In 2009, the little known French actor won the hearts of America when he competed on "Dancing With The Stars." Marini made it to the finals with Cheryl Burke. He said the experience was fantastic from start to finish, but the result wasn't picture perfect. He and Burke were runners-up to Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas.
He's back for the all-star season with partner Peta Murgatroyd, and while winning is certainly on his mind, the actor says there's more to it than that.
"I have to tell the truth. I'm a horrible liar. For me it's not about the Mirror Ball Trophy. It's about what I bring to the people. And if because of that, they feel happy about me and keeping me there, and they vote and make me go all the way to winning the trophy, then amen. It's great," he said. "I'm simply going to be there to entertain people on Monday night."
Marini has been entertaining us ever since his dancing commitment ended. His first stop was "Brothers and Sisters."
"The day I stopped the show, I went on to the best job of my life. 'Brothers and Sisters' was tremendous just because of the amount of talent on the production, what the show meant to the world, 170 countries and my own country, everybody was watching it," he said.
And now, he's part of the cast of the series "Switched at Birth." It returns to the ABC Family lineup Monday.
"I work as an actor, the thing that I love with all my heart," he said.
His heart also belongs to his biggest fans - his family. It's his daughter, Julianna, who helps keep him in step.
"I dance pretty much every day with her," he said.
Marini waltzes back into our living rooms on "Dancing With The Stars" at 8 p.m. Monday, on Sept. 24 on ABC7.
