“’To infinity and beyond”

Soooooo when I was a kid I would spend countless hours pretending that I was an astronaut – so much that I grew up wanting to be an astronaut.  I mean I would put my arms through the handles in a grocery store bag and I would pretend that I had to abandon the spaceship and dive back to Earth.  As an adult I realize this is not possible but my imagination knows no limits. 

As I aged I realized that what I wanted to do also changed –

  • at age 9 I wanted to be the first Black President (Thanks Barack Obama for foiling my plan)
  •  at 12 I wanted to be a Millionaire (didn't really plan how that would happen just wanted it to happen)
  • at 15 (when I realized I wasn't a Millionaire I got bored and decided that I wanted to literally be Simba in the film Lion King
    • (Fun fact: I can recite pretty accurately the entire film by memory – I watched that film daily as a child).
  • in high school I wanted to be a professional Saxophonist ( I mean I had been playing since 5th grade so I assumed I was on my way)
  • and then in college I wanted to be a Doctor
    • The reason? I had a crush on my TA who was premed and so I enrolled and took ALL of the needed classes for medical school except for TWO.

And then one day, while I was signing up for the college choir I bumped into a woman named Margaret Larlham who would turnout to be my wonderful friend and mentor.  While talking with her I realized that I had been playing roles my whole life and so I gave acting a shot. I instantly went to work preparing materials for auditions and after hours and hours and hours of studying the craft of acting I landed my first paid summer job, and was able to do so every summer of my undergraduate life.  One summer, while at Williamstown Theatre Festival I came to the realization that this, acting, was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, no matter what.  And so I decided on that day that I’d be an actor full time – and it’s been a crazzzy ride but I’ve enjoyed every moment of "this business that we call show". 

Recently, I spent the past 3 years intensely studying my craft at UC Irvine’s prestigious MFA Acting program and will be graduating in the Spring.  Now, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervious about my future and my upcoming showcase.  But I know that with my determination, my skills, and talents both as a stage and film actor as well as my strong singing voice (that includes a kick ass falsetto) - I am optimistic that my future will be bright!

Thanks for taking the time to learn a little about me! I hope you enjoy browsing my website and please feel free to contact me with any questions.

- Anthony Simone