Born in Suffern, New York and raised in New Jersey, Sal Bardo made his acting debut as a piece of chocolate in an elementary school play and further honed his skills at Hunterdon Central Regional High School, where he performed in various plays, musicals, and talent showcases. He was also a hands-on member of the school's radio and television production program, producing, directing, and acting in various TV shows.

Sal took a break from acting to study music at New York University, though he did appear alongside a Claymation cup of spilt milk in his roommate's short film project and was a faithful groupie of NYU's Experimental Theater Wing.

In 2004, Sal enrolled at Herbert Berghof Studio in Manhattan and began acting professionally in films and on stage, including the critically acclaimed off-Broadway premiere of Juan Mayorga's Way to Heaven (Himmelweg).

In 2010, Sal made his directorial debut with the short film Requited, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and for which Sal received the audience award for Best First Time Filmmaker at Reel Affirmations: Washington D.C.'s International LGBT Film Festival. In 2015, Sal's film Pink Moon won the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Big Apple Film Festival. In 2016, his music video for Paper Ring's "Great Escape" was nominated for the Iris Prize, the world's largest LGBT short film award.