Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Sernio.
Hi Joseph, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, later moving to Howell, NJ. I began acting shortly after graduating Howell High School, thanks to his childhood friend Kevin Interdonato. I began to study several acting techniques in New York City and Los Angeles. And also started working on off Broadway productions.
One of my first jobs was on the long-running CBS daytime drama “As The World Turns”. After working on the show for about a year, I auditioned and landed a role as an ICU orderly on the long-running ABC daytime drama, “All My Children”. I was with the show for a few years while making appearances on several television shows such as “Love Monkey”, “Hope & Faith”, “Rescue Me” as well as several commercials throughout my early and late twenties.
Over the next few years, I started building a name for myself in some independent film and television projects mainly focusing on independent film. While building my name, I won several awards for my work as an actor, including several “Best Actor,” “Best Supporting Actor” “Honorary Achievement In The Arts”, and more.
I later got into entrepreneurship where I built two very successful marketing agencies and purchased small businesses to help them rebrand and expand. The success of the business side of my career ended up landing me several tech magazine front-page feature stories including CEO of The Year, Best Digital Marketing Companies, and others. I was also nominated for the NJBiz leader in technology in 2023.
I recently played “Dobson” in the new feature film “The Bastard Sons” starring UFC Champ Frankie “The Answer” Edgar, Kevin interdonato, Malik Whitfield, Roger Mathews, and more. The film has since gained distribution and will be released on major platforms late summer 2023.
In 2023, I produced Executive Produce and played the lead in “Loved” where I portrayed a crazed plumber Who Risks Both His Career And Prison When He Finds His Wife In Bed With Another Man. A totally different role and look for me which to date, has landed him several “Best Actor” awards as well as over 50 other awards for the film including Best Thriller, Best Cinematography and more from festivals all over the country. We recently had our international premiere to a sold out theater in Italy at the AmiCorti film festival!
I am now continuing to promote Loved, traveling to major festivals for Q&As, and now starting my newest modern-day western TV pilot shooting in August in Colorado. Filming starts august 8 and teaming up with writer director D.J. Higgins and DP Troy Ruff for the second time along with producing partners Julie Robinson, Peter Dobson, and Lindsay Meisch. The series pilot presentation includes actors Erin O’brien, Peter Dobson, Robert Davi, Malik Whitfield, Bobby Spillman and more! We are shooting on a 2,000 acer ranch called Canyon of The Ancients. An absolutely beautiful landscape owned by Gary and Ming Adams.. stunning views and sits on Ancient Ruins throughout all of the ranch property.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s been so many but I believe that if there weren’t I wouldn’t have been able to succeed in any venture. These obstacles are all learning curves and in many ways, I consider them much better than any school Or training…
Nothing is ever smooth. There’s always bumps but if you take those and learn from them, they actually help achieve your main goals.
I’m 42 and I hit obstacles on a daily basis… literally… whether in business or acting / producing. Nothing is smooth sailing and if it is then you’re one very very lucky person. If it isn’t smooth sailing and you are hitting road bumps consider that the best training you’ll ever have.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Entrepreneur, Actor, producer
I don’t think there’s a ton that sets me apart from others… but I will say my work ethic is unlike some others. In ALL that I do.
Clients depend on you for your services. To be the best at that service. Investors believe in you to create the best project you can. So you be the absolute best in all that you do and you do not rest until you feel that what you’ve created is better than you imagined it to be. Focus. Work.
There are a lot of individuals like me who work non-stop to perfect whatever they are doing and they won’t stop, eat or sleep until it’s perfect… but I do feel my work ethic is different than some. I was born and raised by parents who didn’t have a ton of money. We weren’t poor but my parents lived paycheck to paycheck and worked multiple jobs but always made sure they were able to support us and give us a good life growing up.
My dad was old school. No handouts. You want something you work. Even if there’s no goal yet you work… no sitting around… so when it comes to building a company or producing a film or acting … I work. I don’t stop until I know I’ve done the best I could do.
I use the hard times and the struggles to learn and grow from. Which I think we lack in today’s world. I feel things have been given out too much to where some will wait around until something is given to them…
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that it’s ok to ask for help as long as you’re building a team and that team works just as hard as you do. It took me ten years to build what I believe is the perfect team. You teach them if they are hungry they will learn and help build just as you would.
So in ways I do feel there are some things that separate me from the rest. If I wanted to be really cocky, I could say I run circles around most of who I meeT… that’s my mentality when I’m working on something. Be better than the rest is what my dad parents taught me.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I feel like there’s a lot of shifts. For the corporate side, I’ve always based a lot of the success on the services but also the customer service. Within the last few years with many companies transitioning to work from home I’ve seen many companies go under simply for not keeping an eye or concentrating on the services and customer service… you simply can’t do that woru 80% of your staff not in the office. If you can God bless you. I see most of these companies bringing back all-in-office work: I truly believe it’s a must…
As for the entertainment industry… oh boy, I see so much changing. As an actor, I can’t stand the Zoom calls or auditions. Yea, it may be easier for some but I truly believe you need to see and meet someone in person to get to know who that person really is…. I’m not sure if that’s going to change but I can’t see it benefiting us actors or producers forever. I see some pretty poor casting decisions made on some of these shows and films and I do believe it’s due to not being face-to-face with who you’re hiring before you hire them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joesernioonline.com/
- Instagram: Instagram.com/JoeSernio
- Facebook: Facebook.com/JoeSernio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joesernio
- Twitter: Twitter.com/JoeSernio
- Other: https://imdb.me/Josephsernio
Image Credits
Headshot – Joseph Sernio & Danny Sanchez Images – Holly Lake Films
