Was in the original Broadway cast of "The Lion King" playing Timon. Won the Theatre World award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, as well as a Drama Desk nomination.
(December 2000-2001) Co-Starred on Broadway in "The Music Man" as Marcellus Washburn.
His father's ancestry is Russian Jewish and his mother's is Italian. Max's birth name is Deitch, though he professionally has long used his mother's maiden name, Casella.
Although he often plays New Yorkers, he actually grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents are from New York and they taught him to speak with a New York accent. He moved to New York after high school and has lived there for most of his life.