Chris Collet was born in New York and during his teens he started to break into showbiz and got himself an agent. His first gig in a film was an independent horror/mystery/slasher film called Sleepaway Camp (1983), in which he played the role of Paul. He remained in touch with his co-star from the film, Jonathan Tiersten, and they auditioned for shows together but went through tons of rejections. Eventually, he landed the role of Neil Oxley in a CBS after-school special called CBS Schoolbreak Special: Welcome Home, Jellybean (1984), and from there he landed other numerous roles in TV and film, such as Jake Livingston in Firstborn (1984), which starred Teri Garr and Peter Weller; Richard Jahnke Jr. in Right to Kill? (1985); Paul Stephens in The Manhattan Project (1986), starring John Lithgow; and Albert Kaussner in a mini-series by Stephen King called The Langoliers (1995). His television appearances include guest roles in The Hitchhiker (1983), The Equalizer (1985), L.A. Law (1986), and MacGyver (1985). Then he decided to pursue the craft of acting on stage by starring in several Broadway productions.