Peter Scanavino

Scanavino and his wife, Lisha Bai, welcomed their second child, a son, on January 8, 2016. Scanavino briefly studied at Boston University.

In 2014, Scanavino joined SVU in its sixteenth season, this time as Dominick Carisi Jr., a new SVU detective. Initially in a recurring capacity, Scanavino was promoted to the main cast in the fifth episode of the same season. According to SVU Executive Producer Warren Leight, Carisi "[comes] in [to SVU] and shake[s] things up...a guy who maybe needs a little bit of refining." Scanavino noted that Carisi "[is] a total outsider. He's brusque and he doesn't really get the nuances and he's not very experienced so he puts his foot in his mouth a lot of times. But he's learning. He's picking it up. I think he's a good detective, but he's got a lot to learn on how to approach cases."

In 2010, Scanavino took some time away from acting to pursue his interest in cooking. After graduating with a certificate in Culinary Arts from The French Culinary Institute in New York, he began a brief stint working in the kitchen of Dan Barber's Michelin-starred restaurant Blue Hill in Greenwich Village. In 2013, Scanavino guest starred on the long-running NBC crime-drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the fourteenth season, 13th episode, "Monster's Legacy" as Johnny Dubcek. The same year, he starred in the independent romantic comedy ensemble Mutual Friends, directed by Matthew Watts.

Since 2005, Scanavino has had dozens of minor roles in films and on television, most notably Deception (2008), The Good Wife and The Blacklist.

In 2005, Scanavino guest starred on the NBC crime drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent in the fifth season episode "Diamond Dogs" as petty criminal Johnny Feist. He was also was a guest on Law & Order, episode "Just A Girl in the World" in 2009, as a suspect who was a graphic designer.

Peter Scanavino (born February 29, 1980) is an American actor. He stars as Detective/ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. in the long-running NBC crime/legal drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.