Cliff Parisi

Cliff Parisi (born 24 May 1960) is a British actor of Italian descent, largely recognised for his performance as Rick 'Minty' Peterson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He is currently appearing in the BBC period drama Call the Midwife.

Career

Parisi began his career in 1982 when he started touring the United Kingdom as a stand-up comedian. He continued working as a stand-up comedian for the next seven years before being offered a bit part in the film Queen of Hearts in 1989. Interested in taking up acting, Parisi changed his vocation and after a series of bit parts landed his first noticeable character: Lunchbox in the TV series Chancer. Parisi was then given bigger parts on television, most noticeably on the TV series' Kavanagh QC, Bramwell and A Prince Among Men. After finishing the former TV series, Parisi then auditioned for what would be his most famous role: Minty Peterson in EastEnders. He was recommended for the part by close friend and EastEnders actor Steve McFadden and since his inception into the soap opera in 2002 the public have seen his character Minty form a close friendship with Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) and evolve from a cold-hearted landlord to a hapless unlucky-in-love mechanic and then to finding love with both established characters Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison) and Manda Best (Josie Lawrence). He made his final appearance on 21 September 2010, ending 8 years on the show.