Greg Sestero

Early life

Sestero was born in Walnut Creek, California to a mother of French and Sicilian descent, and an American father. He was raised in Danville, California, where he attended Monte Vista High School.

At the age of 12, he wrote a sequel to the then-recently released 1990 film Home Alone with a leading role for himself. He submitted the screenplay to Hughes Productions and received a commendatory letter from filmmaker John Hughes.

During his junior year of high school, Sestero began modelling, working in locations such as Milan and Paris for designers such as Giorgio Armani and Gianfranco Ferré. He returned to the United States to focus on acting, enrolling in the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California. His eventually signing with Hollywood agent Iris Burton prompted his eventual move to Los Angeles.

Career

Sestero's early acting work included minor roles in the television show Nash Bridges and the films Gattaca (1997) and Patch Adams (1998). In 1999, Sestero was cast as the lead in Retro Puppet Master. He followed this with a recurring role on the television soap opera Days of Our Lives.

The Room

Sestero's best known role to date is as Mark, the best friend to Tommy Wiseau's character Johnny, in the 2003 cult film The Room. Sestero met Wiseau at an acting class in 1998. Wiseau told Sestero that if he was able to raise the funds to make the film, he would hire him as his co-star; Sestero arrived on set, only agreeing to work behind the scenes and help Wiseau with auditions and casting. However, Wiseau wanted the original actor cast as Mark out of the film, and formulated an elaborate plan to replace him with Sestero.

Sestero has said that he made the film assuming no one would see it and that it would go direct to video. The film was immediately lambasted by critics and fared very poorly at the box office. In Sestero's book, The Disaster Artist, he revealed that Wiseau had sent a copy of the film to Paramount Pictures to gain wide distribution and was denied by the studio within 24 hours (the typical response time is two weeks).

Ross Morin, an assistant professor of film studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, called it "the Citizen Kane of bad movies," and Entertainment Weekly referred to Wiseau as "the Orson Welles of crap." Despite the poor showing, Sestero remained humorous and usually deflected much of the criticism of the film.

The film quickly began to receive attention from audience members because of its poor production values rather than in spite of them; it soon became a "cult classic" with late-night showings at theaters around the United States. Audience members typically arrive wearing wigs resembling their favorite characters, interact with the dialogue on screen, and throw plastic cutlery and footballs around the theater.

This attention grew into what was dubbed The Room's 2010–2011 "Love is Blind" International Tour, and the film was screened in the UK, Germany, Denmark, Australia, France, and India, among other locations. Sestero appears at many of these events, posing for photographs with fans and often addressing them before the screenings.

The Disaster Artist

In June 2011, it was announced that Sestero had signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to write a book based on his experiences making The Room, Tommy Wiseau, and his journey of trying to become an actor. The book, titled The Disaster Artist, was released in October 2013.

On November 23, 2014, The Disaster Artist won for Best Non-Fiction at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The judges praised the book, stating "The Disaster Artist is not only a hell of a good read, it will make a great film if ever adapted. It's equal parts Ed Wood, American Hustle and demented Citizen Kane — with a dash of Monty Python thrown into the mix." On February 11, 2015, The Disaster Artist audiobook, narrated by Sestero, was nominated for Best Humor Audiobook at the 2015 Audie Awards.

It was announced in February 2014 that Seth Rogen's production company, Point Grey Pictures, had acquired the rights to a film adaptation of The Disaster Artist, with James Franco attached to direct and possibly star as Wiseau.

On September 8, 2014, it was announced that screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber would write the script for The Disaster Artist. On October 15, 2015, it was announced that Dave Franco will play Sestero and cinematographer Brandon Trost will serve as the DP for The Disaster Artist.

On October 29, 2015, it was announced that New Line Cinema would produce The Disaster Artist. Distribution rights were later acquired by A24. Shooting began on December 8 of that year. The film had its initial premiere at South By Southwest on March 12, 2017, and is scheduled for a wide release on December 8, 2017.

Other work

In 2006, Sestero appeared in the television series Fashion House and had an uncredited role in Accepted. In 2010, he appeared in Miranda Lambert's music video "White Liar," which won the Country Music Television and the Academy of Country Music award for best video and song of the year; the video was also nominated for best video at the 2010 Country Music Association awards. Later that year, Sestero was featured in the 5-Second Film End Zone, directed by Michael Rousselet, one of The Room's original fans who helped propel the film to cult status.

Sestero starred with NYC comedians Jason Saenz, Nick Turner, and Travis Irvine for a sketch comedy video in which Sestero turned into the "new" Jason Saenz via jaw surgery. The July 2010 edition of Diablo magazine labeled Sestero as one of the "Best of the East Bay Stars and Standouts."

In July 2011, Sestero teamed with comedian Patton Oswalt in You Got Mail, a 5-Second Film that features Oswalt as a mailman and Sestero waiting for his suspicious delivery.

On November 12, 2013, Sestero made a cameo appearance on an episode of the Nostalgia Critic internet review show, which had previously reviewed The Room, reprising his role of Mark. Sestero continues to model and has appeared in ads for Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, and Ralph Lauren, among others.

Sestero costarred in Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015) from the creators of 5 Second Films. The film also stars Patton Oswalt and Andrew WK. The film premiered at Los Angeles Film Festival on June 13, 2015.

Sestero is set to team up with Wiseau once again for a new film, Best F(r)iends, based on a story written by Sestero about a road trip he took with Wiseau back in 2003.

Personal life

Sestero lives in Southern California. He is also fluent in French.