Italian father, the poet Luigi Ballerini , and an American mother, the writer Julia Ballerini. He grew up between New York City and Milan, Italy. He attended Wesleyan University and graduated with Honors. In Italy, he discovered a group of ex-pat actors who were forming a theater company. He joined the troupe. The following fall he attended regular acting classes in New York at HB Studios and The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. He later became an observer at The Actor's Studio. After living for several years in New York, Ballerini moved to Los Angeles in 2000 before eventually returning to New York, where he continues his career.