“’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