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Tony Oller was born on February 25, 1991, in Taylorville, Illinois, and grew up in Houston, Texas. He began acting and singing at the age of 9, accumulating numerous commercial, film, and voice-over credits before landing prominent series regular roles on TeenNick's "Gigantic" and The Disney Channel's "As The Bell Rings." His career started in Houston, where he lived until moving to Los Angeles at 18. From age 12, he frequently traveled to L.A. to pursue his career while balancing public school and home life in Houston. He deferred college for a year to focus on his career, achieving success when he secured a lead role in "Gigantic" just five weeks after relocating to L.A. Since then, he has starred in various film and television projects, including leading roles opposite Ethan Hawke in "The Purge" and Dennis Quaid in "Beneath The Darkness."
His theater experience includes playing Billy in The Alley Theater's 2003 Equity production of "Sherlock Holmes" in Houston, a role once performed by a young Charlie Chaplin in his debut. At 12, Tony was the only child in the cast and performed 30 consecutive shows without an understudy. In 2004, during his first pilot season in L.A., he earned an Equity role in "Naked TV," a collaboration between FOX TV and Naked Angels Theater Group at the Edgemar Theater in Santa Monica. He was one of three children cast alongside 43 Los Angeles actors. Other stage roles include award-winning performances as Billy Flynn in "Chicago" and lead roles in "Grease," "Oliver," and "The Nutcracker."
While acting is a passion, Tony equally loves music. His singing abilities have won contests and earned guest spots on three TV shows: Jr. Singer on "Star Search" (2003), Apollo 'Star of Tomorrow' guest singer on "It's Showtime At The Apollo" (2002), and a guest singer on "The Jenny Jones Show Christmas Special" (2002). He is a singer-songwriter and musician who has been creating and performing original music for years, including with his band "The Horizon," formed at 16. He made his live L.A. debut on June 29, 2010, at The House of Blues on The Sunset Strip for a charity event, performing his original song "Change The World" solo on piano.
In March 2012, Tony signed with Columbia Records and recorded an album with his band MKTO, a pop/rap duo formed with Malcolm Kelley, whom he met on the set of "Gigantic." MKTO stands for their initials and "Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts," reflecting their high school experiences. Their debut single "Thank You," released in January 2013, reached #2 on the ARIA charts in Australia and earned Quadruple Platinum status. Their hit "Classic," released in July 2013, received multiple global certifications, including Platinum in the U.S., and its music video has over 200 million views. "Classic" became a viral TikTok dance challenge in 2021-22 and remains a favorite worldwide. MKTO’s first headlining tour in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand began in March 2013. Their debut album, released in January 2014, hit #1 within eight hours. The U.S. release followed on April 1, 2014. MKTO’s first U.S. headlining "American Dream Tour" started June 27, 2014, covering 31 cities. Afterwards, they opened for Demi Lovato on her U.S./Canada Demi World Tour in 25 cities, reuniting Tony and Demi, who had first worked together on "As The Bell Rings." In 2015, MKTO released the EP "Bad Girls," including singles "Monaco," "Afraid of the Dark," and "Just Imagine It." In July 2016, they released the music video for "Superstitious."
They performed as guest artists with Taylor Swift during her "1989" tour at Gillette Stadium in July 2015. Taylor Swift introduced them as one of her favorite bands and sang along with their hit "Classic" to a sold-out crowd of over 60,000, marking a career highlight.
MKTO parted ways amicably with Columbia Records in 2018, expressing gratitude for the opportunities provided. After a two-year hiatus, they signed with BMG Nashville and talent agency ICM Partners for worldwide representation. Their anticipated return launched with the single and video "How Can I Forget" on September 7, 2018.
Tony is classically trained in voice and piano, plays guitar and saxophone, and is a skilled self-taught drummer. In elementary school, he studied tap dance and ballet, and as a teen, he was part of a hip-hop performance team, studying urban dance under Wade Robson and Shane Sparks.
He showcased his singing in "Gigantic" as his character Walt, an aspiring professional singer/musician (2010). While attending public high school in Houston, he starred in both seasons of Disney’s "As The Bell Rings," demonstrating singing and dancing talents, recording original songs and videos, including a duet with co-star Demi Lovato. During high school, he recorded three original songs in London at Olympic Studios with British band McFly for an EPK (2008). In his senior year, he traveled to Kristiansand, Norway, and Nashville, Tennessee, for independent recording and video projects (2009). In Norway, he collaborated with Swedish singer Vendela Palmgren and British singer Naomi Biggins on "Zoovolution," produced by Todd Macadangdang. Their songs "All I Need," "Live Without You," and "Follow Your Heart" are available on iTunes. In Nashville, he appeared as a celebrity crush in Savannah Outen’s music video for "If You Only Knew," produced by Grammy winner Keith Thomas.
Since 2008, Tony has served as a Youth Ambassador for Variety Magazine’s "Power of Youth," supporting charitable causes such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, LA’s BEST, and the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
Tony aims to pursue a lifelong dual career in acting and music.
