012.
The fact that with in a 4 year span, Nino, who was still relatively early in his career, was able to write, fund, produce, act in, and sell American Mobster for distribution all on his own, with no help from sales agents or other resources, is a feat that Nino is very proud of. Independent filmmaking at its finest.
Over the years, Nino has collaborated on many feature film projects with Cinema Epoch, in which Nino has served as producer, writer, and actor. These films have all found a home on various streaming sites. Some notable ones are the holiday mafia comedy A Wiseguy Christmas, which was nominated for Best Comedy at the 2021 Santa Clarita Film Festival, also the popular streaming urban drama Crack, and even a sequel to American Mobster titled American Mobster: Retribution, in which Nino reprised playing the character "Nick Romano".
In 2025, Nino tried his hand at producing and acting in his first series pilot Libations, a comedy based on characters working at and patronizing a local Los Angeles neighborhood bar. In 2026, Nino has been developing his first vertical series I Got A Job For You, a twelve part-2 minute episode series which Nino will write, produce, direct, and act in. Wanting to always keep up with the times and expand his storytelling to all mediums, Nino is very excited to develop this project.
Nino’s main pride and joy above all else will always be his young daughter Marley Cimino. Marley lives part time with her mother in Florida, and part time with Nino and his mother in Los Angeles. Being somewhat of an entertainer herself, Marley has already appeared in a couple of feature films that Nino has produced. Nino’s main wish is to one day develop, write, and produce a project that both him and Marley can act in together.
