Date of Birth
25 February 1991, Houston, Texas, USA
Height
6' (1.83 m)
Mini Biography
Tony Oller has been acting and singing since age 9 and has numerous commercial, film and voice over credits prior to his more prominent Disney role. His stage credits include Billy in The Alley Theater's (Houston, TX) Equity production of "Sherlock Holmes", a role once played by a young Charlie Chaplin in his theatrical debut. Tony was the only child in the cast and performed 30 consecutive shows. During Tony's first pilot season in L.A. in 2004 he landed an Equity role in the first theater collaboration by Fox TV and Naked Angels Theater Group (comically named "Naked TV") at the Edgemar Theater in Santa Monica. Tony was one of only three children (including Lucas Till and Marc John Jeffries) cast among 43 talented Los Angeles actors in the performances. Other stage credits include an award winning performance as Billy Flynn in "Chicago" and lead roles in "Oliver" and "The Nutcracker". Tony delighted audiences in an inspiring independent feature film "I Flunked Sunday School".
Although often proclaiming that acting is his life, he has an equal love of music. His singing talents have won contests and earned guest performances on three television shows. He was a Jr. Singer contestant on "Star Search" in Hollywood, an Apollo Star of Tomorrow guest singer on "It's Showtime At The Apollo" in New York City and an invited guest singer on "The Jenny Jones Show Christmas Special" in Chicago. He is a singer/songwriter who has been writing and performing his own original lyrics for several years, including with a band he formed called "The Horizon". His original songs can be heard on his Music Myspace (www.myspace.com/tonyollermusic). In Season 2 of his Disney show "As The Bell Rings" he demonstrates his singing and dancing skills. He recorded three original songs for Season 2 and three music videos which are currently airing on the network. In addition, he recorded three songs and two music videos for an independent project in 2009. His first mp3 solo "All I Need" is available on iTunes as well as his songs "Live Without You" and "Follow Your Heart".
Tony learned to play alto and tenor saxophone in the 6th grade band and was a proud member of his high school marching band in his freshman year. He takes voice, piano and guitar lessons and is an accomplished self-taught drummer. In his elementary years, he studied tap dance and ballet. As a young teen, he was a member of a hip-hop performance team and has studied urban dance from masters Wade Robson and Shane Sparks.
He has been appointed as a Youth Ambassador for Variety Magazine's "Power of Youth" in 2008 and 2009. He is part of the new generation of young performers given the opportunity to change the world and inspire others by lending support to various charitable causes such as St. Jude Hospital Children's Hospital, LA's BEST and the Starlight Children's Foundation.
Tony's goal is a lifelong career in acting and music. A rare quadruple threat in the entertainment industry, this young man also possesses the vital combination of ambition, talent and charm. Considered one of today's rising stars, he's definitely one to watch!
Trivia
Studied comedy and improvisation at The Groundlings Theater, Los Angeles in the teen class with then-unknown fellow student Ashley Tisdale (2004).
He and his father share a love of Ford Mustangs and Major League Baseball. Their favorite team is the San Francisco Giants. Tony played on various baseball leagues for 11 years, from T-ball to 18U, sometimes coached by his Dad. He is a left-handed batter whose favorite positions are pitcher and right field.
Studied hip-hop dance with Wade Robson and Shane Sparks. Was a proud member of Planet Funk's Slam Squad performance dance troupe as a young teen. Studied tap dance and ballet in his younger years. Is expanding his dance skills to include various forms of Latin dance.
Has facial dimples, a cleft chin and a small mole on his upper right forehead that is affectionately referred to as his "handsome mark". Has a rare set of double dimples on his left cheek.
Began playing saxophone (alto and tenor) in the 6th grade band. Played for four years and was a proud member of his high school marching band in his freshman year. Also is an accomplished drummer. He attended public high school and maintained high grades while actively involved in many school activities (Baseball, Drama, Key Club, Spanish club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Higher Dimensions, Senior Men, Bobcat TV [BCTV] camera operator and film editor).
Since 2004 he has dreamed of creating and managing his own independent record label.
Received Cy-Ridge High School's "Best Leading Actor" award for his 2006 portrayal of Billy Flynn in "Chicago". This production was part of the Tommy Tune Awards program sponsored by Houston's Theater Under The Stars.
Was a 2006-07 member of a teen film making program called Cross Wind Productions that creates films for teens on relevant issues while providing faith-based solutions to problems. The group of a dozen hand-selected teens participate in this year-long project that teaches them every aspect of film making and is taught by industry professionals. Their goal is to produce one short film and one feature length film during the course of the program. All roles of film making from actor to gaffer to grip are performed by the teens in the making of these professional-quality films.
He started a belt buckle collection and has over 80 in his collection so far. He wore many of them in his Disney Channel show "As The Bell Rings".
He owns two Italian greyhound dogs named TIG and Snoopy. TIG's name is an acronym which stands for Tony's Italian Greyhound. He was Tony's first dog and is Tony's biggest fan. TIG stares adoringly at Tony when he practices music and rehearses lines. TIG suffers from a rare condition called Addison's disease which requires a monthly injection to keep him alive. Interestingly, he shares this medical history with former U.S. President John F. Kennedy who secretly suffered from Addison's disease. His other dog Snoopy's full name is Snoop Doggy Dog because Tony adopted him shortly after auditioning for "Soul Plane" starring rap singer Snoop Dogg. Snoopy is not an aficionado of the arts like TIG. Although Tony has tried to teach him, Snoopy still has not learned to rap.
Wore his own tap shoes in a clog dancing scene in "As The Bell Rings". The taps were removed because they interfered with sound recording during production. The dance ultimately was changed from traditional clog dancing to an improvised form for more comedic effect. To prepare for that scene Tony had taken a clogging class in Houston so he included some clogging as well as tap movements in his improvised dance.
Enjoys making amateur short films. Some of his work can be found on YouTube under his moniker MuscleT.
Named one of Teen Magazine's "50 Hottest Male Stars" in their Winter 2007 and Winter 2008 issues.
Featured newcomer in PopStar! Magazine's January 2008 issue. He appeared on the cover as "Disney's New Heart Throb" and on a poster inside. Is regularly featured in all of the teen magazines. He was selected for Popstar's "Win A Date" ("with Tony Oller") contest. His very creative video announcement of the winner appeared on Popstar! Magazine's website and MySpace on April 15, 2008. A photo chronicle of Tony and his date's adventure appeared in in the Sept. 2008 issue of Popstar! Magazine.
Featured in Cosmo Girl Magazine's "Hot 100" list, Summer 2008.
Appointed as a 2008 Youth Ambassador for the St. Jude Hospital Power of Youth event benefiting St. Jude Children's Cancer & Research Hospital. One of 60 recognized young performers chosen to be on the committee as the next generation of support for St. Jude. St. Jude has largely been supported by performers since actor Danny Thomas founded the hospital in 1962 as a promise of repayment to St. Jude for answering his desperate prayers for success when he was a struggling young performer. Danny Thomas' mission was that no child and family would ever have to pay for treatment and no one ever has. Today his mission is carried on by his children Marlo, Tony and Terry Thomas.
Earned his letterman jacket for Radio & TV in his senior year of high school. Received this recognition for his work filming and editing school events for BCTV (Bobcat TV, his school's media channel).
As a child he enjoyed putting on creative puppet shows for his friends after seeing a staged production featuring the amazing Carranza puppets of Houston. He had a collection of puppets and a puppet theater crafted by his mother.
2009 graduate of Cy-Fair High School, Houston, Texas. He graduated with honors in Debate. Decided to defer attending college for one year so he could further pursue his entertainment career. He moved to Los Angeles at the end of August 2009 and booked a series regular role 5 weeks later.
Attended John Muir Middle School in Burbank, CA in 7th grade (home of the Mustangs and the motto "Famous for Friendliness") during his first pilot season in L.A. He played alto saxophone in the school band and has remained friends with several of his fellow students. After school he would go on auditions, take acting classes, Hip Hop dance classes at The Millennium, and do his homework at night. He took teen comedy improv classes at The Groundlings on Saturdays. When he was cast in a FOX staged pilot project in Santa Monica, he spent 8 weeks on the project, from stage rehearsals to final theater show, happily juggling his acting duties in his after-school hours.
Spent 6 years commuting between Houston and Los Angeles to build his career but he resided primarily in Houston, Texas in order to complete his public school education which he enjoyed very much. He is an only child and has a close relationship with his parents who like to call him "Buddy". His father is an IT Project Manager for an oil and gas services company. His mother worked part time as a school bus driver during his formative years, allowing her the time and flexibility to help with his education and manage his career. She also served as his clothing stylist.
Personal Quotes
Always dream. Never give up!
Reach for the moon. Even if you miss you'll land among the stars.
Always make sure your heart is bigger than your head.
