Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna)

Dante Angelo Falconeri a.k.a. Dominic Pirelli is a fictional character on on the popular daytime soap opera General Hospital. Dante is the son of the popular character Sonny Corinthos and his old flame Olivia Falconeri. He has been portrayed by Dominic Zamprogna since June 22, 2009.

Character description and casting
Dante was born in Bensonhurst around 1985 to a 16 year old Olivia Falconeri. Olivia dated Sonny Corinthos in high school. After the relationship ended, Sonny began dating Olivia's cousin Connie (now known as Kate Howard). After Sonny left Bensonhurst, Olivia learned she was pregnant. The only other person who knew Sonny was Dante's father was Connie. Olivia swore her to secrecy to protect Dante from Sonny's dangerous lifestyle. Dante is Catholic like his mother. He's a smart, intelligent, loving kind of thug. They've written him to be witty and charming. It's just interesting to play a character like that when there's a lot of tough guys on the canvas. I think this is a new, fresh take on this ... he's funny, he's not scared of anything. He's putting himself in front of people that could pull out a gun and shoot him right there. He earns respect for having the balls to do that. He's gutsy. But at the same time, he's not your prototypical tough guy. - Soapnet

Since the announcment of the character in the summer of 2008, there has been much speculation about who would portray the character. First Tom Pelphrey was considering the role. He had just relocated to California leading fans to believe he was joining the cast. Pelphrey later released a statement saying he wanted to seek work outside of daytime. Then in October 2008, it was announced that David Lago had reportedly been cast as Dante. All seemed to be going well except for the fact that Lago had never actually signed a contract and the deal fell apart. Lago instead returned to his former job as Raul Guittierez on The Young and the Restless. In late spring of 2009, it was announced that Canadian actor Dominic Zamprogna had been cast as the character of Dominic. Seeing that the character had the same name as the actor led to much speculation among fans. On July 8th, 2009, Dominic is confirmed to be Dante Falconeri.

Storylines
On June 22, 2009, Dante - operating under the alias "Dominic Pirelli" - arrives in Port Charles under the orders of Claudia Zacchara to kill Jason Morgan. However, Claudia's brother Johnny intervenes and saves Jason's life, killing several of the shooters. Though he is shot, Dante manages to slip away and finds Morgan Corinthos, who attempts to navigate Dante out of the forest until Carly Jacks, Morgan's mom shows up. While holding Carly and Morgan at gunpoint, Dante is attacked by Michael Corinthos. Carly tells him to leave and they can act like this never happened and he agrees. Dante finds his way to Sonny's house were he confronts Claudia about her failed plan. Claudia lets him sleep in her bedroom then attempts to kill him the next day. He meets Kristina Davis, Sonny's daughter and she helps him out. He finally shows himself to his mother who is kind of upset that he’s in Port Charles but also happy to see him. He doesn’t tell her why he’s there. Dante goes to Sonny looking for a job. He attempts to get Jason to trust him, but with Claudia and Johnny against him, Jason is hesitant. Dante then seeks out Kristina asking for access to her father. Sonny decides to give him a chance anyway when Dante storms into Sonny’s house while Carly is with him. Before Sonny shoots him, he explains that if he wanted trouble, he would have hurt Carly & her sons, but he didn’t. Dante flirts with Claudia whenever he gets a chance knowing she hates him. Dante also has a crush on Carly Jacks and has a growing likeness for her. He unknowingly rents a room from his grandfather, Mike Corbin at Kelly's Diner. On August 3rd, 2009, Dante still going by Dominic meets Lulu Spencer. He is very much attracted to her and they seem to be getting along until her brothers, Lucky and Ethan beat him up because he works for Sonny. Lulu pretends she's not interested in him but he doesn't stop flirting. Also, Dante walks in on Johnny and Olivia about to have sex. The horrified look on Dante's face clearly tells that he is scared for his mother that she is sleeping with mobster, Johnny Zacchara. When he and Johnny are found out by the police overseeing a Zacchara shipment, he lets Johnny run and he's arrested. He has to admit to the police commisioner, Mac Scorpio that he is actually an undercover cop. Olivia tries to get him to abandon his mission but he refuses. As Dante struggles to keep both his identities a secret, Carly is suspicious of the resemblance between him and Morgan after he rescues Morgan from Kristina's angry boyfriend Kiefer Bauer. . On August 11, 2009, Mac confirms that Dante is a detective undercover as a mob soldier named "Dominic Pirelli." Meanwhile, "Dominic" begins forming a close relationship with Morgan. The two have almost a brother like relationship. He then finds himself identifying with both Sonny & Morgan when they talk about their pasts as baseball players and how they all played the same position. He also tries to get Lulu's attention much to her brother Ethan & her step-mother Tracy's dislike. The two kiss on August 26th, 2009 after he dares her. On Auguest 31st, 2009 Dante was a signed to be Michael and Morgan bodygruad. On September 4, 2009 Dante want to the Carnvel with his family he doesn't know about. He did the dunk tank and his cousin Molly he doesn't know about dunk him the first time.