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All About Chris Messina's Tight-Knit Family, Including His 2 "Super Smart" Kids
Based on a True Story star Chris Messina plays a new dad in Season 2 of the Peacock serial killer comedy thriller.
When Peacock’s comedy thriller Based on a True Story returns for Season 2 on Nov. 21, Los Angeles tennis pro Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) faces the daunting job of being a new dad.
Besides their 3-month-old baby, Nathan and his wife, Ava (Kaley Cuoco), have their hands full navigating their dicey relationship with West Side Ripper serial killer Matt Pierce (Tom Bateman). As seen in a trailer for the new season, Matt gets engaged to Ava’s sister, Tory (Liana Liberato). Yikes.
Family matters appear to be shaping up as a major theme, and we can’t wait to see how the twisty plot unfolds. In the meantime, let’s get up to speed on family-man Messina, who’s raising two “super smart” teenage sons off-screen.
Who is Chris Messina?
Born in 1974, Messina’s acting career took off in the early 2000s. He’s made more than 60 movies and TV shows since moving from New York to Los Angeles in 2003 for Six Feet Under, according to a profile in the Los Angeles Times.
Messina has shown off his range for both comedy and drama. One of his most notable characters was Danny Castellano, the charming yet complicated love interest he played opposite Mindy Kaling on The Mindy Project.
His other TV credits include the series Damages, The Newsroom, and Sharp Objects. His movie credits include the food-forward Julie & Julia and the hostage rescue drama Argo.
Who is Chris Messina's wife?
After his divorce from actress Rosemarie DeWitt, Messina married Jennifer Todd. A film and television producer, Todd is known for her work on Must Love Dogs, Alice in Wonderland, and three Austin Powers films.
Who are Chris Messina's kids?
The couple has two teenage sons, Milo and Giovanni, born, respectively, in 2008 and in 2009. Messina’s love for movies and the art of acting has been a constant source for bonding with his boys, according to a 2015 Glamour interview.
“I . . . always talk to them and say things like, 'So that's Al Pacino! He's a great actor! You're going to love him when you get older!’” he said. “I talk about Brando to them. And they sit there thinking, ‘What is he talking about?’ It's so funny.”
In the same interview, Messina’s protective streak came out as he discussed his kids possibly following his footsteps.
“My wife is a producer, so we talk about movies a lot, but they'll have to wait till they are 18 to pursue anything in it, if they are even interested,” Messina told Glamour. “School plays are fine though, otherwise that's about it.”
More recently, according to a Los Angeles Times article, Messina enlisted his sons for help learning his rapid-fire lines as an intense agent David Falk in the sports drama Air.
“They’re super smart and not afraid to say, ‘I don’t believe that’ or ‘This line doesn’t make sense,’” Messina said. “It was funny to rehearse Falk with them, cursing and screaming. If you were listening from another room you’d go, ‘What the hell is going on in there?’”
Season 2 of Based on a True Story premieres Nov. 21 on Peacock. Catch up on Season 1, which is streaming now.
