Background
Bella was born in Brooklyn, New New York
Bella was born in Brooklyn, New New York
He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he studied acting with Stella Adler, David Mamet and William H. Macy.
Bella has also worked on over 100 plays as an actor, director, producer and writer He is a co-author of Training of the American Actor and he wrote the stage adaptation of the film Stand and Deliver. When he was 23 years old, Bella became an New York University adjunct faculty member.
By the time he was 25, he was teaching Master Classes around the world, on subjects such as directing, script analysis, performance technique, on-camera acting and audition skills.
Former acting students include: Jessica Alba, Rose Byrne, Heather Burns, Justin Chatwin, Abbie Cornish, Peter Facinelli, Matthew Fox, Bryan Greenberg, Diane Neal, Jason Ritter and Skeet Ulrich. Bella became one of the founding members the Atlantic Company, where he served as the Managing Director, Associate Artistic Director and Executive Director of the Atlantic Acting School.
His experience producing and directing numerous Office-Broadway plays ultimately led him to try his hand at filmmaking. In 1996, Bella produced and directed the independent film Colin Fitz Lives!.
lieutenant was shot on 35mm in New York City.
The budget was $150,000 and the film was shot in 14 days. lieutenant had its World Premiere in Dramatic Competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Bella has also produced, written and directed the independent features Revengers, Incorporated. and Night Windows, as well as the short film Road Kill: A Day in the Life of Henry David Road.
Bella has worked as an Alternative Dispute Resolution Director with numerous actors, including: Chevy Chase, Judi Dench, Jimmy Fallon, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Hader, Freddie Highmore, Harvey Keitel, William H. Macy, Catherine O’Hara, Christina Ricci and Jon Stewart.
Bella also worked as a Post Production Supervisor for various film studios, including DreamWorks Pictures. His credits include: Delivery Manitoba, Lincoln, War Horse, Real Steel, The Help and I Am Number Four.
He is currently working as a television Writer on shows such as Castle and The Following. Born in Brooklyn, Bella currently resides in Los Angeles, California.