Name: Gregory Hinton
Date of Birth: Gregory Scott Hinton was born in Newark, New Jersey to Arthur and Hilda Brice. Educated in catholic schools, he was an avid reader and writer. Gregg received scholarships to play basketball at Immaculata HS in Somerville, New Jersey and at St. Michael's College in Vermont where he was a Journalism/English major. He left at the beginning of his sophomore year after the passing of his mother. He moved to New York and worked briefly at the U.N. as a waiter. He had the breakfast and lunch shift. Th... is was the first job Gregg was ever fired from. Why? He would be too busy talking to the diplomats and actors, that he would forget their food was up. So after his 30-day trial period, he was let go. Undaunted, he began a career in Telecommunications for Sprint which lasted several years. In 1988 he transferred to California with Sprint and as fate would have it, he got laid off. Gregg took the opportunity to take acting classes and to study voice and speech at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. This was a highlight of his training. Several great actors studied there and it was a fun, creative learning experience. He also did plays, most notably, in "Zetta", that was his first stage lead and he actually got to sing several songs. He's also done numerous commercials: Target, General Motors, Alka Seltzer, Wawa, El Pollo Loco, Little Debbie Snack Cakes, to name a few. Gregg has also done voice overs in commercials and film. The weekend of the Rodney King incident in 1992, was the weekend Gregg decided to take a chance on the acting bug and move to Los Angeles, not knowing anyone. It was quite an eye opening experience for him. He made the rounds, looking for his niche, until a casting director, former Las Vegas entertainer and his soon to be mentor, Bill Bonnell, took him under his wing. Bill sent Gregg on an audition for a movie called "I'll Do Anything", in which he landed the role of the "Dancing Bodyguard" to Albert Brooks. It was a comical audition because when he showed up, the audition hall was filled with dozens of waif-like dancers. The choreographer, Twyla Tharpe, had him "Vogue" from one end of the hall to another. He was being cheered on by the dancers and he made his way across the floor. He was booked immediately and was on his way into the Screen Actors Guild after only being in town for less than a year. With the sudden passing of Bill in 1995, Gregg was devastated, but, remembered and still lives by Bill's credo: "Always show up ready to work and work harder than the next guy". He got his biggest bit of notoriety from a non-speaking role in "Charlie's Angels" which he played a bouncer. Gregg's first network break came in a small role of the TV sitcom "California Dreams". While continuing to audition for principal roles, he went on to be the on-going stand-in for Michael Clarke Duncan, Tiny Lister, Frank McRae and James Brown (JB) from Fox Sports. Not wanting to be stereotyped in the usually body guard, bouncer roles often offered to big men, Gregg got the opportunity to show his comedic side playing opposite Kirsty Alley in a TV MOW "Toothless" where he played "Tiny" a patient to Alley's dentist. Returning to his bouncer roots, working with Jennifer Anniston and Mark Wahlberg was also a highlight to his career in "Rock Star". In "On the Spot", he had the opportunity to play a drag queen who seduces Tim Conway. That was a first. With the "National lampoon Presents Dorm Daze" film, he was given the opportunity to play a strong supporting role, where he could incorporate his comedic skills and have a fight scene. Gregg's current project, "D-Wars" is set to be released in 2007.Read more Gregory Hinton movies (actor)User Comments |
