The son of an Italian-born father and an American mother, Christopher Panzera was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. In the sixth grade he landed a significant role as his class spent weeks preparing some of Shakespeare's most celebrated scenes. The laughs and adulation he received on the night of the performance solidified his desire to evoke a wide range of emotions from his audience. This ambition led him to study theater at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After graduating he spent years traveling throughout the United States and Europe while appearing in commercials and playing guitar in the rock band The Dirty Dirty. He then moved to Los Angeles and studied for three years under Robyn Cohen, Jeff Goldblum, and Tony Savant at Playhouse West School and Repertory Theater, the west coast division of Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City.
