Intervista a Paolo Salvadeo, attore attivo nell'horror indipendente italiano. Rivolgiamo qualche domanda a questo valido caratterista che ultimamente si è fatto apprezzare nei più recenti film di Paolo Del Fiol.
L: Hi Paolo, give a brief introduction of yourself.
P: Hi guys, I'm an actor who for years did uninteresting work from a personal point of view (what passed for the convent, the important thing was to work), since a few years instead I've been doing only films that give me satisfaction, such as horror and action!
L: Com'è nata la tua passione per il cinema e, in particolare, per la recitazione?
P: Fin da piccolo mi piaceva fare qualche sketch insieme agli amici, e tutti mi ripetevano : "Ma che bravo che sei, da grande farai l’attore!", e alla fine mi sono convinto di essere bravo davvero. Così mi sono iscritto in una scuola di recitazione, ma lì mi sono reso conto che non ero bravo per niente, ero l’ultimo arrivato in tutti i sensi! Però mi piaceva, così ho studiato e la scuola mi ha dato le basi. Pian piano ho capito che mi sarebbe piaciuto guadagnarmi la pagnotta recitando, cosa però difficilissima.
L: The first movie you were in?
P: The first time in front of a camera was for a TV show, a very boring drama about the Quarto Oggiaro neighborhood of Milan. I played the young boss of the neighborhood. I remember that my very first line was to be said under my breath, I had the microphone under my sweater, but for me coming from the theater it was unthinkable to act under my breath, so I repeated a thousand claps continuing undaunted to say the line in a big voice making the director freak out. In the end they dubbed me.
L: Ti ho visto per la prima volta in Connections di Daniele Misischia e Paolo Del Fiol (film composto da due episodi, "Hobo" e "Kokeshi"), esattamente nel secondo mediometraggio di Paolo Del Fiol... Puoi parlarci del personaggio che interpreti?
P: My character is the Man of the Cross. He is called that because he bears a cross-shaped scar on his chest caused by his sister with a knife when he was a child. His sister is the serial killer protagonist of Kokeshi (played by Silvia Sorrentino). The Man of the Cross kidnaps young girls for her to allow her to satisfy his sadistic pleasures. My character is mentally ill, so it was fun to add some tics and give him a little bit of an out-of-the-box feel.
L: What do you think of this film and also the splatter sequences you are involved in?
P: "Kokeshi", a differenza di tanti film horror indipendenti, ha una bella trama, che si sviluppa soprattutto nella parte finale. Onore a Paolo Del Fiol che ha avuto questa idea.
The scene where I splattered myself was fun to shoot, Davide Pesca didn't skimp on the fake blood, to the point that when I took out my contact lenses at home they were all red because the blood had gone there too!
L: The biggest difficulties (if any) you encountered in this medium-length film?
P: Fortunately, no difficulties, except perhaps the polar cold of the basements we shot in and us actors being half-naked!
L: An overall assessment of Connections. Who would you recommend it to?
P: Connections was a very interesting idea (in fact, now others have also taken a cue and come up with collective films with episodes shot by different directors), it is inspired by grindhouse theaters where extreme films of various genres, horror, action, erotic, etc., were shown in succession.
Indeed Connections racchiude "Hobo" che è un film pulp/azione e "Kokeshi" che è un horror in stile torture porn. Lo consiglio a tutti quelli che, come me, si rifiutano di andare al cinema a vedere i soliti film italiani commerciali, diciamo basta alle cagate che si producono in Italia!
L: Sei attualmente coinvolto in Adrenaline, un altro progetto ideato da Misischia. Anche questa volta fai parte del cast del cortometraggio diretto da Del Fiol: "Neo Sekigun". Puoi dirci qualcosa a riguardo, anche sul tuo personaggio?
P: "Neo Sekigun" è ispirato a un movimento realmente esistito, l’Armata Rossa Giapponese, ed in particolare alla sua leader che dal Giappone si è insediata in Palestina per appoggiare il Fronte Popolare di Liberazione.
My character is an American ambassador who will be used in a hostage exchange.
L: "Kokeshi" e "Neo Sekigun" appartengono a due generi ben diversi. Il primo è prettamente horror, mentre il secondo è un dramma-action. In quale dei due film ti sei sentito più a tuo agio? Ti piace recitare maggiormente nei film horror o ti presti a qualsiasi ruolo?
P: I love both genres, so I am always happy to play both one and the other, from an interpretative point of view they can both give a lot of satisfaction to an actor so welcome both one and the other equally.
L: Cosa c'è da aspettarsi da "Neo Sekigun", e da Adrenaline in generale?
P: Unfortunately, here in Italy releasing action or pulp films is impossible (otherwise certain directors such as Daniele Misischia would already be famous), so Adrenaline will give all fans of this genre a chance to see something made here in our country, and if there is a good audience following it may be that someone is willing to invest even in films that do not have the word 'love' or 'love' in the title!
L: Favorite actors?
P: I haven't been following any in particular lately, however, for years I haven't missed a single Leonardo DiCaprio movie who, being about my age, played characters that could have touched me (well, maybe in movies with a few million dollars less budget...).
From a young age he played difficult but stupendous roles for an actor, such as the spastic boy in "Happy Birthday Mr. Grape," the junkie in "Basketball Diaries," or the poet Rimbaud in "Poets from Hell."
In Italy I say Elio Germano, I followed him since before his explosion. Good and natural as I like him.
L: What are the cornerstones of genre cinema for you?
P: Staying in Italy and talking about the horror genre, since I was a child (especially before the age of 14, to experience the thrill of watching R-rated films) I used to watch the films of Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava. The one I watched the most was Demons.
L: What are your future plans?
P: It will be titled "YamatoKaiiki - Cronache di strani fenomeni giapponesi", needless to say it is Paolo Del Fiol's next project, he is the only one who always remembers me and keeps me in training!
L: Please leave a message for the DarkVeins community and everyone reading this interview!
P: Thank you first of all to DarkVeins, and thank you to everyone who gave me some of their time reading this interview, please keep supporting independent horror, since money doesn't come in the satisfaction only you give us!
L: Hi Paolo, thank you for your availability!
