The dashing actor rose from theatre to TV and vertical dramas, tackling complex roles and sharing surprising insights on the future of digital storytelling.
Nick Ritacco, known for his award-winning performance in “Crush on the Unwanted Princess,” has steadily built a career across theater, television, and the fast-growing world of vertical dramas.
In a May 2025 Vertical Drama Love interview with host Jen Cooper, he shared how his career began, what he’s learned working in mobile-first digital series, and what he hopes to do next.
Nick Ritacco’s Acting Journey: From Chicago to the Stage and Screen
Ritacco grew up in Chicago with early interests in sports and international affairs. His plans changed unexpectedly after a high school injury led him to audition for the school musical. That experience opened a new path.
“So even whilst I was a complete mess, the show just was electric and I fell in love with that feeling,” Ritacco said, recalling his first time on stage.
He went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2013. He then trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and Stonestreet Studios in New York, and the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles.
After graduating, the aspiring writer and director remained in New York. There, he performed in theater and co-founded a Shakespeare company that staged full productions and community readings.
Early screen work followed, including appearances on “Homeland” and “Law & Order: SVU.” In 2020, Ritacco moved to Los Angeles just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought most productions to a halt. He described the past years as “dark” and “slow” for him.
Despite the challenges, he stayed in L.A. and continued working, eventually landing roles in Lifetime films and, later, in vertical dramas.
His Vertical Drama Roles: Working in a Fast-Growing Digital Format
Ritacco’s first vertical drama was “Billionaire CEO Obsession,” filmed in 2023 after a competitive four-round audition process. At the time, vertical dramas — short-form, mobile-first series shot in 9:16 format — were still finding their footing. Production timelines were longer, and the format was evolving quickly.
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Since then, Ritacco has played a variety of characters in over a dozen series, including mafia bosses, supernatural figures, and complex romantic leads. He said he’s acted in nearly ten werewolf-themed shows alone.
Though the genre often leans into tropes, Ritacco sees room for emotional nuance. “But with the mafia roles, I find at the end of the day, you almost are always trying to protect everybody, keep everybody safe. And I was like, ‘That I can really get behind.’ I don’t have to judge it. I can just fly into it and sort of like, let it rip,” he recounted.
In 2024, his performance as M in “Crush on the Unwanted Princess” earned him Best Villain at the Vertical Drama Love Fan Awards. The character stood out for its grounded, strategic presence.
Other standout roles include “Mr. Right and Miss Wrong,” where Ritacco played a character who had lost his vision roughly a year before the events of the story. He approached the role by leaning into the confusion and awkwardness someone in that situation might experience.
Ritacco said it was one of the most impactful roles he’s taken on in the vertical format, in part because of the volume and emotional weight of the feedback he received.
“So many people reached out and they felt very seen and felt like I had done an admirable job at sort of portraying that, which really hit home in my heart,” he shared.
In “Irresistible Love with My Brother-in-Law,” he played a grieving relative navigating a second chance at love, including moments of softer emotion and lines in Italian. Another role in “LAPD: Open Your Heart” featured a high-stakes romantic storyline.
One key emotional scene was filmed under intense time pressure. “It was really tough, and so those are the moments where I’m like, this could have been a really special moment,” Ritacco said.
What’s Next for Nick Ritacco: New Roles and Future Goals
At the time of the interview, Ritacco had two vertical dramas in post-production. One was a mafia romance, and the other was a more cinematic series directed by Dylan Vox for Sereal +, created to push the limits of the vertical format.
He said he hoped to expand into long-form, ensemble-driven dramas. He is also interested in playing a good-hearted detective who takes down bad guys, which he described as his “dream role.”
Alongside his acting goals, Ritacco shared thoughts on how the vertical drama genre itself could grow. He also emphasized the need for more clarity and care in romantic storytelling.
“I find us, actors, were constantly advocating for it on set. Like, how do we tell this story in a way that like still looks the way that you wanted to, but it’s full of consent because I think, I mean, I think consent is sexy. I think consent is way more interesting than these situations where lines are blurred, especially in this medium, which is so visual. Like I think it’s really important to capture that,” he explained.
Ritacco observed a clear shift in how the industry viewed vertical dramas. Studios and platforms that once overlooked the format were starting to take it seriously. “So yeah, there’s a huge responsibility that we have, and I hope everybody realizes that,” he said.
As he looked to the future of the genre, Ritacco expressed hope that the industry would prioritize stronger storytelling and more inclusive narratives. “Higher quality stories and productions. No more stories involving violence against women. More diverse stories…” he said.
