At two years old, Joe saw his first movie: Star Wars, Episode IV (A New Hope) which seems to have had no influence on him whatsoever. To some, this explains his incessant Yoda quotings, multiple botched attempts at "using the force" during his workday and waiting in line a week for Episode One with his best friend from college. To others, the results are far more puzzling. The second movie Joe ever saw was The Wizard of Oz. His mother reports that when the munchkins came onto the screen, he ran up and pointed at them, screaming "I want to get in mommy, how do I get in?!" This had a temporary affect on the boy as he soon after saw Linda Carter dressed up as Wonder Woman and his first crush was born. To this day Joe wonders why criminals would ever choose to run from such a stunning dame. His father, Sanford, a DJ on the Radio at the time, lovingly put him on the radio whenever possible. Joe also began acting into a tape recorder at the encouragement of his mother, Crystal when he was 5 years old. He would write and act out stories, sing songs, and tell riddles to the amusement of his parrot, Gandhi. "I am one of the luckiest people I know. I have been encouraged at almost every step of my journey towards being a working actor. Sometimes the encouragement took the form of my family and friends stepping back, and letting me struggle. I see that as one of the most thoughtful and loving gestures they could have done. Right up there with coming to see a show I was in, or telling me words of encouragement." After a brief stint in 1st grade doing a lunchtime dance routine to the CATS showstopper "Magical Mr. Mistoffoles", Joe took an 8 year hiatus, until being "discovered" as a freshman in high school. One afternoon, after reading a passage from J.D. Salinger, Joe was asked by his English professor (also the new theatre director) to come down and watch a rehearsal of the fall show The Miracle Worker. At that time, he was asked to become the assistant to the stage manager. His job duties included: running to the deli for iced teas, and painting flats in the backstage 'sweatshop.' Clearly destined for greatness, Joe moved up the ranks within two weeks when he was offered his first ever stage role: The offstage voice of a seven year old dead child. Jimmy Sullivan. The high school was clearly prospering from the post-market crash of '87, as during the years Joe was in high school, the arts department funded over 30 stage productions, including summer stock. Joe was a part of every production, and consequently applied for placement in a college training program. After all the hoopla, the options were NYU, or USC. Well, Ithaca too, but for God's sake, who moves to Ithaca? He chose USC, for its film departments, and its regulated weather. A native New Yorker, Joe hated Los Angeles, and wished he had gone to NYU. This continued throughout his freshman year of college. After time, that dream faded to the background, and he began to enjoy his stay in "the Hood." When the theatre school refused to cast under-classman in its mainstage productions, Joe got involved in the cinema school and ended up particpating in over 50 student films during his three and a half years at 'SC. As Joe became an upper-classmen, he became closely involved in a class called Experimentals, a "theatre-bootcamp experience" in which the students learned every aspect of the theatre, from building the seating platforms to writing, lighting to prop mastery, acting to directing. All on no sleep. The class was run by Professor Emeritus John Blankenchip, an 80 plus year old theatre devotee, who "cared more about the theatre than about his own knees" says Joe. The class produced some incredibly compelling pieces of theatre, many of which John was preparing for a group to perform in Edinburgh, Scotland's famed Theatre Fringe Festival. Joe was passionate about exploring New York theatre, so much so that he graduated early from USC (at 20), moved directly to the east village, and promptly began getting rejected from his first auditions: Restaurant Jobs. Going through a four month stint as a vegan, Joe lost 15 pounds and was promptly called by John Blankenchip to ask him to join his group in Edinburgh that summer for an insane amount of work in an inadequate time-frame. Eager to be reunited with familiar faces, (and especially to experience theatre in Edinburgh) Joe agreed, and flew directly to Europe. He did not "pass go", but he did spend a night sleeplessly napping on top of his luggage in Heathrow airport after he missed his connecting flight from Paris. Joe participated in the Edinburgh Festival in the summer of 1996, and again in 1997. Both summers were filled with a repertory style experience, and then some. Joe's first summer consisted of acting in five shows (in rep.), while simultaneously stage managing two, running sound for two and moving sets for all other seven shows. The whole group created a theatre out of a basement, built scenery, shopped for props, painted everything they could get their hands on, and all this while simultaneously rehearsing for fourteen shows all to be put up within three weeks of arriving in Edinburgh. The days consistently lasted from 8 AM until 1 AM. The shows, however, were a tremendous success. Among that first season were: A farce called The Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes. It was a show developed by a colleague of his at USC, and it was a tremendous hit. It sold out every show and the group had to add performances. It was promptly shortlisted for an international student drama award through the Scottish newspaper, The Guardian. Joe played C-3PO and R2D2 simultaneously, and changed clothes to play Admiral Ackbar, and Red Leader. He also did all the sound effects from offstage (and onstage when his back was turned) with the help of one other actor. Joe also acted in a stage version of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs where he played Mr. Pink. Being a cult favorite of Scotland, the show got lots of press, and was a smash at the box office. Joe also played Hank, in Marvin's Room, Teddy in Christopher Durang's play, Titanic. He was also asked to revive a role he originated in an original play from the creator of The Star Wars Trilogy, called 4 Guys. The summer of 1997 brought about some changes. This year Joe was asked to direct The Star Wars Trilogy...(The show sold out every night, and people showed up at the theatre on nights they werent even performing) and also some new plays. Joe starred in the British Premiere of Eric Bogosian's play SubUrbia, which was awarded 5 stars and was nominated for a prestigious Fringe First Award, by the national paper of Scotland. The show didn't win, but the show got excellent press and was extremely well received. Joe performed in the title role in Women and Wallace, (he played Wallace, not women.) He also sound designed a show called A Perfect Ganesh, which sparked some ideas about writing a play on his own. In fact, after returning to New York City, and several months of doing New York Theatre, two professional things happened that would seriously affect his life. The first came when John Blankenchip called him and said "We aren't going to Edinburgh in 1998. We opened a new theatre on the USC campus, though and I want to raise money for next summer. Do you want to write that play you discussed with me last summer, and I'll produce it here in Los Angeles? Next year we can bring it to Edinburgh...If its any good." Joe agreed. He worked incessantly, and wrote a full length play (his first), an adaptation of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha. He set it in and around a metropolis in the world of 1998. It was called The Jewel in the Lotus. Inspired from his own life (and travels he had made to India with his mother) Joe mounted the production, with the help of his friends from USC (without whose help the production could NOT have existed.) At the same time he was mounting his show, he was simultaneously acting in a 30 minute version of Titanic, as the Leonardo Dicaprio role, Jack Dawson. Although his "Jewel" production was full of problems, it was an incredible first venture, one which led him again to Los Angeles. It was there he met a man who would change his life yet again. While in Los Angeles, Joe began to work extensively with Gary Austin, the founder and creator of The Groundlings improvisational theatre. Joe travelled with Gary to Seattle to do workshops, and took any and all classes in Los Angeles. Joe continued to study with Gary when he flew back to New York, and he studied with Gary every month when he came to town. Gary had become part of a theatre network which spans from Los Angeles, to Seattle, through Colorado to New York. Gary also began co-teaching workshops with a New York based acting-coach, Carol Fox Prescott. Whereas Gary's background was in the theatre, and then the improvisational world, Carol's lay in the "traditional" theatre world. She has a long history in all areas of the theatre world (and a particlar passion for "musical theatre") giving her insights that could appear, on a surface level, to be disparate to Gary's. Her approach to the work is one of Breathing, Awareness and Joy-seeking (to simplify it down to one sentence--if such a thing is even possible)and had spent years intensively pursuing her exploration of breath-aw areness. Through teaching together, the two discovered their work was rooted in the same awarenesses (perhaps using different terminology), and that there were blurred lines between improvisation and acting. Joe began studying intensively with Carol in New York City, in addition to his classes with Gary. On a lark, Joe flew out to Los Angeles for one of their workshops on his birthday in April of 1999. While in Los Angeles, Joe met with his first agency, on a recommendation from Gary. They signed him and asked him to move to Los Angeles. Joe was settled in Los Angeles by August, and in October booked a guest-starring role on David E. Kelly's drama, The Practice. Three weeks later he booked a guest-lead on an episode of Providence, earning him his SAG card, and moving him into the millenium on a positive note. During the next ten months, Joe continued to audition (while at the same time stretched his producing legs by producing two full length solo shows, and an ongoing series of Works-In-Progress for Gary Austin.) While this time was slower for acting, it provided an excellent base to continue his plans for an eventual production company. Around this time Joe also reteamed with two longtime friends from USC Craig Bilsky and Mark Reilly and began an ongoing writers group, out of which, two features and a short film have emerged. In the fall of 2000, Joe auditioned for a short film, TWO PATHS. The film was written and directed by Michael Sloane (writer of The Majestic.) The film centers around two brothers who are unaware of each other (until a fateful conversation at their mother's respective deathbeds.) Joe became close with Michael Sloane (says Joe: "he is a wonderful friend and mentor") whose own longtime Hollywood friendships continue to fuel Joe's hopes for his own production company. Says Joe: "Michael's friendships show me you can be a person of integrity and still be a success in Hollywood. Whew!@#!" Joe was also offered a walk-on part in the Jim Carrey film "The Majestic." (Editors note: You can see Joe several times during the House of Un-American Activities Committee scene at the end of the movie.) The movie is very Capra-esque and, despite mixed reviews was not the success it was anticipated (by many) to be. Says Joe "It's a Wonderful Life has sucky box office when it was in theatres. I don't know what peoples f*&!@#ing problems are. I liked this movie. Maybe people today are just too f*&^$%ing cynical these days." Joe also teamed up with his friend and teacher from USC, Rod Menzies (www.rodmenzies.com) who began teaching privately in Santa Monica. Rod's work was essential in Joes' continuing to go deeper in his work. Rod is passionate about actors, their Self-Integrity and their need to have their Authenticity witnessed. Joe continues to study with Rod to this day. EDITORS NOTE: Rod's favorite joke: Why did the Actor cross the road? Thought someone was watching. Rod's second favorite joke: How do you make an actor miserable? Give them a job. Last summer, Joe was called back to the Continent. Ah, Paris. The lights!! The air show!! Madonna?!? John Blankenchip had called again. This time to premiere two shows at the Pierre Cardin Theatre in Paris. Again on no sleep, Joe directed The Star Wars Trilogy (which the French didn't get), and acted in the European Premiere of the revised Buried Child by Sam Shepard (which, surprisingly, the French understood perfectly.) This version of Buried Child had been done on Broadway not too long ago, and had been nomimated for several controversial Tony awards. The Paris production was not nominated for anything (unless you count the "narcolepsy award", often given out amongst participants in a John Blankenchip production.) Next, Joe returned to Scotland. Ah, Scotland. The Beer!! The Basement!! Puppetry of the Penis?!? Yowch. Adding onto Buried Child and Star Wars as repertory for the summer, Joe performed in Tenessee Williams adaptation of The Seagull: The Notebook of Trigorin. He also directed a play by Arthur Kopit called BecauseHeCan. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Joe continued working with his writing partners, and decided it was time for a change in representation. With a Feng Shui book in one hand and a cellphone in the other, Joe found a manager (Joe says: heaven-sent) who has since placed him with wonderful representation in both commercials and TV/Film. 2002 proved to be a landmark year for Joe. He signed with manager Carolyn Anthony, booked a national Budweiser commercial, then peformed the Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes at the Star Wars Celebrations2 convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was followed by a remounted production as a private performance at Skywalker Ranch for George Lucas and all of Lucasfilm, Skywalker Sound and Industrial Light and Magic. He spent a week in Santa Fe, New Mexico with 35 actors, writers and directors during the Santa Fe Project where he wrote SW 2.5 the Pitch Wars with Chris Orf and Mark Reilly. He then performed his one-act The Sun Kings in downtown Santa Fe. In New York, Joe booked a role in the ensemble play Miracle (produced through the Lucille Lortel new play festival) which he performed at the White Barn theatre in Westport, Connecticut. This earned Joe his Equity Card. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Joe finished his film, moved to the beach and bought a red pick up truck. Joe splits his time between New York and Los Angeles. He has neither wife nor child. EDITORS NOTE: Much has happened since the start of 2003. Joe has continued to work in film, television and theatre and he is grateful as the day is long. He isn't exactly sure what that means. However, you can read about recent projects in the Now Playing and News Archives areas of this site. Please enjoy them!