A third-generation stage actor, Mercer caught the acting bug early—literally at age six, when he performed with his father's community theater group, The Kensington-Garrett Players in Maryland. But it wasn't until his senior year of high school, playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, that he actually committed to acting as a career.
After working with touring companies and theaters around Washington D.C., he landed at Adelphi University in 1980 and won the Alexander-Barnes Acting Competition, which secured him a full scholarship for all four years. Even as a freshman he was performing on the Senior Mainstage, tackling everything from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Shakespeare, mime, contemporary comedy, and cabaret.
The real turning point came when he trained for three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under instructors like Cicely Berry and Patsy Rodenberg. He got to perform in the British premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass—conducted by Bernstein himself. While in Britain, Mercer racked up serious credentials: he performed with the RSC proper, played Mercutio at the Arundel Festival, toured Europe with an Arts Council production, and even directed Insignificance for the Edinburgh Festival. He also led an English cast through the premiere of Yuri Trifonov's The Exchange.
Back in the States, Mercer shifted into teaching acting, improvisation, stage combat, and verse work. His wife Paula Tiso helped bring him to California, where he joined SAG and carved out a solid voice-over career. He's also part of a comedy troupe that performs regularly around Los Angeles. His feature-film debut was Wrestling with God.
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