Dane DiLiegro

Dane DiLiegro
DiLiegro in 2026
Born
Dane Robert DiLiegro

(1988-08-06) August 6, 1988
Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S.
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Italy
OccupationsActor, Basketball player
Years active2007–2019 (basketball)
2019–present (acting)
Basketball career
Personal information
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeNew Hampshire (2007–2011)
NBA draft2011: undrafted
Playing career2007–2019
PositionCenter / power forward
Number1, 7, 12, 24
Career history
2011–2012Assi Basket Ostuni
2012–2013Dinamo Sassari
2013–2014Pallacanestro Trieste
2014–2015Hapoel Gilboa Galil
2015–2016Mens Sana 1871 Basket
2016–2017Scaligera Verona
2017–2019Pallacanestro Forlì 2.015

Dane Robert DiLiegro (/dɪleɪɡroʊ/ di-LEH-grow; born August 6, 1988) is an American actor and former basketball player. DiLiegro played professional basketball for eight seasons for teams in Italy and Israel.[1] DiLiegro has appeared in productions such as Only Murders in the Building, Running Point, and American Horror Stories.

Early life and education

DiLiegro was born in Lexington, Massachusetts,[2] on August 6, 1988, to Cheryl DiLiegro (née Moll), an artist and calligrapher, and Frank DiLiegro, an early employee at Nike.[3] He attended Lexington High School, where he played football and basketball, and later Worcester Academy. DiLigero has admitted that he neither cared for nor was ever great at sports at a young age.[3] He got serious about basketball only at age 15 and did not make the varsity of his high school team until his junior year.

Career

Basketball

After graduating from Lexington High School in 2006, DiLiegro went on to spend a year at Worcester Academy, where he refined his skills as a basketball player in the school's postgraduate program. He averaged 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks at Worcester. This led to DiLiegro receiving a full athletic scholarship to play at the University of New Hampshire.[4]

As a four-year starter for the New Hampshire Wildcats from 2007 to 2011, DiLiegro found his place on the team through defense, rebounding, and outworking his opponents. He graduated from UNH in May 2011 with the second-highest number of rebounds in program history.[5][3] DiLiegro made ESPN's Top Ten plays of the day on February 19, 2009, for a dunk.[6][4]

After going undrafted in the 2011 NBA draft, DiLiegro went on to play in Europe, being a part of Assi Basket Ostuni, (Ostuni, Italy), Dinamo Sassari (Sassari, Sardinia, Italy), Pallacanestro Trieste (Trieste, Italy), Hapoel Gilboa Galil, (Gan Ner, Israel), Mens Sana 1871 Basket (Siena, Italy), Tezenis Verona (Verona, Italy), and Pallacanestro Forlì (Forlì, Italy).[1][3]

DiLiegro won a gold medal with Team USA as a basketball player at the 18th Maccabiah Games in 2009 in Israel.[7]

Acting

In 2019, DiLiegro was invited to work as a stand-in on Free Guy, which was filming in his native Boston. While on the set, stunt coordinator Chris O'Hara suggested to DiLiegro to look into acting.[3] Just two weeks later, DiLiegro was cast to play Protein in the Netflix show Sweet Home. The role required him to wear a foam latex suit weighing 80 pounds.[8][9] He followed it by playing Master Chief in an Xbox commercial. In 2021, he portrayed the titular character Ba'al in the fifth episode of American Horror Stories.[10] He starred as the main antagonist in the 2022 Doja Cat music video for "Get Into It (Yuh)".[11] DiLiegro appeared in the Tom DeLonge-directed Monsters of California.

He stars in the Predator film Prey as the Predator;[12][13][14] He performed all the acting, stunts and motion capture of the creature. Prior to filming, he lost 25 pounds and spent months training parkour, martial arts and strengthening his neck due to the new design of the Predator, which sat the 15 pound animatronic head on top of his head, forcing him to shoot every scene essentially blind.[15][16][17]

In 2022, Comic Book Resources named DiLiegro among the top ten monster actors of all time.[18]

DiLiegro appeared in the 2023 Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In 2024, DiLiegro starred in the Blumhouse film Imaginary as the final antagonist, Chauncey Bear. DiLiegro also appeared in the Lucasfilm production, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.[19]

DiLiegro appears in the series Running Point, as a recurring character Badrag Knauss, a Slovenian player who, although massive in stature and at times quite blunt, often surprises the team with his thoughtfulness. The series premiered in 2025 and is penned by Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen, for Netflix.[20][21] He has a role in season five of Only Murders in the Building.[22]

Personal life

DiLiegro resides in Los Angeles.[3] His father is of Italian descent, with roots in Gaeta and Canosa di Puglia, and his mother is Jewish.[3] He holds American and Italian citizenships,[23] and is Jewish.[7]

DiLiegro's father played basketball and wrestled at the University of New Hampshire, and his brother played basketball for the Syracuse Orange from 2003 to 2007.[24]

Starting in 2016, in his off time, DiLiegro served as an apprentice under famed Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini for multiple years; they maintained a close friendship after.[8] As of 2019, DiLiegro hosts a culinary travel series on YouTube called Adventure Monday.[25]

In August 2022, DiLiegro officiated the wedding of his friend, Kelly Olynyk.[26][27]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes
2022 Prey The Predator Dan Trachtenberg
2023 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Unsavory Octopus James Gunn
Monsters of California Bigfoot Tom Delonge
Stay Out Graham Jared Safier
2024 Imaginary Chauncey Jeff Wadlow
V/H/S/Beyond Stork Jordan Downey Segment: "Stork"[28]
Werewolves Lead Wolf Steven Miller

Television

Year Title Role Director/Showrunner Notes
2020 Sweet Home Protein Lee Eung-bok 2 episodes
The Walking Dead Hero Walker Greg Nicotero Episode: "A Certain Doom"
2021 Side Hustle Zeke Leonard R. Gardner Jr. Episode: "Jag-Jitsu"
American Horror Stories Ba'al Sanaa Hamri 2 episodes
2022 The Quest Dragior Elise Doganieri Episode: "The Weight of the World"
2023 That Girl Lay Lay Kevin Wendy Farone Episode: "The Packer Packer Bowl"
2024 Skeleton Crew Greasy David Lowery, Jon Watts Episode: "Way, Way Out Past the Barrier"
2025 Cóyotl Cimerron Batan Silva Guest star
Running Point Badrag Knauss Mindy Kaling 8 episodes – Guest Star
Only Murders in the Building Johnny Caccimelio John Robert Hoffman 4 episodes – Guest Star

Music video

Year Title Role Director Artist
2020 Blackout Beelzebub Ian Rowe Mothica
2022 Get into it (Yuh) Alien Overlord Mike Diva Doja Cat

Commercial

Year Title Role Director Notes
2020 Lucid Odyssey Master Chief Taika Waititi Xbox
2023 No Sweat Basketball Player Max Gutierrez Draft Kings

References

  1. ^ a b "Dane DiLiegro Career Statistics". Real GM. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Dane Diliegro Biography". ESPN. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Litz, Franz (August 5, 2022). "It takes a unique set of skills to play the Predator; meet 'Prey' star Dane DiLiegro". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ a b Zhe, Mike (February 26, 2009). "UNH's dunking DiLiegro making name for himself". The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "Dane DiLiegro". University of New Hampshire Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  6. ^ "SportsCenter Top 10 Plays". YouTube. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Daniels, Mark (November 9, 2008). "UNH star DiLiegro of Lexington has elevated his play all the way to the Maccabiah Games". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Hubler, Shawn (August 9, 2022). "Former Basketball Player Finds His Niche in Hollywood". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  9. ^ Abrams, Sean (August 19, 2022). "Prey Star Dane DiLiegro on Going From Pro Athlete to Bloodthirsty Predator". Men's Health.
  10. ^ Heinitz, Lexi (August 6, 2021). "The Demon From American Horror Stories' Ba'al Is Gorgeous In Real Life". Looper.com. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Slane, Kevin. "'Prey' actor Dane DiLiegro on his role as the iconic Predator". Boston.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  12. ^ "Predator Skulls Filming Seemingly Wraps While Confirming Additional Cast Members". IGN. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "New 'Predator' Movie Wraps Filming and Reveals Cast". Collider.com. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Predator 5 Cinematographer Announces Film Has Wrapped, Confirms Amber Midthunder Will Star As Lead". TheMix.net. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  15. ^ O'Connell, Sean (August 7, 2022). "The Predator Costume In Prey Created Insane Physical Challenges That Co-Star Dane DiLiegro Fought To Overcome". CinemaBlend. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  16. ^ Navarro, Meagan (August 15, 2022). "'Prey': Meet Dane DiLiegro, the Latest Actor to Play the Iconic Predator [Interview]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  17. ^ "How 'Prey' Forged a New Look for an Iconic Sci-Fi Creature". Animation World Network. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  18. ^ Jacobs, Samantha (October 26, 2022). "10 Best Movie Monster Actors Of All Time". CBR. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  19. ^ "PREY Star Dane DiLiegro Discusses Working on Recent Marvel and Lucasfilm Projects". Movies. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  20. ^ Cordero, Rosy (March 7, 2024). "Max Greenfield, Uche Agada & Dane DiLiegro Join Mindy Kaling's Netflix Basketball Series". Deadline. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "Make Way for Running Point, Mindy Kaling and Kate Hudson's Basketball Comedy". Netflix Tudum. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  22. ^ "Full list of Only Murders in the Building guest stars for season 5". The Scotsman. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  23. ^ "The Italian Job: The Diss Interviews Dane DiLiegro". The Diss. October 2012. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  24. ^ Perry, Phil (November 21, 2010). "UNH's DiLiegro shoots for a banner day". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  25. ^ "Dane DiLiegro". YouTube. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  26. ^ "Kelly Olynyk gets married in backwards cap, Air Force Ones". New York Post. August 10, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  27. ^ "Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  28. ^ Couch, Aaron (August 28, 2024). "Horror Anthology 'V/H/S/ Beyond' Reveals First Trailer, Adds 'Prey' Actor to Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
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