HHHS Alum Turned Actor Inspires Students to Follow Their Dreams

Actor , a Class of 1990 graduate of the high school, now known by many as Deputy Halloran of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” came back to his alma mater Wednesday to talk to drama students about the challenges and successes of his career and why students should go after their dreams.

Mucci said when he walked the halls of he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. He fully admitted he was a “class clown” and he didn’t get good grades.

There were times he saw himself a quitter. Giving up on the wrestling team and not wanting to go through with the high school play he was starring in even though he loved acting but he never gave up.

He told the students to not listen if anyone tries to tell them to not follow their dreams. People tried to steer him away from his dream but he continued to go after what he loved. “If there is something you want to do go after it and do it with every fiber of your being,” Mucci told students. “If there is anything I can inspire you to do, it’s that. Go do what you love.”

Mucci quickly turned himself around after high school. He told the students something had changed in him that drove him to never want to quit. He wound up getting good grades and excelled in sports in college. Upon thinking about the future he knew it was acting that he wanted to pursue. His mother was very supportive, he told the students.

He went to train in acting at one of the top acting schools in the country – Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts. It was a tough program, he said however now when he looks back on the long days of studying and rehearsing he realizes that life was actually easier back then. It was a competitive program that taught him that the real world is tough but he’d go on to find just how tough and challenging it really can be.

Mucci said his career began with many commercials and some small roles which helped pay the bills but overall he needed another job to support himself. He took jobs as a barback and a security guard to help make ends meet. Work needed to be flexible so he could run off to an audition if one came through. Luckily he landed a sales job that was flexible enough to allow him to still audition and be able to get married and start a family.

“A lot of actors say ‘when I make it, I’ll start my family’ but I say I’m going to live my life and then let whatever happens happen,” he told the students.

Mucci began landing some roles in films with some of the biggest stars he’d only dreamed of working with like Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in “Righteous Kill.”  Although the scenes got cut from the final product, he took away much more from the experience. Not only did he share the stage with such credible actors but Pacino told him he was a good actor. Mucci said that was more than he could ever ask for.

At one point he didn’t work for two years and was about ready to hang it up. Then he landed a role on “The Sopranos” and suddenly he earned some instant credibility.  From there he’s continued to get many credits to his name including the film “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. He was in the film “You Don’t Know Jack” about the life of Jack Kevorkian.

“What I’ve learned over these 16 years is that this career is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. There is no such thing as a big break. It just is consistently doing good quality work and then the work will come to you. No matter what happens you have to fight and not let anyone tell you what you can and can not do,” Mucci advised.

Some of the students asked Mucci if he prefers TV over film or theater to which he said there really is no preference as long as it is good quality work. A film can last for a few months but a series could be years. When asked if it’s hard to watch himself on TV, Mucci laughed saying that it was hard at first as it is easy to critique oneself but he’s worked past that.

Among the many things he's doing now, Mucci will appear in the upcoming “Men and Black III” film and is in the process of writing a treatment. He will appear in episodes of “Boardwalk Empire” later this season.

Steve Forte, principal, invited Mucci to come back to visit the school in the near future to screen some of his work and discuss more about what it’s like to work on a set.