Matt Mercurio’s career has taken off since his time as a BFA Acting student. Most recently, he was booked a supporting role in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which will be directed by Ang Lee. Lee’s long list of directorial credits includes Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi, Sense and Sensibility and Hulk.
“I’ve admired him since I first saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” said Mercurio. “I’m about as pumped as it gets being able to work with one of my favorite directors.”
Mercurio had another brush with fame in his filming of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving in February. He said that although the weather was frigid, working with Paul Rudd was an enjoyable experience.
“Being able to be on set with Paul Rudd, who is as funny as you expect him to be and beyond, was a blast and more than enough to forget about the conditions,” said Mercurio.
From FOX’s Sleepy Hollow and USA’s Graceland to Playstation’s first TV series, Powers, Mercurio has dabbled in many different acting opportunities in his professional career. He said his experiences at UF, especially in the hip-hop theatre troupe “Signs of Life,” gave him a medium for artistic expression and something to be passionate about.
“So much of what I learned in that process I took moving forward with my own work and passion projects when those opportunities for artistic fulfillment aren’t readily available,” said Mercurio.
Mercurio is currently in the process of co-creating a web series that will debut later this year.
