Damn. Bio's are hard.
My name is Keith Vartanian. To be honest, I kind of don't like my first name. OK, I can't stand my first name. We can get that out of the way first. It's not so much my first name, really, as it is the way the sounds of the two flow together. KeiTH Vartanian? TH-V? Come on, Mom and Dad. Gifted me with a great actor last name and a tongue twister to pair.
I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Well, in a quiet suburb, but you'd have no idea where Braintree is, so we all just say Boston. Being from the City of Champions, my life naturally molded around whatever season it was, because that dictated the after school activity - almost always a sport. I was big into baseball, soccer, basketball, and taekwondo, all from a pretty young age. I picked up gymnastics in high school, got my second degree black belt around that time, and even dabbled in volleyball.
Along with all of this, I was as musical as anyone, picking
up singing, guitar, and violin, as well as joining the school musicals starting in middle school. I was the Troy Bolton of Braintree, Massachusetts, but take the suave popularity angle and throw that tomato at the wall.
Upon graduating from high school, I moved to NYC to pursue my dream of acting. I had no idea what I was doing and pretty much moved here on a whim for college, trusting in my heart that this career would be better than the one that I could've gotten if I had stuck with a Forensic Science degree from Boston University. Sorry, Mom and Dad (and future wife and children). I attended Pace University for a BFA in Acting, where I was thrust into near-professional level performing and a new city with no familiar faces. Such is the story of many New Yorkers.
Much to my surprise, I had success in terms of casting at Pace. I was involved in 7 shows over 3 years, electing to not audition for any pieces my senior year to focus more on working and paying off the scrumptious loan that would be coming my way.
After graduating from Pace, I realized that this life and career is incredibly hard to do when the rest of one's life is dictated by the misery of your table of tourists at your restaurant job. I found a job teaching Mixed Martial Arts, and currently am also training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, where I hold the rank of Blue Belt. I work full time now teaching martial arts to kids with cancer, as part of the amazing non-profit organization Kids Kicking Cancer. These two amazing jobs allow me to pursue acting to the utmost degree, and I'm very excited for the future. Thanks for checking out my page!
