Texas Monthly
Born and raised in the Texas capital, multihyphenate actor-artist-skateboarder Austin Amelio has been lucky enough to see his television and film career blossom in his hometown.
“I’ve barely stepped foot in L.A.,” says the 36-year-old, which is fortunate, seeing as his “favorite place to create in the world is Texas.”
Amelio was a professional skateboarder and visual artist living in Austin when he booked his first big acting gig with fellow Texan Richard Linklater in the 2016 film Everybody Wants Some!!, a follow-up of sorts to the director’s beloved standout Dazed and Confused. Thanks in part to his role in the film, where he appeared alongside fellow Austinite Glen Powell for the first time, Amelio followed that success with a prime spot in the zombie thriller series The Walking Dead and its spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead.
Despite their global appeal, those series were shot right in the heart of Central Texas, which was ultra convenient for a hometown boy made good. “That was sort of like a miracle that that happened,” says Amelio. “I got to go to work and come back home on the same day.”