| Studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Insitute in Manhattan. |
| Worked as a firefighter for Manhattan's Engine Company 55 from 1980-84. |
| Was a member of the soccer and wrestling teams in high school. |
| Tried his hand at stand-up comedy, working such venues as New York's famed Improv, and appeared as an alternative comic in the Scorsese portion of 1989's New York Stories. |
| Made his screenwriting and directing debut with the loosely autobiographical 1996 indie Trees Lounge, in which he also starred. |