Paul Iacono

Paul Iacono is an American actor and writer. He is best known for portraying RJ Berger in the MTV scripted series The Hard Times of RJ Berger.

Paul Iacono
Born	September 7, 1988 Secaucus, New Jersey, USA
Education	Professional Performing Arts School
Occupations	Actor writer comedian
Years active	1997–present
Notable work	Fame (2009) The Hard Times of RJ Berger (2010-2011)
Height	5'9 (165 cm)

Early years

Iacono's parents,^[1][2] Michele and Anthony, are Italian American.^[3][4] He has a younger brother, who works as DJ in New Jersey, and a sister, from his Dad's second marriage.^[5] Iacono went to Professional Performing Arts School in New York,^[6][7] with friend and Fame co-star Paul McGill. He graduated in 2006.^[7]

At eight years old, Iacono was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He soon began receiving chemotherapy treatments and has been in remission since he was eleven years old.^[5][8]

Career

A graduate of NYC's Professional Performing Arts School, Iacono is best known for his portrayal of the title character on MTV's, The Hard Times of RJ Berger.

Paul first gained wide notice for his numerous appearances on TV's The Rosie O'Donnell Show after Rosie O'Donnell discovered his unique talents for impersonating Frank Sinatra and Ethel Merman, at age 8.^[9]

Starting out as child actor in the NYC theater scene, Paul has appeared in over 100 theatrical productions. He has shared the stage with such greats as Mickey Rooney in The Wizard of Oz and Stephanie Mills in the original "Paper Mill Playhouse" production of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden. Iacono can be heard on the original cast recording. Other theatrical credits include Mame with Christine Ebersole, Noël Coward's Sail Away with Elaine Stritch^[9] and Marian Seldes, and John Guare's Landscape of the Body, with Lili Taylor and Sherie Rene Scott.

Paul's film career includes the MGM's remake of Fame, No God, No Master with David Strathairn, and Darren Stein's teen comedy, G.B.F..^[5] Other films include Drew Barrymore's, Animal, Rhymes with Banana with Zosia Mamet and Judith Light, and "Unreachable by Conventional Means," with Alexandra Daddario and Tovah Feldshuh. According to Entertainment Weekly, co-star Megan Mullally gave Iacono high praise for his improvisational acting and singing skills.

Iacono appears in an Adidas commercial featuring rapper Bobby Ray "B.o.B" Simmons Jr and also appears in Bobby Ray's Music Video "Magic", featuring Rivers Cuomo.

As a creator, Paul wrote and produced the NY play, "Prince/Elizabeth",^[10] and is in development on his second pilot, "GIF'ted".^[5]

As a writer, Iacono penned the play High Priest. In 2024, the world premiere reading of the play took place at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, directed by Rachel Klein. The piece explores the history of The Factory, with a focus on figures like Ondine, Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, Billy Name, Paul Morrissey, Lou Reed, Nico, and others. Following the reading, a post-show discussion featured Danny Fields and Vincent Fremont.^[11][12]

Personal life

Iacono is gay and a major LGBTQ activist, having publicly come out in Michael Musto's Village Voice Column in April 2012.^[13] He was named one of OUT Magazine's 100 most influential gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people for 2013.^[14]

In an April 2012 interview with Michael Musto from The Village Voice, Iacono revealed that he is attracted to both men and women, but prefers men much more and identifies as a gay man and as bisexual. Iacono stated that "I am attracted to girls, I'm just attracted to guys much more."^[13]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Winter Solstice	Jr.	Uncredited
2005	Shakes	Young Shakes	Short
2008	Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee	Ricky Lopefrawitz
2008	Return to Sleepaway Camp	Pee Pee
2009	Fame	Neil Baczynsky	[6]
2010	Consent	Mickey
2012	Mac & Devin Go to High School	Mahatma Chang Greenberg
2012	No God, No Master	Tony Cafiero
2012	Rhymes with Banana	Ted
2013	G.B.F.	Brent Van Camp
2014	Animal	Sean
2017	Dating My Mother	Richard
2018	The Bad Guys	Paul

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Dora the Explorer	Benny the Bull	Episode "Maestra"
2005	The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie	Party Boy	TV movie
2007	Human Giant	Billy Boy	2 episodes
2010-2011	The Hard Times of RJ Berger	R.J. Berger	Main role
2014	Chozen	Fridget	Voice

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Children of Eden	Donny	Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey
1998	The Wizard of Oz
1999	Mame		Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey
2006	Landscape of the Body Donny		Signature Theatre, New York City
2007	The Dark at the Top of the Staris	Punky Givens	Transport Theatre Company at the Connelly Theatre, New York City.
2015	Mercury Fur	Lola	The New Group, New York City
2024	High Priest	Ondine	La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York City

References

1. Paul Iacono Interview — JJJ Exclusive!
2. Wright, E. Assata. "The biggest loser" The Union City Reporter; June 20, 2010; Page 6
3. "Hoboken arrest on drug and DWI charges leads to former Secaucus town administrator Anthony Iacono losing job as Passaic's business administrator". The Star-Ledger. February 12, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
4. Wright, E. Assata (August 29, 2009). "Baby, remember his name; Secaucus native Paul Iacono to co-star in 'Fame' remake". The Hudson Reporter. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
5. Visco, Gerry (January 16, 2014). "Paul Iacono is Our New G.B.F." Interview. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
6. Tucker, Reed (September 20, 2009). "The real 'Fame'". New York Post. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
7. Vilensky, Mike (June 4, 2010). "The Hard Times of RJ Berger's Paul Iacono on the Pros and Cons of Playing a Huge-Wanged High-Schooler". vulture.com. vulture.com. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
8. "Exclusive: MTV's Paul Iacono: I Almost Died of Leukemia at Age 8". Us Weekly. April 7, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
9. Wong, Curtis M (March 9, 2015). "Paul Iacono Promises Tears, Laughs And Plenty Of (Emotional) Nudity In His NYC Cabaret Debut". HuffPost. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
10. "Paul Iacono Presents PRINCE/ELIZABETH Reading 9/9". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
11. "Danny Fields and Vincent Fremont Join High Priest Reading Q&A at La MaMa | Playbill".
12. "La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club Will Present Reading of Paul Iacono's High Priest | Playbill".
13. Musto, Michael (April 11, 2012). "Paul Iacono's Coming Out Interview". The Village Voice. Village Voice Media. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
14. Nededog, Jethro (July 10, 2014). "'Scandal's' Guillermo Diaz, 'RJ Berger's' Paul Iacono and 'Fosters' Producers Make OUT 100 List". thewrap.com. Retrieved February 18, 2019.

External links

• Paul Iacono at IMDb