Paul Hipp

Paul Hipp grew up in the Philadelphia area. He moved to New York at 17 to study acting with William Hickey and Mira Rostova. He supported himself by playing guitar and busking. He eventually landed gigs playing in the then legendary (now almost all shuttered) clubs of Greenwich Village and appearing in the occasional commercial. One night, director Abel Ferrara spotted Hipp at a gig on Bleecker Street and advised him to audition for his film China Girl (1987). Hipp won the part of Nino Villache over hundreds of other young actors. Since then, he has worked steadily on the big and small screen as well as off-Broadway, Broadway and London West End stages.

In 1990, Hipp was nominated for an Olivier Award for outstanding performance by an actor in a musical for his performance as rocker Buddy Holly in "Buddy". He took the show to Broadway's Shubert Theater the following year where he opened to rave reviews and was honored with a Tony Award nomination. He won a Theater World Award for best Broadway debut performance. Hipp has appeared in over 25 feature films, most recently Ernst Gossner 's feature South of Pico (2007). On the small screen, he has appeared in numerous TV shows.

Hipp made his feature film directorial debut with Death of a Dog (2000). Executive produced by Abel Ferrara, the film starred Julie Kessler and Edie Falco. His second film as writer/director was We Are Not Animals (2013).