Antonio Sabàto Jr.

Antonio Sabàto Jr. (born February 29, 1972) is an American model and actor. Born in Italy, he rose to fame in the 1990s as an underwear model for Calvin Klein and playing Jagger Cates on the soap opera General Hospital from 1992 to 1995, and as Jack Parezi on Melrose Place from 1995‒1996. By the early 2000s, most of his acting credits were guest appearances, reality television, and budget films. Sabàto ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress against incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Julia Brownley for California's 26th district in the 2018 elections.

Early life Sabàto was born in Rome, Italy on February 29, 1972, a Leap Day. His father was Antonio Sabàto Sr., an Italian-born film star. His mother, Yvonne, was born in Prague (then part of Czechoslovakia), and of Jewish ancestry; her own mother was a Jewish Holocaust survivor. He has one sibling, a sister named Simonne. Sabàto and his family moved to the United States from Italy in 1985 and he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1996. His parents divorced, and his mother remarried, to California-based businessman George F. Kabouchy, in 1997.

Career

Modeling Sabàto was featured on the cover of erotic magazine Playgirl in April 1993. Represented in Los Angeles by fashion agent Omar Albertto, Sabàto first gained attention as a Calvin Klein underwear model in 1996. In 1990, he appeared in Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" music video along with actor Djimon Hounsou, who is also a former CK underwear model represented by Albertto. In 2013, Sabàto was named the international celebrity spokesperson for AnastasiaDate, an online mail-order bride website which connects wealthy American older men with Eastern European women.

Acting Moving into acting, from 1992 to 1995, Sabàto appeared on the soap opera General Hospital, the science fiction series Earth 2, and the prime time soap opera Melrose Place. Throughout the late 1990s, he starred in various TV movies and direct-to-video films, as well as a supporting role in the 1998 feature film The Big Hit. In 2003, he played the protagonist's lover Pablo in the movie Testosterone, filmed in Argentina with Sonia Braga, David Sutcliffe, Jennifer Coolidge, Celina Font and Leonardo Brezicki. From 2005 to 2006, Sabàto played Dante Damiano on the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, and in 2008, Sabàto reprised his role as Jagger Cates on the second season of General Hospital: Night Shift. Sabàto made an appearance on Bones as a bouncer from a Jersey Shore club in season 6, episode 3, "The Maggots in the Meathead" in 2010. In 2013, he played Father Zaragosa in the television series The League. Sabàto was set to direct, produce, and star in an upcoming project called Trail Blazers, which reportedly was the first in the line of other films he hoped to produce for his upcoming film studio called Trail Blazers Pictures. The film was to costar Kristy Swanson, Kevin Sorbo, Dean Cain, and Scott Baio.

Other work

In 2005, Sabàto appeared on But Can They Sing?, a celebrity reality singing competition on VH1, coming in 5th place. He competed in the 2008 NBC competition Celebrity Circus, which he won. He stated on the show that both his mother and her father were circus performers.

In August 2009, Sabàto starred in My Antonio, a reality show on VH1 in which female contestants competed to win his heart. The show notably featured Sabàto's ex-wife, Tully Jensen, as one of the contestants (she came in third place), and his mother also appeared on the show, providing advice. The show's winner was Brooke Barlow.

Sabàto and his family appeared on ABC's Celebrity Wife Swap on January 31, 2012. His then-fiancé Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes traded places on the show with WWE wrestler Mick Foley's wife Colette Foley. Sabàto competed on season 19 of Dancing with the Stars in 2014. He was paired with professional dancer Cheryl Burke, and they finished in 8th place.

Since 2014, Sabàto has served as the host of a 30-minute long syndicated home remodeling show Fix It & Finish It.

In 2016, Sabàto was contracted to be a Chippendales dancer for a special engagement in June at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Sabàto announced that he wants to start a Hollywood movie studio geared toward conservative content. The new company is called and the studio's first upcoming film, Trail Blazers, is in the works for a release in 2022.

On April 25, 2024, while in Australia Sabato filmed the Music Video for Australian Singer Songwriter Kristin Venae's Single 'Still Here'. The Music video was released on Valentines day 2025.

Politics

Sabàto ran for the 26th district Congressional seat in California as a Republican against incumbent Democrat Julia Brownley. He came in second place in the jungle primary with 22.4% of the vote, advancing to face Brownley in the general election. He lost the election on November 6, 2018, by 24%. He supported Trump's wall on the southern border, saying, "We need a wall."

Sabàto has made many controversial statements regarding former U.S. President Barack Obama, including saying he has "no guts," accusing him of destroying the U.S. economy, and asserting that Obama should be arrested and sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The former Democrat has also implied that Obama is the reason he left the Democratic Party. The first instance of such a claim came in 2016, when Sabàto, after making a speech at the Republican National Convention, told ABC News "I don't believe he follows the God that I love and the Jesus that I love," and "If you follow his story, if you read his book, if you understand about Obama, I mean, that's not a Christian name, is it?" When pressed for evidence to back up his claims, Sabàto answered that it's "in his heart."

Two years later, in 2018, he reaffirmed his belief that Obama is a Muslim when appearing on The View, saying "If he's [Obama's] not a Muslim, we should call him President Barry," and claimed that "What I was saying was, he changed his name to Obama because he followed the Islam religion when he was growing up so, I felt that once you're in that religion, you stay for the rest of your life."

Sabàto endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2016. He spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in support of the party's presumptive nominee. Sabàto claimed that after he expressed his support for Trump, he was blacklisted from Hollywood. He later compared his struggle to find work in show business with that of being Jewish during the Holocaust and said celebrities mocked him on the social media website Twitter.

Personal life Sabàto was married to Tully Jensen from 1992 until 1993. He married Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes in 2012. The two separated in December 2016 and their divorce was finalized in June 2018. After Sabàto filed for divorce, Nunes alleged that Sabàto was abusing prescription drugs and had failed to complete even one month of a three-month-long drug rehabilitation program. Sabàto said that he was addicted to prescription sleep aids, not benzodiazepines as Nunes claimed, but admitted that he had a problem with substance abuse in the past, specifically crystal meth. Sabàto has three children: a son with Virginia Madsen, and a son with Nunes. Sabàto has several tattoos, including the Batman logo on his lower back and the yin yang symbol surrounded by Chinese characters on his arm.

In a December 2018 tweet, Sabàto stated that he and his family were in the process of moving out of California to an undisclosed state, citing his frustration with the state's progressive policies as the primary reason. In March 2020, Sabàto moved to Florida, and now works for a construction company.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1990 Il ragazzo delle mani d'acciaio Kevin Foster 1991 Fuga da Kayenta Emiliano ...Se non avessi l'amore Pier Giorgio Frassati TV movie 1993 Moment of Truth: Why My Daughter? A.J. Treece TV movie 1994 Jailbreakers Tony Falcon TV movie 1995 Her Hidden Truth Detective Matt Samoni TV movie 1996 If Looks Could Kill John Hawkins TV movie Padre papà Don Giuseppe TV movie Thrill Jack Colson TV movie Code Name: Wolverine Harry Gordini/Wolverine TV movie 1997 Circles Jeremy Bonner 1998 The Perfect Getaway Randy Savino TV movie The Big Hit Vince High Voltage Johnny Clay 1999 Fatal Error Dr. Nick Baldwin TV movie Goosed Dr. Steven Stevenson 2000 The Chaos Factor Jack Poynt Vola Sciusciù Tony TV movie Guilty as Charged Sergeant Hawks TV movie Final Ascent David TV movie 2001 Mindstorm Dan Oliver Shark Hunter Spencer Northcut Longshot Tommy Sutton 2002 Hyper Sonic Grant Irvine Video Seconds to Spare Paul Blake TV movie Dead Above Ground Sergeant Dan DeSousa 2003 See Jane Date Timothy Rommelly TV movie Wasabi Tuna Fredrico Bugs Matt Pollack TV movie Testosterone Pablo Alesandro 2005 Jane Doe: Til Death Do Us Part Joey Angelini TV movie Crash Landing Major John Masters 2006 Deadly Skies Richard Donovan TV movie 2007 Stolen Life Greg Vlasi TV movie Destination: Infestation Ethan Hart TV movie Sirens of the Caribbean Michael Pace TV movie 2008 Ghost Voyage Michael TV movie 2009 Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas Princess of Mars John Carter 2011 Balls to the Wall Sven God Reschedules Rapture - Short Secrets from Her Past Dr. Shawn Tessle TV movie 2012 The Three Stooges Handsome Guy #1 Little Women, Big Cars A.J. Little Women, Big Cars 2 A.J. 2014 All I Want for Christmas Mike Patterson TV movie 2015 Intikam Varol 2016 Dark Paradise Dario TV movie Inspired to Kill Paul TV movie 2017 Hometown Hero Jason TV movie 2019 Dance Night Obsession Miguel Santa in Training Eddie 2020 One Nation Under God Senator Viera 2021 God's Not Dead: We the People Mike McKinnon Carolina's Calling Martin Haas 2022 Trail Blazers John

Television Year Title Role Notes General Hospital Jagger Cates Regular Cast 1994–1995 Earth 2 Alonzo Solace Main Cast 1995 Melrose Place Jack Parezi Recurring Cast: Season 4 1996 Bob Stanford Episode: "Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark" 1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Mario (voice) Episode: "Thumbelina" 1999 Ally McBeal Kevin Wyatt Episode: "The Green Monster" Wasteland Jack Episode: "Double Date" Tribe Jack Osborne Main Cast 2000 The Outer Limits Chad Warner/Sid Camden Episode: "Skin Deep" Charmed Bane Jessup Recurring Cast: Season 2 2001 The Test Himself/Panelist Episode: "The Sex Etiquette Test" Wild On! Bane Jessup Episode: "Wild on the Islands" 2003 Pet Star Himself/Panelist Episode: "Episode #2.10 & "#2.13" E! True Hollywood Story Himself Episode: "Melrose Place" 2004 MTV Cribs Himself Episode: "September 22, 2004" Half & Half Carlo Episode: "The Big Double Date with My Mate Episode" Becker Linda's Boyfriend Episode: "DNR" The Help Dwayne Main Cast 2005 But Can They Sing? Himself/Contestant Main Cast Joey Kyle Episode: "Joey and the Tonight Show" 2005‒06 The Bold and the Beautiful Dante Damiano Regular Cast 2006 E! True Hollywood Story Himself Episode: "Tori Spelling" 2008 Celebrity Circus Himself/Contestant Main Cast Whatever Happened To? Himself Episode: "Playboys" General Hospital: Night Shift Jagger Cates Main Cast: Season 2 NCIS Dale Kapp Episode: "Road Kill" 2009 My Antonio Himself Main Cast Ugly Betty Himself Episode: "The Fall Issue" Scrubs Himself Episode: "Our Drunk Friend" 2010 Iron Chef America Himself/Judge Episode: "Flay vs. Smith: Avocado" CSI: NY Davi Santos Episode: "The Formula" The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Ross Matthews Episode: "Episode #18.89" Rizzoli & Isles Jorge Episode: "I Kissed A Girl" Bones Terror Episode: "The Maggots in the Meathead" 2011 The Traveler's Guide to Life Himself Episode: "Secret Lives" After Lately Himself Episode: "Finding Jordan" Hot in Cleveland Leandro Episode: "Dancing Queens" 2012 Celebrity Wife Swap Himself Episode: "Mick 'Mankind' Foley/Antonio Sabato Jr." Femme Fatales Bart Episode: "Gun Twisted" 2013 Hell's Kitchen Episode: "5 Chefs Compete: Part 3 of 3" Chopped Himself/Contestant Episode: "Celebrity Holiday Bash" Baby Daddy Gerard Episode: "All's Flair in Love and War" Castle Ramon Russo Episode: "Need to Know" The League Father Zaragosa Recurring Cast: Season 5 2013‒14 From the Mouths of Babes Himself Recurring Guest: Season 1 2014 Oprah: Where Are They Now? Himself Dancing with the Stars Himself/Contestant Contestant: Season 19 Heartbreakers Billy Mac Fleming Episode: "Shot Through The Heart" 2014–2016 Fix It and Finish It Himself/Host Main Host 2016 Cupcake Wars Himself/Contestant Episode: "Celebrity: Twister" The Encounter Dr. Max Huber Episode: "Just Believe" 2017 Malibu Dan the Family Man Frane Calloway Episode: Filthy Poor 2017–2018 Hilton Head Island Jude Trisk Main Cast

Music videos Year Song Artist 1990 "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" Janet Jackson