After graduating from Wesleyan University, in Connecticut, Philip Levien spent twenty years acting on stage and appearing in over 100 films and television shows. He then retired from Hollywood for twenty years and worked as a high school teacher in Santa Barbara, CA. During this time, teaching English and Theatre Arts at a public high school, he directed classic plays with English learners, at-risk youth, and special ed students, being recognized as SB County Distinguished Educator, Carnegie Fellow, SCWriP Fellow, and the ADL's Educator honoree. In June of 2014, he retired from his full time teaching position to return to acting.