Soon after graduating from the Actors' Studio Drama School, Austin co-created and performed in an improv and sketch comedy show called "Mmm... Comedy" that ran for 7 months in New York.
Austin is a lifetime member of the Actor's Studio, New York. There he has had the privilege to work with the likes of Al Pacino, Faye Dunaway, and Estelle Parsons, and under the tutelege of Ellen Burstyn, Harvey Keitel, Arthur Penn, and Lee Grant.
During his time spent struggling to find work as an actor, Austin worked variously as a bartender, a bouncer, a busboy, a cater-waiter, and a substitute teacher to make a living; whilst at the same time taking classes to hone his audition skills.