Robert was born into a big Italian family living in Queens, New York City. His birthday is June 26th, 1953. The Davis spoke Italian at home. Growing up in a tight family, Robert was close to his maternal grandfather Stefano, who had a profound impact on his grandson and who was a colorful character to say the least (he worked as a bootlegger for a while). Nonetheless, Robert received a good, respectful education in Catholic schools.

For a long time Robert was passionate about sports, and he was a standout in football and baseball in school. He was drawn to acting, which he started in the ninth grade. But at home the main passion of the family was classical music and opera, Puccini being the favorite. Robert's singing talents were "discovered" by a nun who happened to overhear him in the locker shower. The nun persuaded Robert's mother to talk him into joining her glee club. He studied the opera for a year in Florence, Italy, and by nineteen he was winning singing competitions. At the same time, though, he was also receiving recognition in local competitions for dramatic interpretations for his performances.

Somewhere down the line Robert contracted a mysterious illness and by the time he was healthy again, he had decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting. He was accepted into the Hofstra University on a drama scholarship, but left because he was frustrated with the school. He moved to Manhattan and took classes at Juilliard while working as a waiter and at fruit-and-vegetable stand. But he knew his ultimate goal: he wanted to be mentored by Stella Adler, whose previous students included Marlon Brando. Robert accomplished his goal and worked with Adler for three years. He also studied with Lee Strasberg. Robert's apprenticeship plays range from "Much Ado About Nothing" by Shakespeare to Brecht's "Three Penny Opera".

One of Robert's first films ("Contact On Cherry Street") united him with Frank Sinatra. One evening they were in Little Italy at a social club. Sinatra turns to Robert and says: "Robert, have a drink". Robert replies with "I don't drink, Mr Sinatra". Sinatra in turn delivers an ultimatum: "You don't drink, you're fired", so Robert quickly orders a "Jack Daniels", which he has been drinking ever since.

Coming from a long line of bad guy roles or of roles who weren't exactly, well, lily-white, the role of Bailey Malone must have been a welcome change for Robert. "Robert we thought was perfect for Bailey Malone. We intended to cast against type" says Kim Moses, executive producer of the show from '96 to '98. As the series progressed Robert and the production team strove to establish the character and find the right chemistry between the leading characters Sam and Bailey. Robert has gone on to prove himself one hell of a leading man as Bailey, but he laughs when told that audience studies show female viewers find him sexy.

Robert has five children, a son Sean Christian with his ex-wife, and two daughters, Ariana and Frances with his current wife Christine Bolster. And in January 2001 Christine gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. He enjoys smoking a good cigar and horseback riding. He's taken an active interest in preventing real-life crime on the Internet and is now the celebrity spokesperson for "i-SAFE America". You can find the link to the organisation in the links section.

Photo:
Katso! - magazine

Links:
Robert Davi Fan Club Page
Robert Davi - an unofficial fan page
Yahoo! Clubs robertdavi
i-SAFE America
Davi Dimension

Appearance transcripts:
V.I.P.