Michael Shanto
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Michael Shanto's first acting job was riding a huge elephant for two days in the same jungle where they filmed those old Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies. It was quite a sight to see nine-year-old Michael Shanto walking down Hollywood Boulevard wearing nothing but a loincloth and carrying a real live woolly monkey in his arms as he entered the casting office to audition for the part of 'Boy" for an Opel Car commercial.
He then went on to take acting lessons at the Don Dubbins Acting Studio. While in the drama class at Monroe High School, Michael performed a hilarious pantomime routine for the entire school.
As a young adult, Michael worked in many films and television shows, such as "Raging Bull" with Robert Dinero, "Personal Best" with Merrill Hemmingway, "Devlin Connection" was Jack Scalia and Rock Hudson; and Cagney and Lacey (TV Show), just to name a few. He had a great time when he worked for two weeks in the movie, "Hair" as a private in the Army at Fort Erwin in Barstow with actors Treat Williams and John Savage. Mike continued his acting training by enrolling in the Richard Brander Acting Studio and the Lance Lindsay Film Acting Studio, doing cold readings and film acting at Columbia Ranch, and Weist Barron Hill Acting for Television and Film. He was trained in sword fencing for film, played "Sheriff Robert Olinger" in a screenplay called "The Last April" about Billy the Kid, and worked as a cowboy in the movie "Django Unchained."
Michael has also been a ballroom dance instructor at the Arthur Murray's Dance Studio in Beverly Hills and has performed as a dancer in an MTV Video by Phil Seymour called "Let Her Dance."
Recently, Michael was interviewed by Randal Massaro about his acting career, and is an actor, producer, and writer for a post-production movie called "The Italian Cowboy."
He then went on to take acting lessons at the Don Dubbins Acting Studio. While in the drama class at Monroe High School, Michael performed a hilarious pantomime routine for the entire school.
As a young adult, Michael worked in many films and television shows, such as "Raging Bull" with Robert Dinero, "Personal Best" with Merrill Hemmingway, "Devlin Connection" was Jack Scalia and Rock Hudson; and Cagney and Lacey (TV Show), just to name a few. He had a great time when he worked for two weeks in the movie, "Hair" as a private in the Army at Fort Erwin in Barstow with actors Treat Williams and John Savage. Mike continued his acting training by enrolling in the Richard Brander Acting Studio and the Lance Lindsay Film Acting Studio, doing cold readings and film acting at Columbia Ranch, and Weist Barron Hill Acting for Television and Film. He was trained in sword fencing for film, played "Sheriff Robert Olinger" in a screenplay called "The Last April" about Billy the Kid, and worked as a cowboy in the movie "Django Unchained."
Michael has also been a ballroom dance instructor at the Arthur Murray's Dance Studio in Beverly Hills and has performed as a dancer in an MTV Video by Phil Seymour called "Let Her Dance."
Recently, Michael was interviewed by Randal Massaro about his acting career, and is an actor, producer, and writer for a post-production movie called "The Italian Cowboy."
