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Damian "Sam Anselmo" Porfirio, and formerly "Damian Costello" is an Italian-American Actor, Producer, Director and Musician. He was born in Knoxville Tennessee on March 15th, 1988 to parents Karl Porfirio and Della Mason (divorced, 1989)
Sam started out as a natural musician (drummer) and played his first shows, "The Nashville Review" and "The Virginia Opry" at the age of 8 years old. He played his first professional paid gig at age 9 on Carnival Cruise Lines as a guest entertainer with permission from his father, to play in a band that his mother sang for.
Sam was a natural musician, but an even more natural film maker. He found an old 16mm camera and a VHC camera in a basement of family members home, and was allowed to keep them. He started making stop-start style films, war films using fire crackers and smoke, and played multiple characters. He went on to start shooting hi8 and Super16mm with some friends, but still didn't truly understand the technical side of things.
Sam earned a chance to go to Nashville Film School at the age of 17 and graduated at the top of the class in his 1 year tech course. He went on to get a business degree however, when his father told him "Son, don't get a theatre or music degree. Those are natural talents. Get a degree that let people know you can't be bullied!" and Sam listened. He got a 5 year Bachelor of Science in Business Administration partially from MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University) and finished the degree with online courses at University of Phoenix (accredited)
Sam went on to work for Cruise Ships again at the age of 18. He worked with Norwegian Cruises and Princess Cruise lines. With Princess Cruise Lines he did a major 104 day tour that was for the elite of the elite (passengers) and got to travel to over 46 countries during this tour. He was a drummer and a stand up comedian as well as a guest entertainer to fill in anytime other talents backed out.
Sam's younger brother, Tre F Porfirio (Senior Airman of the US Air Force) was shot in 2009 3 times in the back by a rouge agent (Pakistani Islamic Terror Group) in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan. Sam heard the news while he was working on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, when the United States Government and Family got a hold of him in the middle of the ocean via satellite phone to break the news. However the news was good as his brother was still alive! Tre managed to recover over the course of 9 months, but almost a year to the day passed away from his injuries.
Sam went into a dark depression and decided to move to the country of Brazil. His first week there, and shortly after the passing of his brother, Sam was robbed at gunpoint and almost killed. He decided he wanted to fight back, so he linked up with a Vigilante Civilian Police group (Policia Civil) of Sao Paulo Brazil and decided to fight against the cartels in the favelas. Sam trained for months and began engaging in small skirmish combat in the urbanized favelas of the southern regions of Brazil, losing more than 11 friends and associates along the way, almost getting killed several times himself. One night while out at a bar, contemplating leaving the country to return to the United States, a man was murdered in the chair next to Sam. This was the final straw, and he left one week later.
However, there were positive things in Brazil! Sam worked as a translator form Portuguese to English after being fluent in the languages of Portuguese and advanced Spanish. He played several lead roles for English Learning series, and commercials as well as advertisements for English schools on the popular Globo network.
Sam moved back to the United States in 2016 to Atlanta Georgia to get some acting work, but soon decided he wanted to live more centralized as he enjoys traveling. He now resides on 40+ acres in Southern Missouri on the Arkansas Border. He's been in several films, including the award winning "Vincent's Vow" and many festival shorts with DuMoreFilms and award winning cinematographer David Watson.
Sam adopted his name "Sam Anselmo" in the year 2022 after the passing of his Nonno (Grandfather, in Italian) as his grandfathers name was "Anselmo Porfirio". However when Anselmo moved to the United States, he used the nickname "Sam". So at the time "Damian Costello" decided to honor his grandfather after a 2 year hiatus from 2020 to early 2022 and return as SAM ANSELMO!
He is currently working on several major projects and is very excited.
He resides with his wife, Christie Porfirio and their 2 daughters Jazzy and Rylie-Mae, along with their German Sheppard Service and Security Dog Bella.
Sam loves to make movies and help others, and he hates social media. You can still find him though on Facebook and Instagram against his will, as his management with GUMO TALENT AGENCY recommends he stays active.
"Be kind to others. Forget politics and religion, forget labels. Just show love to someone, no matter what. If they hate you, that's their problem. Don't ever give up! If you don't give up, you can never fail, and follow the rule MOMENTO MORRI!" last but not least he'd like to say "If you ever thought I was a joke, at least I made you laugh."
