TONY MANNA
Tony Manna is an Academy Award-watching actor and producer newly based in Los Angeles. With roots in the Rust Belt of northern West Virginia, he lived a nomadic childhood, moving from West Virginia to Chicago to Phoenix and then to Omaha, where he spent his high school years. Then it was off to the bustling metropolis of Evansville, Indiana, to study Theatre Performance at the University of Evansville. From there, he took a bus to Yale University to get an MFA in Acting from the School of Drama and where he spent years wearing tweed jackets while stroking his chin and smoking a pipe and grunting in a smugly superior manner to passing strangers.
After Yale, he packed up and settled in New York, where, in what can only be attributed to dumb luck, bribery, or both, he performed at some very nice places, including the Public Theatre, the Atlantic Theatre, Keen Company, the Women’s Project, and several others. He also spent time on the road performing regionally at Yale Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Westport Country Playhouse, the Alliance Theatre, and the Geffen Playhouse, among others.
He soon realized that the real money in acting is saying three lines on TV, which he’s had ample opportunity to do in shows like Interview with the Vampire, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Elementary, Maniac, and Z: The Beginning of Everything. He was also tickled and starstruck to appear in the films Life Itself with Oscar Isaac and Annette Bening and Shirley with Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg.
Tony then discovered the joy of finding people smarter and more organized than he is with whom he could collaborate. He co-created and starred in The Vampire Leland, an independent pilot that screened at the New York Television Festival, SeriesFest, and the Soho International FIlm Festival. He also co-created, co-wrote, and starred in The Corps, a biting satire about the White House Press Corps.
On the production side, in addition to his work with Some Folks, he’s a co-producer of the podcast Ask Ronna with Ronna (& Bryan).
He loves to travel, and hopes to be able to try a fare above basic economy soon. He’s been to several countries in Europe and Asia, and, for two years, lived and worked in Seoul, South Korea as a teacher of English as a second language.