Giancarlo Giannini
From Al Pacino’s dubber and a James Bond villain (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace) to musical performer: Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini was honorary guest at the 67th edition of the Locarno Film Festival 2014. Looking back at an eclectic career highlighting 142 oeuvres, an Oscar nomination in 1977 for his role in Pasqualino Settebellezze directed by Lina Wertmüller and a Cannes prize for best actor 1973 for his role in Film d’amore e d’anarchia, ovvero ‘stamattina alle 10 in via dei Fiori nella nota casa di tolleranza… (Love and Anarchy), Giancarlo is right to say he likes everything to do with acting.
Giancarlo, you received the Excellence Award from Moët Chandon last night. Your son is pursuing a similar career as you now – how do you feel the industry has changed?
I like to do everything to do with acting: I started in theatre attending a school to become a stage actor and for 13 years, that’s what I did. I was in all sorts of plays and dramas – Shakespeare as well as many other playwrights. Then I decided to start a cinema career, which I’ve been doing for a long time considering that I was 19 when I started and now I’m 72. I spent a lot of time in filmmaking, trying to always choose different characters, and I’ve also been given the opportunity to act in different languages. Maybe I was lucky – maybe I also wasn’t that bad an actor – but I certainly had a very interesting career. Recently, I was in London shooting an advertisement together with Jude Law directed by Ridley Scott for Johnnie Walker, which is going to be presented at the Venice Film Festival, which is no longer just a film festival; they now also present advertisements. The campaign was shot in London and the Caribbean and has already got seven million hits.
Your career has spanned almost a lifetime – what kind of advice would you give young, aspiring actors?
In Italy I would advise anyone who wants to become an actor to change their mind and choose a different job because nobody helps you there in the way it would happen in Spain, the UK or Germany. I teach aspiring actors at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and every year, out of 700 students we choose seven men and seven women, but I immediately warn them to give up and change their mind. In Italy, they need luck, a lot of luck.
Tea or coffee?
I drink a lot of coffee; only sometimes tea. I was in China recently and decided to buy compressed tea, which is like cow dung but made with roots. I wanted to buy 74 pieces but found they were 1000-1200 Yuan each. So I just got the one. They said, “You can give it to your children; it’s such a rare blend of tea.” That was my last tea experience. By the way, I wouldn’t drink it at 5pm like the British, but in the evening when I do. Why are you asking this question?
In every issue of DASH Magazine, we have a question related to gastronomy and I heard you used to be fond of cooking.
I’m the King of Pasta. I’d sometimes cook at 5 am after getting home. I’d really feel like having risotto, which takes about 20 minutes to make. And then at 5 or 6am I’d eat my risotto with pleasure.
Is that like meditation for you?
It’s more freedom.
What has been the most beautiful moment in your career?
The most beautiful woman? (laughs)
Maybe the most beautiful moment in your career WAS a woman.
Luckily, God created women, but that’s a different story. To give you a philosophical answer to your question: I don’t think there really is a most beautiful moment. The most beautiful moment is normally what you experience in the present – and you hope the next day it will happen again. It depends on the knowledge you have. Another important aspect is whether or not you believe in something, if you have faith. If you do, you’re able to accept everything and believe that nothing bad can happen to you because you focus on the positive side. The most important thing is to have lived beautiful moments and to believe that they can happen again.
Grazie mille.
Interview: NoéMie Schwaller
