Jerry Della Salla (born May 7, 1969) is an American stage and film actor.
Early years
Gerald Anthony Della Salla was born in Livingston, New Jersey, and was raised in East Hanover Township, New Jersey. He studied with acting coach Stella Adler, and is a 1992 graduate of NYU's Tisch Drama Program. After graduation, he began performing in the New York theater scene, and in several Off-Broadway productions. During his early career, he shared the stage with actors such as Edward Norton, Peter Dinklage, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. In May of 1993, in a diner in the heart of Times Square NYC, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior and became a born again Christian. From 1994 to 1995, he served as a Bible study leader at a transitionary house in the Bronx that fostered paroled juveniles, and while serving under the Redeemer Presbyterian Church headed by famed Pastor Tim Keller.
In 2002, he enlisted in the US Army as a response to the attacks on September 11, and deployed to Iraq as a Military Police Sergeant during Operation Iraqi Freedom 3. While on tour with his unit, the 306th Military Police Battalion, he would take part in securing their base against what was then the largest attack on any US installation. Known as the Battle of Abu Ghraib, it was an offensive that lasted over four hours. For his actions in service, Della Salla was awarded the distinguished Combat Action Badge. He continues to serve as a military advisor and consultant for studio and independent film productions in Hollywood and New York.
Theater
Della Salla's first contract job was in 1995, being cast in the supporting role of Villebosse 'the Lover' in an Off-Broadway production of the Jean Anouilh dark comedy The Rehearsal, at the Beckett Theater. The play, headlined by veteran soap opera actress Fiona Hutchison, received a positive review from New York Post theater critic Clive Barnes. In 2001, Della Salla was part of the lead ensemble for the New York Times critically acclaimed Off-Broadway Showcase revival of the Sophie Treadwell classic Machinal, produced at the Ohio Theatre in Greenwich Village. In 2004, his performance as Piero in the Manhattan premiere of Charles L. Mee's drama Big Love was described as "strong" and "debonair" by Ragged Blade online.
Della Salla made his Los Angeles stage debut in 2012, starring in a revival of the British farce What the Butler Saw, as Sergeant Match, at the Odyssey Theater Ensemble. He was also featured in the Pacific Resident Theatre 2013 production of Arthur Miller's classic A View From the Bridge. The company received nominations for Best Revival from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and the LA Weekly. In 2016 Della Salla created the dual roles of Mafia chief Carlos Marcello and movie producer Jack Valenti in the Blank Theatre Company production of The Tragedy of JFK: as told by Wm. Shakespeare. It was produced by company co-founder Noah Wyle, and was a Los Angeles Times Critic's Pick and won several awards from broadwayworld.com.
Television
In the late 1990s Della Salla began to work in television, playing guest spots on soap operas including One Life to Live and The Guiding Light. In 2002, he received the Columbia University School of the Arts Best Actor Award, for his comedic as well dramatic portrayal of small town cop Tom Sykousky, in the award-winning short film Broken. The movie would go on to screen at several film festivals, including the Woodstock Film Festival and Gen Art Film Festival, where it also won best short. The film eventually distributed to Brazilian television, under an agreement with HBO and their Independent division Hypnotic. That same year, he co-starred in the gritty New York drama Mourning Glory, opposite a cast including Bill Sage, Jon Abrahams and Michael Irby. The film won several awards including Best Directorial Debut at the 2001 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, and a supporting actor nomination for Della Salla in the role of Rocco. In 2006 he co-starred in Personal Sergeant, a made-for-TV movie that aired on the Hallmark's Family Channel starring famed character actor Victor Argo. Currently he's the voice of Stripe the Bass, in the Allendale Christian Medias faith based cartoon: Tiny Ocean Tails.