Jake Canuso

Jake Canuso
Jake Canuso in 2015
Born	Jake Canuso (1970-01-13) 13 January 1970 Zurich, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Occupations	Actor dancer
Years active	1986–1998 (dancer); 2003–present (actor)
Known for	Role of Mateo Castellanos in Benidorm (2007–2018) and in Benidorm Live (2018–2019)

Jake Canuso (born 13 January 1970) is an Italian-British actor and dancer, who is known for his role in the ITV comedy series Benidorm, in which he played the Solana barman Mateo Castellanos from 2007 until 2018.

Personal life

Canuso was born near Zurich, Switzerland, to immigrants from southern Italy. He moved to the UK when he was 18 years old.

Canuso survived the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004, whilst on holiday in Ko Phra Thong, Thailand. He climbed a tree after seeing the first waves, and was trapped underwater after the tree snapped. He developed aquaphobia and did not swim in water for several years.

Career

Previously a dancer, Canuso appeared dressed as a ballet dancer in the music video for 'No More I Love You's' by Annie Lennox. He also appeared in the video of Kakko's 1990 video 'We Should Be Dancing', Alex Party's 1995 hit single 'Don't Give Me Your Life' as well as the video for Carter USM's Let's Get Tattoos and 2 unlimited's 1995 hit, Here I go. Canuso also toured as a dancer for acts including the Spice Girls, Elton John and Annie Lennox. He also appeared as a dancer often on Top of the Pops.

Canuso can be seen dancing in the video for the 1994 hit 'Son of a Gun' by British dance DJ JX (also known as Jake Williams).

Canuso can also be seen in the music video for the Emma Bunton song "Crickets Sing for Anamaria".

Canuso stars in the ITV comedy series Benidorm as flirtatious barman Mateo Castellanos and is the sitcom's longest-serving actor, appearing in all 74 episodes. Canuso was chosen along with several other members of the cast to star in Benidorm Live, a touring stage adaptation of the show.

In January 2013, Canuso participated in ITV diving show Splash!, hosted by Tom Daley.

Notable Work

Television

• Hustle (2004)
• Keen Eddie (2004)
• Heartbeat (2005)
• Casualty (2005)
• Doctors (2006)
• Suburban Shootout (2007)
• Shameless (2009)
• The Hour (2012)
• The Bible - Daniel (2013)
• Benidorm (2007–2018)
• Bad Education (2013)
• Cardinal Burns (2014)
• Scarborough (2019)

Film

• School for Seduction (2004)
• Kinky Boots (2005)
• Russian Dolls (2005)
• Piccadilly Jim (2006)
• In A Day (2006)
• Flyboys (2006)
• Flirting with Flamenco (2006)
• Tick Tock Lullaby (2007)
• Journal of a Contract Killer (2008)
• City Rats (2009)
• Nine (2009)
• Naachle London (2011)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Sammy (2013)

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Location
2015/2016	Jack & the Beanstalk	Jack	Bradford Alambah, Bradford
2014/2015	Aladdin	TBC	The Forum, Billingham
2017/2018	Mother Goose'	TBC	Sheffield Lyceum, Sheffield
2018/2019	Benidorm Live	Mateo	UK tour with 250 shows
2019/2020	Aladdin	TBC	New Theatre, Hull

Music videos

• Carter USM - Let's Get Tattoos (1994)
• JX - 'Son of a Gun' (1994)
• 2 unlimited - Here I go (1995)
• Alex Party - Don't Give Me Your Life (1995)
• Annie Lennox - No More I Love You's (1995)
• Emma Bunton - Crickets sing for Anamaria (2004)
• Kylie Minogue Give Me Just A Little More Time Let's Get To It (1991)
• Spice Girls Too Much (1997)

Video games

• Driver 3 (2004)

External links

• Jake Canuso — entry on Vivienne Clore talent agency website
• Jake Canuso on Twitter
• Jake Canuso at IMDb