Born in Swan Hill, Victoria in 1963, Mercurio began ballet at nine. By the age of 19, in 1982, he was Principal Dancer with the Sydney Dance Company — a position he held for ten years. During this time, he was commissioned to choreograph six works performed by the company. Mercurio left the Sydney Dance Company to found the Australian Choreographic Ensemble which danced from 1992-1998, where he was the Director, Principal Dancer and Principal Choreographer. Mercurio made his film debut in Strictly Ballroom, receiving an Australian Film Institute Award nomination in 1993. His film credits have since included: Exit to Eden, Back of Beyond, Cosi, Red Ribbon Blues, Welcome to Woop Woop, The Dark Planet, The First 9 1/2 Weeks, Kick and Sydney: A Story of a City. He also starred, wrote, choreographed, produced and directed the short film Spilt Milk. Mercurio made his TV debut in a documentary on his life called Life's Burning Desire in 1992. He starred in the lead role of Joseph in the Emmy award–winning US TV mini-series The Bible: Joseph, in 1995. Today, Mercurio continues to dance and choreograph professionally. He was a movement consultant on the Will Smith movie I, Robot, and has choreographed a USA TV campaign for Coca Cola, the Harry M Miller production of Jesus Christ Superstar and Annie Get Your Gun. In January 2004, he appeared on stage in The Full Monty. Mercurio was also a judge on both the Australian and New Zealand versions of Dancing with the Stars until it was announced on the 12th August 2008 that he had been dropped from the judging panel of the Australian version. He has been named a judge in the 2009 New Zealand series. In 2008, Paul began hosting a series called Mercurio's Menu where he travels Australia cooking in different locations. Mercurio also teaches full time students at Dance World Studios in Melbourne, Australia