Anthony Valentino had no concept of true passion before he met Maria D’Angelo. He was a notorious playboy, bouncing from one woman to another without a second thought. He was an up and coming director with magnificent dreams of fame. He was going to be the next Francis Ford Coppola, the next Martin Scorsese, the next king of the camera. He was going to change with world of cinema forever. Karen…she was a stunning Italian Burnette actress with legs for days. She was his type, plain and simple, and he had to have her. It was all passion for them. Romance was never on the table as an option. Anthony was not a ‘romance kind of guy’. He didn’t believe in love or the fantasies associated with it. Everything changed when Karen found out she was pregnant. Anthony knew that he had to do the right thing for Karen and his son. Shortly after she gave birth to Giovanni, Anthony made her his wife. Giovanni Deacen Valentino was a rebellious child, even from day one. He had come 6 weeks early without any warning. Anthony had never planned to see himself as a family man, but that was the hand he was dealt. His wife allowed him to continue working while she stayed at home to raise their son. She had fallen in love with this little boy, and was willing to give up every other part of her life to be with him.
Surprise number two came for the Valentino family when Giovanni was three and a half years old. This time they were expecting a little girl. Karen could not have been happier that her family was growing and a little girl was entering the picture. Anthony, on the other hand, was starting to feel the pressure of fatherhood. This had never been his dream, nor had it ever been something he wanted. He was terrible with kids, and even worst with monogamy. The strains of his absence and two small children became a regular issue for the young couple. Anthony was throwing himself into every project that came his way. He was becoming overwhelmed with the life he had created with karen. It felt forced, unnatural, and off. Did he love Karen? Yes. And his children? Or course. But, at the same time, he was too self-involved and immature to man up and support them the way they needed it. From a young age Giovanni could sense this strain within the household. He did everything that he could to shield his young sister from the problems. Talking walks around the neighborhood became a regular affair. As soon as Giovanni heard their voices getting louder and louder he would grab his sister and leave.
Though his birth name was Giovanni, the little boy preferred to go by his middle name, deacen. He thought deacen sounded much more ‘normal’ and not so ‘flashy and italian’. While his mother supported their son, Anthony continued to call his son Giovanni. It was his father’s name, and felt that his son should have been proud of the history behind it. Anthony and Karen continued to grow apart, him spending less time at home while she managed to keep their family together. There were rumors of multiple affairs, secrets families, and divorce ringing through the tabloids. After all, he was still a big name director with a family he never spoke about. Going back and forth over the course of the next 30 years was overly difficult on the family. Baby number three came along when Deacen was seven years old. Another unplanned child entering into an unstable environment. Deacen resented his father for his choices. He hated the fact that Anthony did whatever he wanted without thinking about the people around him.
Growing up in such chaos was trying on the young boy. Deacen did everything he could to protect his sisters from the family dysfunction. He loved them, and wanted more for them than their father could give. He worked his ass off in high school to help provide for whatever they needed. With Anthony becoming unreliable and more absent, deacen became the man of the house. All of that pressure was sometimes overwhelming for him. He began drinking at the age of sixteen as a way to help cope with the pain and the anger he felt for his father. His mother tried pushing him in to every activity to help. She didn’t want her son to feel responsible for them, or feel that he had to support the family in place of Anthony. Deacen slowly began to let go of his fixation on being the man of the house. He was so young, robbed of most of his childhood because of his deadbeat father. He had so many things he had never gotten to experience that it was sort of a sensory overload. Deacen became a bit of a troublemaker after that. He continued drinking to cope with that anger he felt deep inside for Anthony. His mother almost couldn’t fault deacen for acting out in the ways that he did. He didn’t have a solid male role model around to teach him what was right and what was wrong.
College was never in the cards for deacen. Alcohol became a constant and consuming part of his life. He would spend most of his day sleeping and the entire night getting wasted with his friends. If his father didn’t care, why should he? It broke karen’s heart to see her son struggle through an intense alcohol addiction from such a young age. She began to hate and resent Anthony, and eventually filed for divorce when deacen was 19. Anthony became a distant and painful memory, concealed by alcohol. It was in those years that acting started to become a piece of his life. After all, both of his parents were involved in that world. Between benders he would spend time with his mother back at home. She encouraged, but more pushed, her son toward the healthy and creative outlet. It was a way to express his feelings, explore new lives, being someone different if even for a moment. Alcohol started to become a second to acting. He did a few commercials, modeling ads, even a cameo on a few shows. It all seemed to be going so well, while deep down his inner demons were screaming. He needed help, but pushed back at it with everything he had. Alcohol, once again, became number one.
His first run in rehab was when he was 22. The moment of that first intervention was devastating. Seeing his sisters and mother so heartbroken over his disease, it damn nearly killed him. He knew that he had to turn his life around quick before he turned into the monster that was his father. Once he had completed his 90 day treatment program, an opportunity arose to travel overseas to get involved in some habitat for humanity work. It was something his mother was extremely passionate about, and at that point he really had nothing to lose. it was an unbelievable experience that he would do again when ever he had the chance. habitat for humanity continues to be a charity near and dear to his heart now.
Returning home was both exciting and overwhelming for deacen. He knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life, but feared what alcohol would do to him again. He threw himself into acting, more determined than ever to make something of himself. He wanted his mother to be proud of the man he had become, not ashamed of the sickness that nearly consumed him. His first few roles were credited under the stage name “deacen valentino”. He was climbing the ranks and busting his ass to make his family proud. Everything seemed to take a turn for the worst when his father began reaching out to him in late 2009. He had been sober for nearly three years, and it all began to quickly unravel. His father wanted to make amends, turn over a new leaf and even cast his son in his next project. Deacen didn’t what anything to do with the man, nor anything to do with his name. it was at that point that he legally changed his name to ‘deacen giovanni’. He wanted nothing from the valentino name, nor the chaos it stood for. Shortly after his father’s olive branch, deacen fell off of the wagon and dove back into alcohol. After two weeks of blurry drunken memories he checked himself into rehab for a second time (with the help of his mother).
90 days later, he was ready to pick himself up and try it all again. He was determined to make his family proud, build a life for himself and push away from drunk deacen valentino. The next few years were a whirlwind of fame and opportunity. Action and adventure projects really became his forte and treasure. He wasn’t concerned with finding the biggest budget films or making the most money, he just followed his heart. He would go another four years before he hit the bottle again. It was in between "Winter Soldier” and "Age of Ultron" that he let himself slip. He thought that, after four years, he deserved a scotch or two to celebrate everything he had accomplished. It was a mistake, and he regretted every second of it. He did everything in his power to keep it a secret, but once he was back in rehab it wasn’t long before the press found out. It was a demon that he had held tight for years, a secret that he never wanted out in the open. Unfortunately that was the price of fame. He wanted to make the best of a terrible situation, and soon became an active advocate of alcoholics anonymous. It was a step in the recovering cycle that he was always too afraid to pursue before. Sharing his thoughts and feelings was never a part of life for deacen. He much preferred to keep it all bottled away inside. This was his time to finally cope with his demons.
Today, he has been sober for nearly two years and continues to go to aa meetings regularly. He’s moved past the point of being ashamed of his disease. He wanted to be a beacon of hope for those that are still struggling today. There is a better future, and he was going to live it until he couldn’t anymore. Acting has now become his life, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Personality wise, deacen is a very playful guy. He is a notorious prankster, jokester, and chain smoker. Despite his long road of recovery, he still can be seen out at night clubs with his friends having a good time. He’s just learned to love tonic and lime. His Italian heritage is something that is very important to him. his mothers parents still live in boston and he visits them regularly. him and his siblings all learned italian at a young age so they could communicate with them. It's a talent he loves to show off. He’s still very protective of his heart, knowing that loving him comes with a lot of baggage and drama. He loves to date around, meet new people, and be the center of attention. He loves to laugh more than anything. Despite it all, he hopes that he has become a man his family can be proud of.
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