Ari was born in a suburb of Philadelphia to an artist mother and businessman father. He became interested in acting by the age of six, and by the age of ten joined a film/acting group called "Cynekid". After several filmmaking projects of his own, Ari auditioned for and got a lead role in Bushwhacked (1995) with Daniel Stern. He then got the part of Bette Midler's son in The First Wives Club (1996). Ari began attending Abington Friends High School in Philadelphia and decided to take a break from professional acting when the schedule conflicted with his high school drama career. He attended CalArts program in California in 1999 and Bennington College's July Program in 2000. He also entered Simon's Rock College as a Freshman.