Dennis Christopher Carrelli, the youngest of four children, was born in Philadelphia on December 2, 1950,[1][2][3][4] to Vincent Albert Carrelli, an insurance salesman, and the former Anna Marie Doogan.[5][6] His parents married in 1936.[5] He had two brothers, Vincent Carrelli Jr. (a talent manager who later went by the name Vince Cannon) and Edward Carrelli, and one sister, Patricia Kratzinger Laros.[6]
In 1967, Christopher made a guest appearance on The Time Tunnel in the episode "Merlin the Magician" (S1E27). A chance encounter with Federico Fellini, who was filming in Rome at the time, led to the director casting him as a hippie in the film Roma (1972).[9]
After that, Christopher worked as an assistant to the fashion designer Halston.[10]
Christopher was cast as Leonide Moguy in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012). He learned through his agent that the screenplay had been re-written to accommodate him. Furthermore, Tarantino later told Christopher that he had seen every one of his films the week that they were released, even Dead Women in Lingerie (which Christopher considers his worst). Production of the film made a very positive impact on Christopher, who stated, "...a lot of my idea of happiness came from working on this film...".[12]
^Swift, Pamela (April 22, 1979). "Keeping Up...With Youth". The Morning Call. Christopher, who left Temple University 10 years ago to try his luck in Hollywood, plays an 18-year-old townie who convinces a sorority girl that he is an Italian.