He served in the United States Army, became a roofer, and then a model after being discovered at a party, which led to a French TV commercial for Perrier.
[2] He appeared to have a bright future ahead of him with his acting career after The Idolmaker was released in 1980 - even appearing on American Bandstand,[2] during which Dick Clark praised Land as "an amazing guy" and that "he pulled it off beautifully" regarding his role in the film as singer Tommy Dee (a character modeled after early rock n' roll singer Frankie Avalon).
"[2] While reviewing the film, Roger Ebert pointed out "Land does a good job of playing the movie's first rock singer, a spoiled, egotistical creation renamed 'Tommy Dee'"[4] and The New York Times said "Paul Land makes a wonderfully sullen Tommy Dee and, like Peter Gallagher in Caesare's role, traces the evolution of his character's stardom in meticulous detail.
[6] Despite the early praise (and additional roles in the movies Spring Break and Wild Orchid, the TV movie Private Sessions, and the TV show Riptide), by the early 1990s Land had left acting to start his own successful construction business in New Jersey under his real name, Paul Callandrillo.
[7] [user-generated source] When Spring Break was issued on DVD in 2009, some of the actors recorded a commentary to go along with the film, which was dedicated to Land.