Biography
William DeMeo possesses extensive experience as a producer, writer, actor, and director. Raised in the Gravesend-Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn, he named his film company West Street Productions after West St., the block where he grew up. His first film role was in A Bronx Tale (1993), initially intended as an extra part, but he ended up delivering a few lines.
His producing debut was with the independent feature One Deadly Road (1998), which he wrote, produced, and starred in. The film was distributed internationally, aired on pay-per-view, and had national Home Video distribution.
DeMeo subsequently wrote, produced, co-directed, and starred in Wannabes (2000). Artisan Entertainment picked up the film, which was released in theaters and later on Home Video/DVD in 2002, including at Blockbuster. He earned the Best Actor Award at the New York Independent International Film Festival for his role in Wannabes. The film also won Best Director and Best Supporting Actor awards at the same festival. Shot on 35mm film, his next project, Searching for Bobby D (2005), which he produced, co-wrote with director Paul Borghese, and starred in alongside Carmen Electra, Sandra Bernhard, Mario Cantone, Tyson Beckford, Tony Darrow, and others, won multiple Audience Favorite and Best Comedy Feature awards internationally. Monarch Entertainment later secured its DVD distribution following numerous theatrical screenings, including one sold-out event with over 600 attendees.
Beyond his own productions, DeMeo has appeared in various feature films, national TV shows, and mini-series. He portrayed a young Carlo Gambino in Boss of Bosses (2001) and Al Pacino in Analyze That (2002). His credits include Hackers (1995), the award-winning short I Am Woody (2003), and several appearances in the final three seasons of The Sopranos (1999) as Jason Molinaro, a member of Paulie Walnuts' crew. He has guest-starred on Blue Bloods and Person of Interest. DeMeo held lead roles in Once Upon A Time in Brooklyn and Back In The Day, both featuring well-known actors such as Alec Baldwin, Danny Glover, and Armand Assante. He also starred alongside John Travolta in the Gotti film as Sammy The Bull and played Ritchie Stechal in First Kill with Bruce Willis and Hayden Christensen. Additionally, DeMeo developed, wrote, and directed four episodes of the series Gravesend, in which he stars as the lead character Benny Zerltta. These episodes were scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2020.
