Paul Hipp

Paul Hipp (born July 16, 1963) is an American actor, singer, songwriter and filmmaker. Early life Paul Hipp was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Warminster. He left Pennsylvania for New York City immediately after high school, starting his career playing guitar and singing for tips on the streets of Greenwich Village while studying acting with acting coach Mira Rostova and at HB Studio with William Hickey. Career Hipp found employment as a musician at various clubs. At the same time, he started landing roles on TV shows and commercials. He made his New York stage debut in the off-Broadway show Rockabilly Road at the West Bank Theater. New York filmmaker Abel Ferrara saw one of Hipp's shows and asked him to audition for the role of Nino Valacci in his upcoming film China Girl. Hipp landed the role, and a decades-long collaboration began as he became a mainstay in Ferrara's core group of actors that includes Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Willem Dafoe. During the filming of China Girl, Hipp wrote his first published song, “Midnight For You”, used as the film's end credit theme song.