Biography
Rich Grosso-Born in Paterson, New Jersey-has worked nationally in Film, Television, and Commercials. Rich approached acting from a couple of different angles. He started in high school when his English teacher realized that Rich could sing his ass off. She cast him in the musical Godspell. With no prior experience Rich stole the show, and that's when the acting bug bit him. He went off to do many small local and regional theatre productions. Then Rich left the theatre and became a casino dealer in Atlantic City, NJ and Freeport Bahamas. Still in his early twenties,he was having the adventure of a lifetime. After the Bahamas, Rich moved back to New Jersey, and went back into his family business which was cooking in his cousin's Deli. Looking for a creative outlet, he started taking some acting classes at HB Studios in New York City where he met a friend who told him about a new Off Broadway play that was being cast. Three callbacks later Rich found himself in a hit Off Broadway show-Slasher "The Splatter Rock Musical"-which ran over two years. After New York, Rich moved to Los Angeles in 1988 where he acted in many roles in Film, Theatre, and Television. When not acting Rich was also writing, producing and directing for Film and Television. In the late 1990's Rich hit a big dry spell. He left acting in 1999 and in 2002 he opened a very successful, Los Angeles-based Italian restaurant called Giovanni Ristorante, named in memory of Rich's late father. The restaurant sold in 2015. Rich never thought he would ever get back into show business, but Rich's good friend suggested he give acting another try after viewing some of his old work. His friend thought that Rich had grown into a really good character actor that could work. Since returning to show business Rich has gone on to work in many Films, Television shows, and National Commercials. He has had the privilege to work with some great people like Peter Stomare, Justin Chatwin, Kat Dennings, Scott Baio, Tony Sirico, and Katharine McPhee, just to drop a few names... Rich never realized that all of his life experience-running a great Italian restaurant, dealing craps in a casino day in and day out and interfacing with all those interesting people-would be the best acting teacher he could have ever asked for.
