CSI: crime scene investigation

“Greg Sanders” (Eric Szmanda)

Since picking up his first amateur chemistry kit when he was seven, Greg Sanders has wanted to be a scientist. Even though he was told that science was supposed to be a hobby of the pasty-faced and romantically-challenged, that did not dissuade him from joining the Science Club in high school, nor from majoring in Chemistry in college. He had always balanced lab work with athletics; studying with dating; and computer work with Playstation. Addicted to the pursuit of knowledge, he has been on a quest to learn all he can about the previous scientific breakthroughs of the past centuries. And discovering and naming a brand-new theory or element after himself wouldn't hurt, either.

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Born in Milwaukee and raised in the small suburban town of Mukwonago, Szmanda’s love for acting began at an early age.  Throughout high school, he was very active in local theatre. At the age of 17, he toured Russia and the Ukraine in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

 Szmanda moved to Los Angeles and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1996. While he studied acting, Szmanda worked as a marketing intern for the record label BMG, beginning an ongoing love affair with music. After school, he accepted a position with BMG as an Alternative Music Product Development Coordinator, and produced a compilation CD entitled Mojave. Even while he was auditioning for acting jobs, he continued to work in the music industry, until he decided to commit solely to his acting career.                                                                                          

One year later, Szmanda appeared in the L.A. Odyssey Theatre’s world premiere of Black Box.  His first regular television role came for the USA Network in the series The Net, in which he played Jacob Resh. After the show was canceled, Szmanda appeared in a pilot, and several recurring and guest-starring roles in television.  He also landed the lead in the independent film True Vinyl, and continued to appear on stage in various productions, including the Stages Theatre world premiere of The Bullfight, in which he played a passionate matador. Most recently, Eric appeared in director Roger Avery’shighly anticipated film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel Rules of Attraction.

Szmanda remains interested in music, and started his production company – doop – with the goal of fusing music and acting.  Recently, he was tapped to be music supervisor of the Irwin Winkler film Life is a House. When he isn’t acting or producing, he is a volunteer in the Big Brothers program.