Filippo, who also goes by the name of Fab Filippo, was born in Toronto, Canada. His parents are first generation Italian immigrants (his mother from Campora San Giovanni). He briefly attended York University's Film & Video Programme in 1993. In 2006, Filippo married magazine editor, Robin Payne.

His best-known roles include Scott Hope in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, violinist Ethan Gold in Queer as Folk , Dom Ramone in Ready or Not and lawyer Sam Caponelli in Billable Hours, as well as the films waydowntown, The Life Before This and Lives of the Saints. He played the lead role, Roland Travis, in the short lived series Level 9. He also appeared as Johnny, an adolescent unaware of the fact that he is a ghost, in an episode of the popular Nickelodeon series Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Filippo is also active in the Toronto theatre community.