Biography
William "Will" Sasso (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the American sketch comedy series MADtv, spending five seasons on the show.
Sasso was born in Ladner, British Columbia, Canada, to an Italian Canadian family (originally from Gubbio). He graduated from Delta Secondary School in Delta, British Columbia in 1993. He credits his determination to become an actor and his respect for comedy to an "unhealthy addiction to...television". He is an avid fan of the Vancouver Canucks.
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At the age of 15 he landed his first agent and quickly began booking roles in television and film. Before moving from Vancouver to Los Angeles, Sasso starred for five seasons as quirky teen `Derek Wakaluk' on the award-winning Canadian dramatic series Madison. Official mini-biographies claim that this experience ..."[allowed] him to hone his acting and improvisational skills... [and provided] him with enough money to buy a television of his own."
In 1996, he landed a role as Pete the orderly in Doctor Who: The TV Movie, starring Paul McGann, Eric Roberts and Daphne Ashbrook. This movie aired on FOX, which also broadcast MADtv.
By the end of its second season (1996-1997), MADtv experienced its first big cast turnover. Three of the show's repertory performers (Bryan Callen, Orlando Jones and Artie Lange) left the cast. As a result, in 1997, casting executives at FOX had to cast replacements for the show. Sasso (along with Aries Spears) was selected to join the MADtv third season cast as a repertory performer.
Sasso is known for quirky characters such as Eracist member Hugh, pop singer Michael McCloud, accident prone handiman Paul Timberman, Talkin' American host Rui Peranio, Mexican luchador Señor Bag of Crap, and Will on Will's Little Sister.
Sasso also does many celebrity impersonations, including impersonations of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Farley, Steven Seagal, Bill Clinton, Drew Carey, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Fred Durst, George W. Bush, James Gandolfini (as himself and Tony Soprano), James Lipton, Jesse Ventura, Kenny Rogers, Lance Bass, Louie Anderson, Randy Newman, Richard Simmons, Robert De Niro, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Stone Cold Steve Austin, William Frawley (as Fred Mertz from I Love Lucy), and William Shatner (as himself and as James T. Kirk).
In 2002, Sasso left MADtv to focus on new projects.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.