Born and raised in Takoma Park, Maryland and attended St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, D.C., Wesleyan University (BA; Theater) and received MFA from NYU-Tisch School of Graduate Acting. Austin is the son of first African-American President of the American Institute of Architects, Marshall Purnell, FAIA. and grandson of Willie Cook, trumpeter for Duke Ellington. Austin has studied in Tokyo, Japan; Cairo, Egypt; has worked in Delhi and Pune, India; and performed in Zimbabwe and Cuba.Records music under the moniker "Smiley." Show less «