Bruno Amato

Bruno Amato was born on November 16, 1961, in Orange, New Jersey to Italian-immigrant parents. His father joined the US military and was awarded the Purple Heart for his service. Amato has fond memories of his childhood days in New Jersey. While he admits that it was definitely not California, where he presently lives, he says that he had a lovely childhood there, surrounded by family and friends, with whom he still keeps in touch.

Inspired by his father, Amato too enlisted in the military. He served in the navy and was stationed on two submarine tenders, which are basically supply ships. Amato and other members of his team loaded torpedoes into the submarines.

After returning to the civilian life he started working as an ironworker and was part of the union in New Jersey. He got married, settled down, and built a life for himself. It was years before the acting bug bit him.

In 1999, when Amato was in his late 30s, he read ‘Live Your Dreams’, a self-help book by Les Brown. He had always harboured the dream of becoming an actor. After reading the book, he finally decided to pursue it as a career.

He began attending acting classes at night in New York after he was done with his day job as an ironworker in New Jersey. In 2000, he made his acting debut in the film ‘Entourage’, portraying a club doorman. His next role was in ABC’s soap opera ‘All My Children’. Cast as a bouncer named Carl, he appeared in two episodes.

His muscular physique and rugged appearance have led to supporting roles that require strong and physically fit men. In 2004, he was cast as Archie in two episodes of Fox’s teen drama ‘The O.C.’ In the following years, he played small roles in numerous TV shows, including a guard in ABC’s comedy drama ‘Desperate Housewives’ (2005), a police officer in Fox’s sitcom ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ (2005), a sheriff in NBC’s medical drama ‘ER’ (2006), a former convict in UPN’s mystery drama ‘Veronica Mars’(2006), and a garbage man in NBC’s drama ‘Las Vegas’ (2006). He has also appeared in ‘Philly’ (2002), ‘Monk’ (2006), ‘House’ (2006), ‘Chuck’ (2007), and ‘Castle’ (2010).

Amato is equally active on the big screen. After ‘Entourage’, he was cast in ‘Just a Kiss’ (2002), ‘Evan Almighty’ (2007), ‘Pizza with Bullets’ (2010), and ‘Murder on the 13th Floor’ (2012). In ‘The Internship’, the 2013 comedy film starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, Amato portrayed Sal, a pizza shop owner afraid of change. This was one of the most substantial roles in his career. His character was quintessential to the progression of the main plot.

He played the recurring character of Coach Simmons in Disney Channel’s ‘Austin & Ally’, appearing in two episodes of season three (2014). He also appeared in ‘Glee Clubs & Glory,’ ‘Beauties & Bullies’, and ‘Seniors and Señors’ (2015).

Amato is an animal lover and supports animal rights and welfare. He has stated that he has donated more money to animal charities than to human ones. He particularly loves big cats.