Biography

Russell James Terlecki grew up in Hamilton Township, a suburb of Trenton, New Jersey. His early focus was athletics, soccer and wrestling. He still holds the record for most wrestling wins in a career at Nottingham High, and he played on the All-State Soccer Team. In College, he earned a Bachelor's degree, and still holds the record for third most assists in school soccer history. He was also an NCAA All-American Wrestler.

Russell's first job was as a stockbroker on Wall Street. He excelled for eight years, but as his bank account and Rolodex grew, Russell became disenchanted with the market. When he got the chance to raise funds for a feature film, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, he jumped. Although the film was never shot, it was this experience, and the contacts he made, that pushed Russ to leave Wall Street, and pursue his newfound passion for acting and filmmaking.

While taking acting classes, Russ supported himself by throwing parties in New York's nightlife scene. Soon his parties were the place to be, freeing his days for the hard-work necessary to hone his acting skills. Luckily, just as he became disenchanted with the long hours of party promotion, he earned his first break, a major supporting role in a feature film, starring members of the "Actor's Studio."

Aware of the difficult nature of his new business, Russell looked to leverage his finance experience in filmmaking. Thus, he formed Izar Productions, partnering with Begonya Plaza. Followed quickly by a partnership in an actor's management company, now renamed Tribeca Artist Group. In addition, he is the New York office for a production company called SER International. SER International is a full service film and video production company with experience in motion picture, music video, radio and television or commercial production. He also has restaurant interests; he is a partner in Movida, an exciting boutique restaurant/lounge in Manhattan's West Village. Appropriately, Russell's role will be as head of events.

Now, when Russell's phone rings he doesn't know whether it's a request for his skills as an actor, producer, casting agent, event coordinator, or his Mother, Lois - who calls once a day, now that he put her on a schedule. Family is very important to Russell and he is close to his two sisters, Lisa and Felicia, his Father, Robert, who played baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies. His family must wonder where he gets the courage to lead his maverick lifestyle, but for Russell it all makes sense, since his real passion is film.

Some of Russell's credits include: Pre-Production Feature Film Alphabet

Currently, he is developing a film fund for his future projects and has his own production company called Wideye Creative. For Russell, inspiration comes from his belief that film is the highest form of self-expression, and he diligently follows his motto, "find your own truths in life.", you can see him every night on the Late Night with Jay Leno title sequence.
- IMDb mini biography by: David Marston