Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Massi.
Hi Vincent, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I got my start in acting completely by accident! I had never been interested in acting before, but it all changed when I became a senior in high school. I had grown up on Long Island and spent my days like every other person around me. From freshman year through the first month of senior year, I attended Sachem North High School, then transferred to McCracken County High School in Paducah, Kentucky. This was a massive change for me, coming from New York, and it took me a very long time to adjust. However, this school is where I would get my start in acting. I became friends with some people in my leadership class who were a part of a local ad running on TV. They needed an additional man to come and be in the ad, and I figured it would be a fun way to explore the city and try something new. After we completed the ad and it began to run, I was getting noticed by a lot of people, and they started calling me to be in their local projects. Fast forward to a year later, and I landed my first supporting role in a film. This role would lead me to get into film, music videos, commercials, and multiple series in the Nashville area. With my reach slowly expanding, I found myself working on nearly two to three sets per week in what is already a very limited area. During this time, I was also working as a grave digger to put myself through college. In 2022, after graduating from West Kentucky Community and Technical College, I moved to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where I would begin to enter the world of stunt work. Through working as a grave digger and going to the gym nearly every day, I quickly packed on muscle. This new build was a lifesaver, as I had started to gain roles in films as the villain, simply based on my size. This led me to dying many times in movies, sometimes having to perform some small stunts. While working on a film titled The Dead River, I met a stunt coordinator who loved my performance. He invited me out to Durham to perform a very dangerous stunt that I have never attempted before. This stunt went well, but a slight miscalculation on my end left my right elbow deeply scarred. After that stunt, I began to receive an overwhelming amount of stunt requests. Now, living in Iron Station, North Carolina, I work as a full-time actor and stuntman. I do not plan to ever stop.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I did not have a very easy road getting here, but that is what motivates me to keep persevering. When I was thirteen years old, I suffered a stroke that left me unable to move the entire left side of my body. I could not eat, speak, or drink properly. I was told by the doctors that I would not recover from this injury, and I was going to be stuck this way for the rest of my life. My parents did not give up easily, and they did everything in their power to help me recover. My father took me to the gym every single day for six months straight to help strengthen the muscles that were affected, and my mother worked with me day and night to help me regain the ability to eat, speak, and drink again. After six long, grueling months, it was like the stroke had never happened, and I was fully recovered. My left eye was the only piece that was never fixed, and I am left with a permanent reminder of the struggle I had to go through. In addition to this, when I was twenty years old, I fractured my hip, and a bone island grew on the ball joint while in recovery. This small, benign tumor has been causing me issues for over two years now. Due to its placement, my hip did not recover properly, and they are both misaligned. This has hindered me from performing certain fight scenes or stunts, and sometimes the pain will shoot up out of nowhere. Lastly, it has not all been physical. I had to meet some very bad people in this industry to fully understand whom I can and cannot trust. A rumor was once spread about me that caused me to lose a role in a feature film, but it was only proven false after the film was already completed. Regardless of all of this, I will stop at nothing to achieve greatness.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In addition to being an actor and stuntman, I am also an award-winning writer and director! I wrote a script for a time travel thriller movie titled “Disaster Protocol,” and it won the NC-17 Best Screenplay Award. This script is one that I hold very dear to my heart, as it is one that I wrote back when I first got into acting. It has gone through several revisions since writing it, but it is finally in its last draft and will be shot sometime in 2026. I have directed several films as well: Naomi, by Zion Harris; The Deadly Game, by Quanell Cavanaugh; Headspace, and Possessed Monkey, by myself. Possessed Monkey was a very interesting film in the sense that it started as a joke and turned into a full-fledged short film. I was responsible for creating a short advertisement for a new pre-workout brand that hit the market, and it went from a three-minute commercial to a twelve-minute improvised short. It was a very fun time, and I am happy we made it come to life. The film that I am most proud of, however, is “Not There,” by Josh Wynn. What makes me so proud of this film is the fact that we faced every single problem that could have been thrown our way, and we still managed to make a full-length feature film in eight days. I had just come off an eleven-day set for one feature film and flew to Detroit the same night to begin working on the other film. We lost actors and had to rewrite the film on set, and there were disagreements between the crew members, plus, we were shooting past four in the morning on some nights. Through it all, we prevailed, and the film is almost ready for distribution. What sets me apart from others is my drive and willingness to succeed in this industry. I have faced many hardships, setbacks, and rejections, yet I am willing to do anything for film. It is my life, and I will do whatever it takes to get to the top, and then bring everyone who supported me with me
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Never give up. While this seems like a very simple lesson, this is what keeps people going. There have been many times when I wanted to give up and stop acting, but I have been told by every person around me that I have to keep going. By giving up, I would be disappointing the people who have supported me as well as myself. No matter how hard this journey is, you can never give up. If nobody believes in you, believe in yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14929874/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinny_massi?igsh=MTlmZTJtYnJiYndscw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16xZ3XUZDB/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/2263367-6312484
