Paulo Costanzo (born September 21, 1978 in Brampton, Ontario) is a Canadian actor of Italian and Jewish ancestry, who is perhaps best-known for his roles in the 2000 comedy Road Trip and the sitcom Joey which ran from 2004-2006.
His mother is a singer-songwriter. In addition to various television productions, Costanzo has also performed on stage in Canadian productions of Bogeyman and The Good Doctor.
Costanzo is currently living in Los Angeles.
In his elementary school years, both of Costanzo's legs were broken when he was involved in a car accident. Paulo kept the staples from this incident for years afterwards, in a jar on his mantle.
For high school, Paulo attended Balmoral Secondary School, before transferring to Mayfield Secondary School, the local school of the arts. In high school, Costanzo starred as Tony in his high school's production of West Side Story. Also, his class put on a Friends parody, in which he played Ross. Costanzo later commented to The Toronto Sun that, "I had a cold so I sounded more like a Jewish old woman than Ross".
Costanzo started his non-stage career in telefilms, like many actors. He appeared in The Don's Analysis as Young Vito, as Arthur in My Date with the President's Daughter, and Yaakov/Gaston in the "Marie Taquet" segment of Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples.
In 1998, Costanzo scored his first truly major role in the TV series Animorphs, as the alien Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.
His film career started in 2000, when he played Rubin Carver in the DreamWorks movie Road Trip. Reportedly, he had some on-set conflicts with director Todd Phillips.[citation needed] From there, he played Alexander Cabot III, the light-brained friend/manager of the fictitious pop-rock band Josie and the Pussycats, in the movie Josie and the Pussycats.
More roles followed, including Troy in Gypsy 83, as Ryan, opposite Josh Hartnett in 40 Days and 40 Nights for Miramax, and as Stu, opposite Alicia Silverstone and Woody Harrelson in the independent project Scorched.
In 2003, Costanzo starred as Laurie in the Canadian comedic film A Problem with Fear, or Laurie's Anxiety Confronting the Escalator.
"I'm very insecure. I have low self-esteem just like a lot of actors do."
Zap2it's TV columnist Amy Amatangelo commented positively on his role in Joey. "The real surprise is Paulo Costanzo (Road Trip) who is great as Joey's nephew Michael, a rocket scientist who still lives at home with his overprotective mother and doesn't have any luck with the ladies."
