Check Out Steve Urbano’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Urbano.

Hi Steve, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story starts with drama club in high school back in Columbus, Ohio in the late 90s. Our school wasn’t big and didn’t have a lot of resources but what we did have was a passionate teacher who was also an actor. After 4 years of high school theatre and a couple Shakespeare plays from the local community theatre, I graduated high school in 1999 and then acting completely disappeared from my mind until 2012. I starting seeing casting calls for extras for Marvel’s Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier that were filming in Cleveland. And even though I wasn’t selected for either film, the passion was reignited. But I decided that I was more interested in film than theatre and started thinking about that instead.

In late 2013, I moved to Sacramento with some family with the intention to start training as an actor. I would’ve gone to LA first but I didn’t have anyone there. So Northern California it was. It still took awhile to get things going because it was a big life change for me. By 2015, I took my first acting class and in 2016, I booked my first few roles, both speaking and non-speaking. I started finding who I am as an actor and what my type is. Since then, I’ve built up a body of work that I’m proud of while expanding my range which is ultimately a goal. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of mafia-centric roles because even though I was raised in Columbus, I was born a native New Yorker and my wiseguy accent became a nice tool for me. I would also be comfortable playing a tech and/or gamer geek because that’s a natural extension of who I am. Being on Star Trek (any character, any series or movie) is my dream acting role.

I’m also trying to expand my comedic chops which I’m having a great time doing. Another character type I fell into was portraying huge and intimidating serial killer and enforcer types. I’m a big man and those roles are a natural fit. My biggest role ever was playing a cult leader and enforcer in the yet-to-be-released feature film, “The Last Bride”, directed by Nick Leisure and starring Charlotte Kirk.

And even at this moment, I’m preparing for the “Place Called Sacramento” Film Festival red carpet premiere, a festival I’ve participated in several times, in which I have a comedy role in one of 9 short films that are playing. Other roles I would love to explore would be a lawyer for a courtroom drama, a teacher/professor and a gang member/prison inmate.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The barriers were mainly financial and scheduling. As I’m sure with many actors who are starting out, balancing a full-time job with acting opportunities became really difficult. I’ve had to turn down roles because there was just no way to make it work, schedule wise. I haven’t been able to commit full-time to acting because I’m just not making enough money yet and I’m still non-union. That’s why I’ve started to expand my skillset to include voice acting and voiceovers because I have a recording setup at home.

Also, Casting sites like Casting Networks, Backstage, Actors Access and Casting Calls Americas all have membership fees and other fees associated with uploading materials. At the very least, I’ll work on polishing my Actor’s Access and get some new headshots and an updated reel so I can submit for an agent. Meanwhile, I get most of my casting calls through social media. Specifically, facebook and Instagram.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My actual 9-5 isn’t very interesting. I’m a Quality Assurance Specialist for a major financial institution and it’s pretty dull stuff but it pays the bills.

I’ve always considered myself an intellectual. Even though I don’t have a college degree, I love to read and learn about many different historical and pop culture subjects. That has created a version of me that is very good at most trivia. So much so, in fact, that my friends back home would call me Mr. Know-A-Plenty. Because I may not know it all, but I know a-plenty!

Another passion I’ve recently discovered is an extension of the voiceover skill, specifically, narration. I even started my own YouTube channel last month reading short stories in the public domain and even dabbling in some comedy poetry. My first poem uploaded is called “A Trip to the Chinese Buffet” and I’m quite proud of it.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memories are when I was living in the Bronx and the Christmases we spent as a family. My grandmother was always the host and like most spanish speaking families (I am of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent), we did gifts on Christmas Eve at midnight. We would sing songs, eat food, play games, dance salsa and merengue and hang out with the cousins. Some of my most cherished memories were from those years.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveurbanoactor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.urbano.7
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@StoriesConEsteef

Image Credits
Michael Scordakis, Gregory Goodman, Alexander Karavay