Born and raised in Yonkers, N.Y. Youngest of three sons. His father was a heating contractor and his mother was a school teacher. As a young boy he fell in love with Saturday Night Live and the film Raging Bull. Being inspired by both John Belushi and Robert DeNiro, he became a part of a Children's Repertory Company in New York. He continued in his studies receiving his BA in theater from Marymount Manhattan College. A few years out of school he was cast on the Fox sitcom, LOVE AND MARRIAGE, which brought the NY-bred Palladino to Los Angeles. His career-defining role came a few years later on TV's ER in 2000 as Dr. Dave Malucci. In 2005 he starred in the FX series created by Steven Bochco and Chris Gerolmo, OVER THERE, as Sgt. Scream. Throughout his career he has shown a real diversity, moving seamlessly from comedy to drama in both film and television. Erik has won a TV Guide award for best drama, ER, 2000. He also has two Screen Actors Guild nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, ER, both 2000 and 2001. Palladino was starring on both the number one TV show in the US (ER) and the number one box office film (U-571) in the same week. Erik is happily married to Jaime Palladino since 2005. They have a daughter, Paloma, along with two sons, Roman and Enzo. In his spare time he is a rock singer, having played in several bands, including No Happy Faces and Hearing Red.