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TV Hitman is an Artist at Heart
By Winnie Bonelli
North Jersey Community Newspapers -
March 1, 2000
Castelluccio draws on
experience to win role on ‘The Sopranos’
(Click for larger image)
Tony Soprano recently traveled to Italy
to conduct some business, and didn’t come home empty handed. If Uncle Junior
and Richie Aprile had any immediate plans to challenge Tony’s authority, they
had better think twice, for there is a new lieutenant in town. His name is Furio.
Fans of HBO’s hit series, "The
Sopranos" got their first look at Furio during the Feb. 6 European
excursion episode, but his character didn’t really show his true colors until
he arrived on Tony’s home turf. Flexing his muscles and authority, Furio
pulverized the face of a deadbeat massage parlor proprietor, while barely
working up a sweat. There’s no doubt that Tony will have similar assignments
for Furio in the coming weeks.
HBO made a conscious effort to keep
Furio’s character and true identity under wraps until a proper public
introduction could be made. Yet the excitement had already begun building on 21st
Avenue in Paterson. That’s the neighborhood real-life actor Federico
Castelluccio’s family calls home, since they arrived from Naples in 1968.
Even so, Castelluccio’s sudden small
screen notoriety may have taken some neighbors by surprise. The old timers knew
him as "the artist," a guy who could capture human features on canvas
with such accuracy that some swore it was uncanny.
He was the kid, who started out in The
Paterson News’ art department, but didn’t hang around for long. His talent
earned him a free ride at Manhattan’s prestigious School of Visual Arts, where
he graduated with a BFA degree.
Managing to leap over that struggling
artist bind most painters find themselves in, Castelluccio already had an
impressive portfolio, thanks to a full time position at PBS television during
his collegiate days. In fact, "lucrative" was the word Castelluccio
used to describe his artistic career. Price tags of $65,000 for a single
painting weren’t out of the ordinary. Attracting patrons from both sides of
the Atlantic, his work hangs in many private and public collections, including
Warner Lambert Industries, Gillette Corporation, Schering-Plough Corporation,
and Sotheby’s in Manhattan.
"I’m a painter. I have been from
the moment I was born," insists Castelluccio. There’s no question,
painting has been and will remain his life-long passion. Yet painters normally
don’t get mobbed when they visit the Willowbrook Mall, or have truck drivers
yelling their name.
Then again, Castelluccio isn’t hard
to spot. Tall, lanky and handsome, though not in the traditional leading man
mode, Castelluccio forges a commanding presence. When he enters the room, eyes
instinctively dart in his direction.
"Creativity doesn’t just take
only one shape or form. I knew I always had something to offer. When you are out
on the stage, it’s the idea of living in the moment. You’re like a tightrope
walker. I started in this little theatrical circle about 12-13 years ago, doing
regional work like ‘A View from the Bridge,’ and Shakespeare off-Broadway. I
also had some day player work on soaps like "As the World Turns," just
to get my feet wet. It was all straight acting, no singing. Most times I was
lucky to even get paid carfare," he explained.
Castelluccio was lucky enough, however,
to land a part in a big screen feature titled "Eighteen Shades of
Dust," co-starring Danny Aiello and William Forsythe, and even his
paintings, seen on camera, earned a credit. Yet flipping the channel selector
one day, he caught an HBO promotional ad for a new series called "The
Sopranos."
"I was hooked from that first
promo. I’d never had that feeling before. I couldn’t wait for it to come
on," admitted Castelluccio.
After struggling all those years, here
was a chance to "sink my teeth into something." He told his agent,
George Walker, he’d do anything to be on the show. Yes, even cut his hair.
Fortunately, it never came to that.
Audition day came. Aida Turturro, who
plays Tony’s sister, warned him he was facing a tough room. "They don’t
hand you a script, just the one scene. They are very secretive. I felt I knew
what the character was about. It’s not exactly method acting, but I’m a keen
observer. I take obscure incidents from the past, and apply emotional recall and
mediation or imagining to figure out what he would do," he explained.
Citing a typical example, Castelluccio
can still vividly recall the day he was "mugged." "I was 10 and I
took my new bike out. Seven boys tried to take it away from me. They kept
hitting me, but I kept holding on to the bike until I got in from the pharmacy.
The druggist saw what was happening and came running out. Actually, I knew that
if I came home without that bike, I faced something even worse," he
laughed.
"I was a little chubby as a kid
and maybe a little bigger than most, but I was never cantankerous and I didn’t
go looking for trouble. After that incident, I knew I had to build up my body
and started learning karate."
Although Castelluccio was aware that
creator David Chase expected him to deliver the lines as written, the actor
decided to add some flourishes all his own, tossing in some Neapolitan words for
authenticity. Suddenly, the energy in the room shifted. Two more auditions would
follow, but Castelluccio knew in his heart, the part was his.
Castelluccio just had to warn his mom
about the violence, and the fact that he was just doing what the script
required. As he quickly interjected, "See, I’m nothing like Furio in real
life. That’s not even a real accent."
There was one perk Castelluccio couldn’t
have foreseen. "I’ve always had this secret dream about one day going
back to my home town of Naples. I wanted to go back in a film and there I was.
Cousins from all over, including Rome, came up and stayed all night," the
35-year old actor said.
While American viewers tend to think of
"The Sopranos" as local phenomena, Castelluccio found out differently
when he was trekking through the ruins of Pompeii, with James Gandolfini, and
Tony Sirico. Suddenly, a greeting rang out, "Yo, we love you in
London." It’s certain that residents of Italy will be repeating those
same sentiments for "The Sopranos" begins airing there shortly. |
