Biography

Austin Ku was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, to parents of primarily Chinese descent (due to an orphaned grandmother, Austin's heritage is 1/4 unknown—most likely some European/Caucasian and/or Japanese).

Austin began his performing career at the age of 6 with the violin, an instrument he still enjoys playing today at a high level of skill.  Growing up, Austin also dabbled in piano and viola before he joined drama and choir classes in high school (following the footsteps of his older brother, who played piano and was in show choir).  By graduation, Austin was focused on music and theatre--he was a member of his high school's Honors Acting Studio, Honors Choir (and All-State Choir Selectee) and Honors Orchestra (also All-State Orchestra Selectee); he was also academically in the top 5 of his class.  

The summer before his senior year, Austin had the opportunity to tour the United States and Asia with the North American Elite Taiwanese Youth Chamber Orchestra as a violist.  Based on the recommendations of older college students he befriended in the orchestra, Austin decided to attend college at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he majored in Vocal (Opera) Performance (and incidentally also served as concertmaster of the University's Campanile Orchestra); he also took a second major in Asian Studies (with a focus on traditional Chinese culture), which he graduated with cum laude.  

While at Rice, Austin performed continually in University musicals and operas, as well as beginning to foray to some of the local theatre companies; while at Rice he received a nomination (as Berger in Hair) and later a win (as the Emcee in Cabaret) in the "Actor in a Musical" category of the Rice University Thresher's "Sammy" Awards (click the Performances page to see photos and reviews).  During his college years, Austin also attended the prestigious Aspen Music Festival and School as a summer vocal artist (where he ended up also playing violin and viola in the top-level Festival Orchestra), and the Seagle Music Colony (a summer young artist program in upstate New York for opera and musical theater).  Austin also began working in Houston as a model with the Neal Hamil Agency, and as a commercial actor with Pastorini-Bosby Talent.

Following graduation, Austin's parents urged him to do something practical and get a "back-up," so Austin attended law school at UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall).  However, Austin was unable to resist the call of performing, and even while in law school he was performing again in on-campus and then off-campus Bay Area productions.  He also obtained representation with San Francisco's Tonry Talent, and began doing commercial and modeling work again. 

After graduating from law school, Austin moved to San Francisco and began working as a legal intern at a prestigious Bay Area entertainment company, while at the same time also beginning his professional acting career with a series of roles at 42nd Street Moon.  By the end of that year however, performing won out once and for all, and Austin parted ways with his post-graduation law job.

Austin spent the next few years successfully making a living as a full-time professional actor/performer (primarily in the Bay Area), but his sights are now set on New York City and Broadway—Austin recently moved to Boston to obtain his master's in musical theatre at the prestigious Boston Conservatory of Music, one of the top musical theatre training schools in the country, and isn’t looking back!

Austin is very proud to have attained membership in all three of the principal actors' unions: Actors' Equity Association (the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States), AFTRA (the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and SAG (the Screen Actors' Guild).