William Seymour (actor/writer) was recently featured on National Public Radio’s (NPR) “This American Life,” reading from his high school journal in a piece called “The Grandma Letters,” Seymour has also been a guest in The Groundling's famed Long-form Improv show The Crazy Uncle Joe Show and is a regular performer in the critically acclaimed stage show Mortified in which he reads selections from his angst-ridden, embarrassingly real high school journal.

He is a contributor to the Simon & Schuster/Simon Spotlight book, Mortified: Real People. Real Words. Real Pathetic. created by David Nadelberg to be released in November 2006. His chapter, entitled "The Guiding Liza," covers everything from ditching P.E. class, obsessive compulsive shoplifting, watching soap operas and hanging out with “Aunt Liza” Minnelli.  In “The Grandma Letters” he reads letters he and his Grandma exchanged when they both were miserable, and in “The Butler Did It" he writes about an ill-fated appearance in a savagely reviewed High School play.

Seymour's film credits include a supporting role in Basquiat directed by Julian Schnabel, and a leading role in the independent film Just Friends (directed by Richard Brooks). On television, he has guest starred as “Reverend Dougherty” on the CBS drama Joan of Arcadia and starred in the MTV pilot Crashers.

He has appeared as “Paul Revere” in the Broadway Workshop of Liberty Smith, as “Huck Finn” in the musical Big River, Off Broadway in We The People (Town Hall, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, and National Tour), No Place Like Home (Playwrights Horizons) and Sokrates. His one-person show, What’s What, a nine character take on the mind, toured several universities before opening Off-Broadway.

On the West Coast, he appeared as “The Corporal” and other fools and thieves in The Caucasian Chalk Circle directed by Kate Whoriskey at the South Coast Repertory and played “The Eggman” in the Staged Reading of New York Is Bleeding at South Coast Repertory Theatre. He appeared as the lead “Harry” in the Los Angeles premiere of the musical Lucky Stiff.  He also co-starred as “The Chaplain” in the critically acclaimed production of A Clockwork Orange, directed by Rick Sparks at the Greenway Court Theater.  Seymour has also appeared at the Groundlings Theater in the legendary long-form The Crazy Uncle Joe Show and sketch and improv shows including President's Day Advanced Sale and Advanced Refund.

Seymour co-starred with Christopher Walken in Rockstar Games' first CD-ROM movie Ripper. He provided a multitude of voices for the children's series Princess Bean and has appeared in myriad television commercials.

He has worked with the “new vaudeville” genius Bill Irwin, and starred as “Pantalone” in the San Francisco Mime Troupe's production of Whack 'Em, Smack 'Em, a Commedia dell'Arte directed by Dan Chumley. 

After starting as a volunteer in 1995 teaching theater, William Seymour is currently serving as the Artistic Director of the award-winning LACER Afterschool Programs, a non-profit organization that provides free arts and literacy-based after school activities to middle school youth in Los Angeles.

He was a three year recipient of a California Arts Council Artist in Residency Grant that resulted in the creation of three new plays: Whack 'Em, Smack 'Em, Young Americans, and Rock, Paper, Scissors which he co-wrote, produced and directed at the Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles. He was also the 1996 recipient of a Streisand Foundation Grant, the 1999 recipient of the Hollywood Arts Council’s Charlie Award, and received the Youth Art Award from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department in 1996 and 1999.

His work with the LACER Afterschool Programs was awarded the Coming Up Taller Award from The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, presented by First Lady Barbara Bush at a White House ceremony in Washington D.C. in 2003.

Seymour is currently writing a full-length book and one-person show based on his angst-ridden high school journals.  He is a graduate of the New School University/American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) as well as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York.  He also studied at The Groundlings, lives in Los Angeles, and is a member of SAG, AFTRA and Actor’s Equity.

Resume: Will Seymour (PDF)