Burns played in bands called Sudden Impact US, Nine Pound Truck, and the Ivys (which he has called a "Morrissey rip-off band") while in high school and college. He studied theatre under an acting scholarship at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley. He dropped out of school and moved to New York City to then become a professional actor. He lived in a basement apartment near Times Square, finding his first success as a voice-over artist for ads and making appearances on "" and "Law & Order".