About

I was born and raised in St Petersburg, Florida, the youngest of three sons.  I was the family clown and peacemaker.  My mother, a single parent, not so secretly wanted to be in show business.  Mom and my Aunt Helen grew up in Trenton, New Jersey and would hitchhike to New York and Philly to see Broadway shows and the Big Bands.  Mom would always say, “Back then you could hitchhike and no one would bother you. Your Aunt Helen and I had more nerve than brains.” As a kid I remember hearing stories about mom’s encounters with the greats of music and stage like Duke Ellington and Paul Robeson.  And, seeing the photos she took of everyone from The Three Stooges to Orson Welles. When I was 10 Mom took me to New York where I saw a Broadway show and snow for the first time.  It seems Carl Jung had it right that we are often the unmet dreams of our parents.

In high school I became obsessed with comedy.  I saw everybody who came to town from Steve Martin and George Carlin to Milton Berle and Bill Murray.  I began recording comedy sketches from Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show, memorizing them and then performing these sketches with my best friend at talent shows in school and the community.  I eventually found my way to the drama department and fell under the guidance of Sandra Cockrell who encouraged me to pursue a career as an actor.  Mom continued to take me on trips to NYC to see more Broadway shows… and more snow.  On one of these trips, I met the actress Geraldine Page who later became one of my first acting teachers. 

During my senior year in high school, Robert Altman came to town to film his movie, HEALTH. I decided to run away and join the circus, metaphorically at least. I played hooky and was hired as an extra for a week, my first on-set experience, and got to rub elbows with the film’s stars Lauren Bacall, Carol Burnett, and James Garner.

While at Florida Southern College, I acted in nearly every mainstage show and began writing and performing stand-up comedy.  During the summers I worked professionally for the first time as an actor in summer stock theatre in Vermont, New Jersey, and Virginia.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre I moved to New York, which after all of my mom’s trips felt like a second home.  I began an internship at CSC under the guidance of Christopher Martin. My first show in the city was in a commedia dell’arte play at LaMama ETC. At the other end of the spectrum, my first on-screen role was on the daytime drama, RYAN’S HOPE.  I continued exploring stand-up for the first few years in NY getting accepted/passed at Catch-A-Rising Star but I eventually gravitated more and more toward acting.  I co-wrote and acted in original works including OUTSIDE THE WINDOW (Silver Angel Award winner), a play that explored the divide between the very rich and the homeless and GET A WONDERFUL LIFE, about a psychiatrist obsessed with the movie IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE questioning the meaning of his own life on Christmas Eve. 

I moved to Los Angeles for a few years and got roles on shows like KNOTS LANDING and MOONLIGHTING as well as George Gallo’s film, 29th STREET.  I performed in numerous theatrical productions as well such as DEGENERATE ART which was presented in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Art Museum’s exhibit of the same name.  It explored the history of Nazi Germany’s round-up of artwork deemed “degenerate” by Hitler and his Minister of Art, Adolph Ziegler, a closeted homosexual later sent to a concentration camp.  I played Adolph Ziegler.

While in Los Angeles I became frustrated by the many gatekeepers in the business and decided to take matters into my own hands, setting up a fake theatrical management company.  Well, it was real to me and remarkably to the people I pitched myself to, “Hi, this is Jeremy from Acme Talent Management you just have to see my favorite client Bill Phillips!” I submitted myself and a friend for episodic television roles, got myself past the gatekeepers, and into several casting offices.  I managed to get more than one gig through Acme Talent and collected a few good stories along the way.

Around this time I lost my oldest brother, Art, to AIDS.  He was a gifted artist and friend to everyone he met.  In the absence of a dad, he was a father figure to me.  He and Mom were my biggest fans.  I spent a good bit of that last year flying back and forth to Florida to be with him.  And, I was blessed to be there when he passed.  He just missed the cocktail of drugs that allowed people to live long and productive lives with HIV.  My courageous brother and this experience helped shape who I am as a man.  Since that time I’ve been an ally with the LGBTQ community and AIDS related causes.

Not long after this I felt compelled to return to the East Coast.  On my first weekend back in New York I met my future wife, a ballet dancer turned seminarian.  For me, it was love at first sight and began a 20 year plus relationship.  Our fate was sealed during a visit to THE LATE SHOW while we were still dating. Letterman literally turned us into a running bit.  There’s lots of footage of Dave poking fun at me and I have a fun cameo “rapping” with Will Smith (long before the infamous slap).  We were even advertised in the promos that night as “The Seminarian and The Boyfriend.” I’ve written a bad sitcom version of our unusual life together as actor and minister.  “When show business and the God business collide, anything can happen… coming this fall on NBC.”  It’s never seen the light of day and that’s probably a good thing.  But I’ll be happy to give you the elevator pitch if you’re interested.  The crazy irony is that in recent years I’ve played several ministers on shows like HOUSE OF CARDS and SHADES OF BLUE and onstage as a priest in a production of THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION.  I like to call it a classic case of Art Imitates Wife...  which by the way is the title of that hapless series I’m writing.

As I mentioned earlier, Geraldine Page was one of my first acting teachers.  Perhaps the biggest gift she gave me was suggesting that I study with as many people as possible.  She pulled me aside one day and said, “There isn’t just one method, you know, just one way of doing things.  There are so many ways to approach the work.  Work with a lot of people, I did.  And then take what works for you and create your own method.”  I took her advice to heart and have been lucky to work with several talented teachers and coaches: Naomi Riordan, Dennis Moore, Matt Chait, Harry Mastrogeorge, Seth Barrish.  Not to mention the foundation I received from the theatre department faculty at FSC: Mel Wooton, Bill Grange, and Mark Howard.

I continue working on-screen in television (playing opposite Mariska Hargitay, Jennifer Lopez, Robin Wright, Kevin Spacey)… and, in a good year, film and stage as well.  Penguin Rep is one of my favorite theatre homes.  Penguin’s recent production of Michael McKeever’s AFTER moved to the New York Off-Broadway stage at 59E59 where I originated the role of Alan Beckman, a man struggling in the aftermath of his son’s death in a school shooting. I can also be seen in the newly released comedy horror film directed by Keaola Racela with the cheeky title, PORNO.  Sorry to disappoint, it’s not an actual porno, but it is a really funny and scary movie! PORNO was a breakout at the SXSW Film Festival.

When I’m not acting I enjoy collecting vintage typewriters (I’ve become pen pals with Tom Hanks over this mutual obsession).  I’m also an amateur beekeeper, a so-so trombonist and an avid traveler with my wife.  We’ve been fortunate to visit many countries in this beautiful and diverse world but the people of Bosnia hold a special place in our hearts.  Many years ago we became friends with Bosnian war refugees who soon became like family.  We’ve recently returned from our seventh humanitarian trip to Bosnia where we’ve led groups rebuilding homes in the post-war country.  

Thank you for your interest.  I hope our paths cross soon.