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Who Is Marco Grazzini (AKA Mike on ‘Virgin River’)?

marco grazzini virgin river

*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

We previously learned that some of our favorite Virgin River actorsBenjamin Hollingsworth and Colin Lawrence— share the same birthday: September 7. However, as it turns out, Marco Grazzini (who plays Mike) also shares the special day. The news made us realize that while we may know a lot about the other two men, we don’t know too much about Grazzini or his career.

Naturally, we did some research in honor of Virgin River's renewal for season six. According to Deadline, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith already spilled some details about what fans can expect, including another time jump and more of Everett's backstory. But as we patiently await more updates on the upcoming season, we're turning our attention to Marco Grazzini. Keep reading for everything we know.

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Getty Images

1. Who Is Marco Grazzini?

Grazzini, 43, is a Canadian television and film actor currently known for his role as Mike Valenzuela in the popular Netflix series Virgin River. While he was born and raised in Toronto, his parents are Filipina and Italian. According to Web of Bio, as a student, Grazzini spent time studying at the University of Guadalajara and the University of Toronto. Aside from acting, his other passions include cooking and photography.

2. Is Marco Grazzini Married?

Not yet—but he's going to be. In June 2019, Grazzini got engaged to his longtime girlfriend and fellow actress Alvina August. To celebrate the occasion, the actor posted a pic of himself and his fiancée, who's seen showing off her engagement ring. He simply captioned the post, "YES!"

The pair dated for five years before Grazzini popped the question in Bali, Indonesia. A year after the engagement, Grazzini wrote on Instagram, "Engaged for a year, together for six, Life Partners since day one! From YRT bus rides to Hollywood red carpets, to midnight audition tapes and the more important things in life...plus all the wonderful, crazy, scary, frustrating, joyous moments in between and to come—I want it all. Gratetful for your boundless heart, fight and compassion."

3. Do They Have Any Children?

The happy couple currently share a daughter, who is four months old. And get this: Grazzini shared his first pic with his newborn on his birthday, which also happened to be the same day of the season five premiere of Virgin River.

On Instagram, Grazzini shared a photo of himself holding his little girl and wrote, "Best birthday ever. #girldad."

Prior to their daughter's birth and in honor of Father's Day, August shared a sweet tribute to her fiancé on IG and wrote, "He’s the most hands-on dad you could hope for, the one responsible for all the delicious gub gubs & also the one to blame for all the times you were rattled out of sleep coz mummy was laughing so hard. In less than 10 weeks, you can tell him yourself what a great papà he already is. #fathersday #firsttimedad."

4. What Is Virgin River?

Based on the books by Robyn Carr, the series follows Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge), a nurse practitioner who moves to the small town of Virgin River for a fresh start. While there, she meets a handsome bar owner named Jack (Martin Henderson), who shows her the true meaning of second chances.

Aside from Lawrence, Hollingsworth, Henderson and Breckenridge, the series also stars Jenny Cooper (Joey Barnes), Lauren Hammersley (Charmaine Roberts), Annette O’Toole (Hope McCrea), Tim Matheson (Vernon) and Melinda Dahl (Staci).

In May 2023—even before of the fifth-season premiere—Virgin River got renewed for season six. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about what fans can expect, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith said, "I think my intention was never to have subsequent seasons match the intensity of season five. I would say that going into season six, my intention is to have it feel lighter, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be complicated with the signature Virgin River twists and turns. And I think leaning more into the romance of the series is something that we’re excited to do as well, and just keep giving the fans what they want."

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Courtesy of Netflix

5. What Happens to Mike in Virgin River Season 5?

In season five, Mike’s storyline left quite a few fans worried, because in his efforts to rescue Brady from Melissa's gang, he got shot. Per Netflix's official synopsis, "In the finale, Melissa kidnaps Brady, and Mike is shot in the rescue mission, leaving him temporarily incapacitated and unable to corroborate Brady’s story."

Thankfully, though, he survived and recovered with Brie at his side. (And unfortunately for #Briady shippers, Mike's kind words about Brady being a hero didn't change Brie's mind about him.)

While speaking with Survived the Shows about what drew him to the role of Mike, Grazzini said, "I’m a big fan of comedy. I’m really drawn to it, and I look for it in every script and appreciate it when I’m watching it. As an audience member, I love to laugh. I’d like to make other people laugh, in real life or on the job. And I know that most of the time, you know, Mike is preoccupied with all of his police work. It is, you know, it’s his job, but Mike does have a great sense of humor, as does Virgin River."

6. What Else Has Marco Grazzini Starred in?

Before we came to know and love him as Mike, Grazzini has spent the last 15 years building a career in the TV and film world.

Per his IMDB, the actor also had roles on Kim's Convenience, Supernatural, The Magicians and The Flash. Grazzini has also worked on a ton of Hallmark projects, including Right In Front of Me (his most recent), Christmas Unwrapped and The Story of Us. Not to mention, he’s also the original voice of Alejandro in Cartoon Network's Total Drama World Tour.

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greta

Senior Editor

Greta Heggeness is a California-based editor at PureWow and has been writing about entertainment since 2015. She covers everything from awards shows to exclusive celebrity...