Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Milone.
Hi Nick, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Wallingford, Pennsylvania a quiet suburb, just outside of South Philadelphia where my mom was raised. My dad was a born-and-bred New Yorker from Long Island, and I was actually born in Atlanta, Georgia. We moved around quite a bit-Florida from ages 3 to 6, then eventually settled into Wallingford where I attended Nether Providence Elementary School before graduating from Strath Haven High School back in PA. I’m proudly from Delco, which, fun fact, was also the setting of the HBO show Mare of Easttown. Watching Kate Winslet take on our distinct delco accent, one I’ve worked hard to shake for acting… was surreal and kind of awesome.
From a young age, I had two safe spaces: the football field and the glow of a TV screen. Growing up as a pretty shy kid, I often felt overlooked whether it was in the classroom, at practice, or even just walking through the halls. Watching movies and television gave me a place to escape, to dream, and to imagine more for myself. It brought me peace and a deep sense of serenity that I couldn’t find anywhere else. Football offered that same kind of release, only louder, faster, and more physical. It grounded me, gave me structure, and filled me with purpose. My dream of being an NFL player often led me to getting bullied, teased, etc. but I had those safe spaces. My dad was a huge part of what shaped me into a dreamer. He spent his life remodeling homes grueling, physical work day in and day out but he’d always say, “Please don’t do what I do. Find something you love, chase it, and don’t ever let go. If you’re doing what you love for a living, you’ll never work a day in your life.” That stuck with me. My father remodeled homes with his hands no excuses, just grit. My mom gave everything she had to our family. That kind of love becomes your foundation.
The first spark of acting came with the Middle School Movie Awards Project. Our school created its own version of the Oscars, where students grouped up to create short films that were later voted on by classmates and teachers. We even had a big ceremony at the end of the year. My friend Matt Stewart, who co-wrote, directed, and acted in our short film, was a big part of what made it special. Funny enough, he’s now out in LA too, pursuing his dream behind the camera after earning his MFA in Screenwriting from USC. That project was sort of a major turning point for me. I won Best Supporting Actor, (I know, I know… big deal ova here) and it placed high in our little festival, and for the first time, I felt what it meant to be lit up by the spotlight. I didn’t fully understand it then, but something inside me shifted. There was a strange comfort in being someone else while somehow finding more of myself in the process. I’ve always had that odd mix of introvert and extrovert energy quiet in crowds, loud in moments that matter and acting felt like the perfect outlet for that duality. Even as I stood there under the lights on the stage or the field, I was still that shy kid at heart, but something in me had undeniably changed.
Now with football… Not to brag or anything, but I did get the team’s Best Offensive Player award in high school and scored a 50-yard touchdown in our State Hero Bowl. That moment meant the world to me because I was coming off an injury from the fall in a game prior to our last regular season game. At the Hero Bowl, I was assigned the cornerback position, when I was actually supposed to be playing running back (The position I played from the age of 7). It was another one of those moments where I felt overlooked something I’d grown used to throughout my upbringing, whether it was at school, with friends or even sports. I was that quiet kid who didn’t always get noticed, so when I did, it meant everything. But I practically forced my way onto that field. The coaches didn’t really know me or even seem to try to get to know. Just because of an injury they tried to lower my status. I just wanted to prove something… to the people who didn’t believe in me, and maybe even to myself. I think that says a lot about who I am.
I went on to receive a decent amount of college attention, and for a while, it really felt like I was living out what my dad always preached that if you can find something you love and make it your living, it won’t feel like work at all. That was the dream, the mantra to live by. Though I dealt with my fair share of injuries in high school, I still believed it was possible, especially after meeting Mike Kelly, the new head coach at Widener University. He had years of experience coaching in both the NFL and CFL, and I’ll never forget what he told me: that one day I’d have plaques with my name lining the school’s hallways, breaking records and leaving a legacy.
But just when it felt like everything was finally aligning, the dream collapsed. I suffered a major leg injury in practice right before my junior season. My NFL hopes were crushed, and with them, so much of the identity I’d built around chasing greatness. I fell into a dark hole depressed, directionless. Until one day, I decided to do something crazy. Something borderline delusional. I decided to become an actor. Because obviously, that’s exactly what your parents want to hear after your football career ends, right? (sarcasm).
That’s when friends—Jonah Tate, Logan McCrossan, Eric Gross, Will Denney, Mike Davalos, and Nick Fender—kept nudging me toward acting, always saying how they could see me being a movie star. Always saying how they could see me being a movie star. Also, shoutout to Nick Fender and his dad who nicknamed me Hollywood long before getting there. So I submitted to be an extra on the NBC pilot Rise, commuting from Philly to White Plains, NY, usually spending more on gas than I made (HA). One day during a national anthem scene, a producer spotted me in frame next to two leads. He asked if I’d ever acted before. I of course said “yes!”(not as confidently as I’d like to admit) because even if I hadn’t professionally, I knew I was delusional enough to believe I was ready. Fake it till you make it, baby. He liked my look and asked me to meet with his production assistant to set up an audition in Manhattan to play a football player on the series. I then became SAG-Eligible after receiving a Taft-Hartley for the production. Which was a grouping of very funny words, that I had zero understanding of. For someone who’d spent so much of life feeling overlooked or unseen, that moment really hit different. The feeling of being acknowledged, of finally being noticed-it sparked something. I knew right then what I had to do.
Here’s the WILD part: Rise was about a Pennsylvania high school football player who loses his passion for the sport and finds it again in the theater. I wasn’t just on set I was literally living that story in real time. All the stars aligned. All these moments, small as they seemed have added up into this massive constellation guiding me toward something bigger. That moment gave me hope at a time when I needed it most. I still dream of thanking that producer someday. So if you’re reading this and remember a blonde hair, blue eyed, 20 year old man-child high school extra you somehow turned professional actor. Hi! Look how far you’ve helped me come!
From there, I signed with Wilhelmina Models, sounds like I made a hard turn but I figured if I could get a model agent, I could then have more opportunities in front of a camera and hope to get seen by an acting manager or agent. Well I booked campaigns and print jobs, and sent a self-tape of a scene from, The Notebook that landed me my first talent manager in LA, Jon Simmons of Simmons & Scott Entertainment, who took a chance on me and is known to have helped develop the careers of some actors you may have heard of like Jesse Plemmons, Chad Michael Murray, Casey Deidrek, and Colton Haynes. Jon was the first one to really believe in me professionally aside from that unknown mysterious producer. I drove my beat up 99′ Acura TL, which broke down on me in Utah (that’s a long funny story), p.s. my dad swore I wouldn’t make it half way in that beater of a car, but hey I did. And moved to LA with nothing but a suitcase, half of the car intact, no seriously, I tore my front bumper off… pulling out of parking lot half asleep, and ended up living on the couch at Jon’s acting studio that’s only the half of it. But I digress… I literally studied there by day, slept there by night. I learned all about Stanislavski (reading his works, that Jon forced on me) and learned all about on-camera work in those walls.
Eventually, I found an apartment in Van Nuys and took every job I could… Uber, catering, handyman work. Another shoutout to a delco native, my childhood best friend Jon George visited, and introduced me to a guy he met while smoking a cigarette. I bummed one just to talk. That man was Preston Vanderfinch of ATB Talent, who became my first LA agent. He helped me book Hollywood (Ryan Murphy) where I was accidentally given Dylan McDermott’s shoes, which led to a very nice encounter and conversation having been a big fan, and Killer Escort with the late, great Michael Madsen. Man, do I have another really cool story and experience there with Mr. Madsen, what an incredible actor and another source of inspiration. Preston became not only a fantastic agent, but a good friend. When he left the business, I was lucky enough to meet Julie Fulop at AKA Talent, a dream agency for me. Julie has been an absolute rock in my corner, believing in me fully. I feel so blessed.
Another big shoutout to actor and current head manager Peter Coventry Smith, who started out as Jon’s client/assistant when I first moved out here and has since become my main manager. Peter has done an amazing job keeping me grounded, focused, and helping facilitate incredible opportunities in film and television.
Most recently, I appeared in Suits: LA alongside Stephen Amell and Patton Oswalt in an awesome scene that marked my first real action/fight moment on screen. Sharing that space with Stephen, yes, the Green Arrow… was surreal, especially since I was a fan of the show long before I ever made the move to LA. I geeked out. Just before that, I was in Ben Affleck’s Dunkin’ Super Bowl commercial… another surreal moment, seeing him and Casey Affleck in person. Both were instrumental in my all-time favorite film, Good Will Hunting. I was secretly hoping Matt Damon might show up, but instead, we got a surprise visit from Jeremy Strong, who’s also remarkable in his own right.
I then played a young Terry Bradshaw during his college years in the biopic film, The Blind. Long before he became the legendary Hall of Fame quarterback and TV personality we know today. One of my all time favorite football players. Funny how life aligns like that, right? It was my first big screen role, and an experience that truly felt like stepping into a dream. But the real pinch-me moment was sitting in a theater and seeing myself on the big screen next to my now fiancée, Megan Lamb and our friends. Megan and I actually have even had the chance to act alongside each other, which still blows my mind considering I helped nudge her into it. Megan, a New Yorker, happens to be Long Island besties with my cousin Alix Lowe, a crazy talented golf pro, so you could say fate was scheming behind the scenes long before we realized. We met during a trip to the Outer Banks, and a couple of years (and one long-distance situationship) later, I officially asked her to be my girlfriend while working a gig in Long Island. Megan always had dreams of moving to LA and pursuing acting ever since high school which she for some reason kept a secret from me for the longest of time. Now she’s doing it… signed to my same manger’s Jon and Peter, after absolutely crushing her very first self-tape and crying on cue. And YES, she made me look bad in the best way haha. She is now signed to AEFH Talent and I couldn’t be more proud.
I also had a supporting role as a Pilot named Migs in Called to Duty, co-starred in a horror film DeathSwap alongside Brenna D’Amico (Descendants), including small roles in Hollywood and Rise, as previously mentioned, and appeared in projects like Fatal Memory, American Spark, and Deadly Infidelity. I also voiced a campaign for Apple’s M2 chip at Lime Studios, using a high-pitched, Tom Holland-esque voice… pretty much the polar opposite of my naturally deeper baritone. It’s all felt like a dream come true. Especially moments like sitting beside my fiancée and our friends, watching our story unfold on the big screen. I still can’t believe these words I speak belong to me. Never in a million years.
Along the way, I studied at Margie Haber (where I learned script analysis and emotional accessibility) she really helped take my acting to the next level, Lesly Kahn (comedy, timing, and self-awareness) she’s a game changing coach, and completed the two-year Meisner program at the Ruskin School of Acting.
Last summer, I attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, another dream come true. Learned Alexander technique which helps actors release tension, improve posture, and find greater physical freedom making performances more grounded, present, and connected. I also deepened my classical and text work. Most recently, I’ve been training with Les Chantery, whose self-tape course Life in a Mid Shot and book have been absolute game-changers for me. His approach has completely reshaped how I prepare and perform making me more connected, more precise, more emotionally honest, and more, “DANGEROUS” (as he’d put it) on camera.
Before LA, I would study the hell out of my favorite actors. I watched every Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hardy, and many other’s film’s on repeat. I was obsessed with what made their choices so specific, so human. I took notes. I absorbed everything. Classics like James Dean and Marlon Brando’s work inspired me to go deeper.
This journey hasn’t been easy. But I’m proud of every step. I’ve learned that nobody is going to hand you the life you want… you have to bet on yourself again and again. You have to be okay with failing, hearing “no,” and still walking in with your chest up and heart open. Don’t be afraid to do what scares you. That’s where your real power is. Acting scared the hell out of me but it also gave me peace and direction.
Hope is the most powerful thing we have. And it’s what keeps me showing up every day.
Resilience, self-belief, relentless curiosity, and some moxie those are four things I’ve learned you absolutely need to survive in this industry. Maybe being a bit delusional too. But hey, if you want to live a dream, you kind of have to be. (nervous laughter)
A massive thank you to my parents, Lori and Vinny Milone, for always encouraging me to chase something bigger. To my beautiful fiancée, Megan Lamb, my co-star in more ways than one… thank you for believing in me even when I struggle to. To my older brother Vinny and my little sister Emily (who I somehow failed to mention until now), to every friend who’s walked beside me, and to my reps who’ve stuck by me, thank you. And to anyone who’s ever doubted me or torn me down thanks for the motivation. You helped build the version of me that came back stronger 1000 times over.
If I have one last message to leave you with, it’s this: I believe in you.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. The road hasn’t been smooth and truthfully, I don’t think it ever is for anyone trying to do something this uncertain. One of the biggest challenges in LA has been learning how to deal with rejection. Rebounding from it. Letting it go. That’s a whole skill set on its own learning how to move on from an audition you poured your heart into.
Another major hurdle has been opportunity. Between the pandemic and the actor/writer strike, there were long stretches where it felt like the industry was just frozen. And that hit especially hard because I was finally hitting a stride. I had just booked a job, was getting callbacks consistently, and my manager said that kind of momentum is what stars are built on. Then suddenly, silence. I was even put on avail for a series I believe I might have booked had the timing been different.
That stretch tested me. Not just as an actor, but as a person. This business can shake your confidence, make you question if you’re wasting time, or if you’ve made a huge mistake chasing something so uncertain. But I’ve come to believe that if you can stay grounded in why you do it and you love the craft itself that’s what carries you through.
I’ve had to learn to release control. To do the work, show up fully, and then detach from the outcome. So much of this industry is out of your hands. It’s subjective. It’s economic. Sometimes they go with a name. Sometimes it’s just about timing. That part has nothing to do with you.
So if you can’t control it, why let it steal your peace? I remind myself that just having the chance to chase this is a privilege. If you’re doing what you love, even in the struggle, it won’t feel like work. And if you’re only in it for the money or the fame, this industry will humble you quickly.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a film and television actor, and if I had to describe my work in one word, it’d probably be “grounded.” My background in sports gave me a strong physical awareness, but what I’m really drawn to and what people tend to say about me is the emotional honesty I bring to a scene. I love finding stillness, tension, and unexpected vulnerability in characters who seem, on the surface, confident or put-together. I think there’s a lot of power in contrast.
I’ve been told I have a strong leading-man energy, but I don’t take that at face value. I work hard to bring specificity and messiness to the roles I play or am lucky enough to audition for because I know that’s where the truth is. I’m most proud of the times I’ve surprised people.
Playing young Terry Bradshaw in The Blind was one of those moments I’ll never forget. It was my first time on the big screen, and I got to embody someone real someone legendary at a younger, more uncertain phase of life. Getting to do a Southern accent and tap into Terry’s big-hearted, larger-than-life energy was a blast. As much as people tell me I have a leading man vibe, I genuinely love disappearing into character work, and this was one of those chances to stretch into something playful, bold, and totally outside myself.
Another one was my Suits: LA appearance in a fight scene opposite Stephen Amell and getting to harass poor ole Patton Oswalt was surreal. We even had an off camera moment where we were supposed to be in the midst of verbal warfare before ultimately shoving Patton flying to the ground. But on this final shot we just started waltzing opposed to me shoving him and it was thanks to his comedy improv brilliance that had the whole room laughing. I heard someone say I hope someone got that on camera and I do too because I’d love to see it haha. Then with Stephen… taking a punch (sucker punch) That moment hit me hard. I grew up watching Arrow, and suddenly I was going toe-to-toe with the Green Arrow himself. It was crazy! And a reminder that all those years of rejection, reps, and quiet hustle do pay off.
But honestly, one of the things I’m proudest of wasn’t even a booking. It was an audition I did for a major studio horror project (can’t say which or who for, NDA life). The sides called for a scene where the character becomes possessed. I went full in: body contortions, deep vocal shifts, rapid emotional turns—lucid, manipulative, terrified, sad, psychotic joy, and back again. It pushed me to every edge. I even scored it myself with creepy sound design, music, bones crackling… the whole package to create a full experience. My manager joked, ‘If acting doesn’t work out, at least we know you’ve got a career in editing.’ Haha.
And even though I didn’t book it, that audition reminded me why I love this work. You don’t do that kind of scene unless you love the process. That tape still haunts me in the best way. It’s probably the one that’ll stick with me forever.
What sets me apart? Probably the mix of where I come from and how I work. I’ve got a blue-collar background and a “show up early, stay late” mentality, I really hold myself accountable or try my best to but I also care deeply about the craft. I study constantly, prep obsessively, and stay open in every room I walk into. I’m chasing connection. I’m chasing truth. And I’m always looking for the moment where it all clicks.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think taking risks is the only reason I’m here. Moving across the country with no job lined up, no apartment, a beat-up car that barely made it out of Pennsylvania that wasn’t a practical decision. But it was the right one. Sometimes the most important leaps are the ones no one else would co-sign.
I don’t think of myself as reckless, but I definitely lean into what scares me. That’s kind of become my compass. Leaving football behind and choosing to become an actor felt insane. I had no roadmap, no real training at the time, just a gut feeling and a lot of blind faith. But I’ve learned that growth doesn’t happen in comfort zones. If it doesn’t make your stomach flip a little, it’s probably not worth doing.
Risk to me is really about self-trust. Some of my proudest work came from trusting my instincts and not playing it safe. Like when I contorted my body and scored my own possessed character audition for a major horror film… I didn’t book it, but I walked away more proud of that tape than some jobs I have booked.
Risk to me is really about self-trust. It’s saying, “Even if this doesn’t work out, I believe I’ll land on my feet.” That belief has taken me a long way. And honestly, I hope I never lose the courage to keep betting on myself.
Pricing:
- -Bolt Room: self-tapes for actors, by an actor.
- -Rates: $50/hr includes coaching, lights, pro camera + fast turnaround
- -$30 for DIY slots (bring your reader, we’ll bring the vibe).
- -Follow @nick.milone for any questions or bookings
Contact Info:
- Website: Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nick.milone/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/havenmil21/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nickmilone
Image Credits
NBC Universal, Paul Smith, Anthony Chatmont, Nick Milone, Michael Marom
