Michael Malarkey

Michael Karim Malarkey (born 21 June 1983) is a British-American actor and musician. He is best known for playing the role of Enzo St. John in the series The Vampire Diaries.

Early life
Malarkey was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Jim Malarkey an Irish American and Nadia Bushrui who has British, Palestinian and Italian origins, his grandfather was the famous Palestinian poet, Suheil Bushrui, who was the first Arab national to be appointed to the Chair of English at the American University of Beirut, a position he held from 1968 to 1986. He is the oldest of three brothers and was raised in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 2006, Malarkey travelled to England to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Acting
Malarkey had his beginnings on the London stage appearing in various theatre productions including lead roles in Spring Storm by Tennessee Williams and Beyond the Horizon by Eugene O'Neill at Royal National Theatre, an adaptation of The Great Gatsby in the role of Jay Gatsby and in the Original London Company of Million Dollar Quartet in the role of singer Elvis Presley. Malarkey also appeared in several film and television projects including recurring roles in series' Raw for Rte, Mr. Sloane with Nick Frost and in the leading role for The CW pilot The Selection before landing the role of Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John in season 5 of the television series The Vampire Diaries as a recurring character. After gaining popularity with the viewing public, Malarkey's role was upgraded to a series regular starting in Season 6 and through the end of Season 8. In 2017, he appeared as "Dizel" in the Amazon Prime Video's Jean-Claude Van Johnson. In the following year, it was announced Malarkey was cast as "Sam Foster" in Crackle's crime drama series The Oath.

In 2019, Malarkey played the role of "Cinch Barton" in the thriller film A Violent Separation. That same year he starred as Captain Michael Quinn in Project Blue Book for The History Channel.

In September 2021, it was reported that Malarkey had a recurring role as Deputy Harvey on the second season of ABC's crime drama TV series Big Sky. He then appeared in Westworld and Quantum Leap in 2022 and in the third season of Law & Order: Organized Crime in 2023.

In February 2024, it was announced that Malarkey had joined the main cast for the second season of Netflix's conspiracy thriller series The Night Agent.

Music
After finishing high school, Malarkey joined a local hardcore band called Shadyside. He became the frontman when the lead singer left the band. Malarkey spent five years with the group touring and recording in Nashville while simultaneously learning guitar.

As a solo artist, after two EPs in 2014 and 2015, he released his debut full-length record, Mongrels on 8 September 2017 accompanied by music videos for singles Uncomfortably Numb and Mongrels. The next year, he released another EP, Captain Solitaire. In January 2020, Malarkey released his second album, Graveracer.

Personal life
Malarkey has been married to English actress Nadine Lewington since 2009; they have two sons, born in 2014 and 2019. They appeared together in one episode of Project Blue Book.

Theatre

 * 2009: Inches Apart as Lee (Theatre 503, London – Winner of Theatre 503/Old Vic New Voices Award)
 * 2010: Spring Storm as Arthur (The National Theatre, London)
 * 2010: Beyond the Horizon as Robert (The National Theatre, London)
 * 2011: Million Dollar Quartet (musical) as Elvis Presley (Original London Company – Noël Coward Theatre, West End)
 * 2012: The Intervention as Jed (Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh)
 * 2012: The Great Gatsby as Jay Gatsby (Wilton's Music Hall, London)

Discography

 * EP's
 * Feed the Flames (2014)
 * Knots (2015)
 * Captain Solitaire (2018)
 * Strays (2022)
 * Future Tense (2024)
 * Singles
 * Feed the Flames (2014)
 * Dancing in the Grey (2015)
 * Scars (2017)
 * Mongrels (2017)
 * Dog Dream (2017)
 * I Just Want You (2017)
 * Captain Solitaire (2018)
 * To Be a Man (Mahogany Sessions) (2018)
 * Graveracer (2019)
 * Studio albums


 * Mongrels (2017)
 * Graveracer (2020)