HOLLYWOOD -- What does it take to become a working actor in Hollywood? For Tony Longo, the answer is guts and imagination. Being 6-foot-6 and weighing 265 pounds helps, too.
Longo is featured on the HBO series 'First and Ten' playing the crazed linebacker Mad Dog. He also has roles in four new movies, 'Illegally Yours,' 'Feds,' 'Bloodhounds of Broadway' and 'Worth Winning.'
The movies star such names as Mark Harmon, Rob Lowe, Rutger Hauer, Madonna and Julie Haggerty.
Longo, 24, from Jersey City, N.J., has never won any beauty contests and has never had an acting lesson, yet he works more often than most Hollywood actors.
An outstanding high school athlete, he turned down football scholarships and decided to just hang out instead of going to college.
'My parents were wary and told me to get a job or leave the state,' he said. 'So I left.'
He moved west seven years ago and did attend school, and while he never got a report card, he should have earned high markd in creativity.
'For about two years I'd go to UCLA lecture halls where they taught philosophy and psychology and look at bulletin boards for class cancellations. I'd tear'em off and post my own note: 'Guest lecturer today, Professor Tony Longo.'
'When the class came in I'd give lectures and speeches and then hold question and answer sessions. The students seemed to enjoy the classes and it gave me terrific experience for handling an audience and in playing roles. It really advanced my skills.
'I also got to meet a lot of pretty girls and it gave me a great deal of self-confidence.
'Then after about two years the campus police rousted me out of a classroom and closed me down. As I stood outside with the cops some students came by and asked, 'Can we help you, Professor Longo?' That broke me up.'
He took that creativity even further when scouting for acting jobs. Carrying a rolled-up script in his hand, he would sneak into studio lots every day and walked onto sets to watch various films and TV shows in production.
'I'd drive through the gate and wave at the guards, and they figured I belonged on the lot,' Longo said. 'I learned a lot about acting, and I'd have lunch at the commissary.
'One day at Warner Bros. I met Burt Reynolds and Ken Anderson, his assistant, who told me to see the head of casting for the TV series 'Alice.' They were looking for a crazy ex-New York cop.
'So I went to the casting office and ad-libbed a crazy cop. They called me the next day and for the last two years of 'Alice' I played the recurring role of Artie, the nutty cop.'
But Longo's story is not without a glitch or two. When he auditioned for 'Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' he was asked to sing and dance. The results were far from successful.
'I was halfway through 'My Way' when they asked me to stop,' Longo recalled, laughing. 'They asked if I was joking. Then they brought in a choreographer and told me to follow his steps. This guy began kicking higher than his head. All I could do was the old Jackie Gleason shuffle.
'They threw me out and called my agent and said I was a disgrace. The next day the same thing happened when I auditioned for 'Grease II.' This time they told my agent he shouldn't even handle a guy like me who wasted their time.'
But perseverance paid off for Longo and he eventually landed non-singing roles in 'Splash' and 'Sixteen Candles.'
'Anything is possible in Hollywood if you're willing to take a few chances and use your imagination,' Longo said. 'I was only 17 years old when I first came out here seven years ago.
'I had hair down to my shoulders and I was wearing a dozen earrings when I went to see an agent, Sandy Joseph, who told me, 'Cut your hair, brush your teeth and lose the earrings. Then come back.' The next day I got my first commercial.
'I did some more commercials and then got the job as stunt double for Miles O'Keeffe in 'Tarzan' with Bo Derek. We spent 12 weeks in Sri Lanka, which almost convinced me to get out of show business.
'But I stuck around and it's paying off. Some day I'm gonna get a job with my singing and dancing version of 'My Way.' Just wait and see.'
