A high-energy performer with a strong comedic bent, Mario Cantone entered show business as host of the Gotham children's show Steampipe Alley. In that venue, Cantone turned more than a few heads by injecting adult-oriented comedic material into dialogue that evaded the younger set; in the process, he reeled in a substantial audience that transcended age barriers. Taking the success of this assignment as a cue, Cantone then delved headfirst into traditional standup comedy, in such top-tiered venues as Atlantic City, Broadway, and Carnegie Hall, and also ushered in a remarkably successful stage career on and off Broadway, in such varied productions as The Taming of the Shrew, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Tempest, and The Crumple Zone. In terms of on-camera work, Cantone is perhaps best known as Anthony Marantino, the flamboyant wedding planner and friend of Charlotte (Kristin Davis), on the blockbuster HBO series Sex and the City (1998-2004) -- a role he reprised in the 2008 big-screen version.
Cantone's resumé also includes an appearance in Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza's standup documentary The Aristocrats (2005, delivering one of the more colorful and surrealistic monologues in that production), Charles Picerni's road comedy Three Days to Vegas (2007), and a voice in the family-oriented animated comedy Surf's Up (2007). Cantone returned to the small screen as well, scoring a recurring role on the romantic comedy drama Men in Trees (2006-2008); he portrayed gay NYC hairdresser Terri, who was a bit of a fish out of water in the small Alaskan town of Elmo. Over the next several years, Cantone would remain a force in stand-up, and would continue to appear on screen, memorably appearing on Men in Trees, and in films like Circus Maximus and Dirty Movie.
