Ron Gilbert

Ron Gilbert's career in the film and theatre world has spanned over 45 years from New York, Los Angeles, and all over the United Stated and Mexico and has flowed over to Italy and England. He started his acting training in New York at the Academy of Dramatic Arts and later at the Actor’ s Studio in New York under the direction of Lee Strasberg with fellow actors Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Rod Steiger and many other well known actors.

His first acting  gig  in New York was the play,” The Time of Your Life" His love for theatre allowed him to perform in regional and dinner theatres all over the USA which allowed him to hone his craft. Meanwhile he was acting on TV, commercials and film with the well known directors at that time. He was suggested for the role of Michael Corleone in Godfather One and met with the producer, Al Ruddy after being seen in a play in New York. He was cast in a smaller role when Al Pacino was cast and then he decided to live on a farm in upstate New York because he wanted to have a life which connected him to his Italian roots by having a garden.

He met his wife while touring in the play "Come Blow Your Horn" which was about a bachelor who finally settles down and that paralleled his own life. His wife and his 2 children took precedence and family was more important on advice from director Francis Ford Coppola.  He was doing plays in regional theatres and commercials in New York where he was cast in "Dog Day Afternoon" directed by Sydney Lumet.

When his marriage ended he left NY for Los Angeles and his film and TV career flourished after he was seen in a theatre play, 2 weeks after he arrived there.

He involved himself in the Indie film world as a producer and feature film programmer with Find (formerly IFP West) where he met Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Bryan Singer, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith in the early stages of their careers. He moderated events for famous directors like Robert Altman, Mike Leigh and Stephen Frears.

In 1994 he returned to New York as a writer/actor in the off-broadway hit, Grandma Sylvia’s Funeral, which had originated in Los Angeles and was a very succesful show. In that same year director,Bryan Singer handpicked him for the film "The Usual Suspects".

In 1995 he  worked as a writer/actor in the telenovella, "Forever", for Televisa in Mexico City, where he spent 1 year.

In 1996, he was asked by Anna Strasberg to teach acting at the Strasberg Institute and while  he was  teaching at the Theatre of Arts and still working as actor in film, TV and commercials.

In 1999 Ron joined Roguearts as a partner and started to produce and distribute films  which resulted in 10 film productions and distribution of 35 films. Their latest film "Chamaco" aka The Kid is currently having a very successful theatrical run in Los Angeles and will soon be in other cities. He has been the main programmer of the Methodfest Film Festival and participated in all of the major film festivals finding new talent. He is an international consultant for the Consulates in Los Angeles.

In 2006, he was cast as a series regular in the Fox Network series "Desire" which ran for 1 season.

In 2007 he was brought to Milan and Rome to teach method acting. A video which he co-directed was presented at the Venice Film Festival and was a huge success which brought more offers to teach outside of Italy. He was also invited to Albano di Lucania .the birthplace of his grandparents where he is currently developing 2 film projects. He was the first teacher to open Actors Academy Milano in 2007 and was there for 7 months.

In 2008 he was brought to Rome to do acting workshops at the Golden Graal, which was followed by another acting workshop in Milan

At the same time he was cast in the TV Series "Ugly Betty" and then Bryan Singer cast him in a commercial for Diet Pepsi with Salma Hayek.

In 2008 he created the Method Acting Workshop and brought students from Italy and other countries to work on their acting craft in Hollywood, the film capital of the world. When his students were here he was cast as an Italian businessman who only spoke Italian in the hit series "Desperate Housewives”.

In 2009 he acted in the new series Level 26 as General Costanza directed by CSI creator Anthony Zuiker and also the TV series Cold Case which were followed by 2 more films "Small Lights" directed by Josef Rusnak with actress Franka Potente, and "No Saints for Sinners" directed by Nathan Frankowski. He also returned to Italy to do acting workshops and to move forward on his film projects there, which included a visit to Albano di Lucania with Mayor Francesco Adamo and a meeting with the film commission in that region.

In 2010 he just completed filming in 3 new web series, and 4 feature films. He was also recruited by various film magazines to review films and interview directors, writers and producers on their upcoming films, which is an asset and complements his experiences in the film industry.

His current film projects in the USA and Italy are “Love Baby” directed by Allan Moyle with Luca Argentero; “Capture” directed by Eros Puglielli; a TV Pilot directed by Giorgio Serafini;. and a new series to be shot in London by actor/director Conor McDermottroe.

As a lifetime member of the Actors Studio as a director, writer and actor, he also does private coaching and prefers to incite the talent within actors. His technique is unique which is an evolution of the method and very specific for each student.