Yani Gellman

Yani Gellman was born on September 2, 1985 in Miami, Florida, US. His mother, Marilyn L, is an Australian and his father, David Henry Gellman, is a Canadian. During his childhood, Yani Gellman frequently moved with his family to places like Australia, Spain and Texas before finally settling down in Toronto due to the nature of his father’s job. Gellman holds a university degree with a major in political science.

Gellman considers his father as his driving force when it comes to his career in acting. When he shared his dream of becoming an actor with his dad, he was more than happy to encourage his son.

When his application for the Claude Watson Arts Program at Earl Haig Secondary School in New York got rejected, it was his father who persuaded the faculty members to accept Gellman's application.

Yanithen attended the arts program which helped him to grow as an actor. For him, it was a life defining experience as he was exposed to an exceptional group of aspiring artists. Two of his classmates, Ennis Esmer and Aaron Abrams, went on to become award-winning actors. The three still share a cordial relationship with each other.

Gellman started his acting career right from his teens. He first appeared in a couple of episodes of the horror series ‘Goosebumps’ in 1998. The same year, he was featured in an episode of ‘Animorphs’, an audiobook composed by the author couple, Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant.

He made his cinematic debut in 2000 with the movie, ‘Urban Legends: Final Cut’. The following year, he was seen in a supporting role in the film ‘Jason X’. In 2001, he acted in a TV movie titled ‘Children of My Heart’ in which he played the role of Mederic. He was also seen as Pablo in the telefilm, ‘The Matthew Shepard Story’. In 2002, he landed the lead role of Michael Medina in the TV series, ‘Guinevere Jones’. He then played the recurring role of Ryder in 8 episodes of the comedy series, ‘Wild Card’.

He rose to fame after appearing as Hilary Duff’s love interest in the 2003 film ‘The Lizzie McGuire Movie’. From 2006 to 2007, he starred as Antonio in the Canadian fantasy series, ‘Monster Warriors’. He did a minor role in the TV film ‘Degrassi Goes Hollywood’, and played the role of Pete in 3 episodes of the 2010 rom-com ‘Greek’.

He landed a significant role of Rafael Torres in the epic fiction series, ‘The Young and the Restless’. He was associated with this long-running show from 2008 to 2011. Gellman was just 24 when he got the opportunity to portray Rafael Torres, a classy and sophisticated lawyer.

The role required him to display the characteristics of an experienced lawyer, which proved to be a challenge. The character had one more striking feature, his sexual orientation. For Gellman, it now meant that he had to display the characteristics of a gay as well. Despite being offered a challenging role, Gellman did an amazing job and pulled it off with ease.