'WE ARE WHO WE ARE’S' SEBASTIANO PIGAZZI ON THE CHALLENGES OF PLAYING ENRICO

Emerging actor SEBASTIANO PIGAZZI stars as Enrico in the HBO limited series WE ARE WHO WE ARE. The show which was co-created and directed by Luca Guadagnino follows the story of two young Americans living on a fictional US military base.

In this exclusive interview, PIGAZZI spoke about his character Enrico, the challenges and the rewards of filming the show, his acting journey, his fears, and more.

STYLING: ADAM BALLHEIM @ THE ONLY AGENCY, GROOMING; ASHLEY DONOVAN @ THE ONLY AGENCY

How was Enrico’s evolution throughout the show?

In the beginning of the show the audience gets to know a wild and fun side of Enrico. As the show continues, we see him more as a fractured and sensitive teenager, who loves his sister.

How would you describe “We Are Who We Are?”

We Are Who We Are is about young teens finding out who they are, in a very strict and in many ways, limiting environment. The show is unapologetic, raw, real, but also extremely poetic. It makes you laugh, cry and feel uneasy all in a matter of minutes.

What’s unique about the show?

So much. For starters the cast is extremely diverse. Alice is from Brazil, Faith is from the UK with Nigerian origins, Tom is Israeli, Beatrice was a local Veneta, and even the American cast was ethnically diverse. Moreover, I haven’t seen a show or film that deals with the lives of people living on an American Military base. Even if one does exist I am sure it’s completely different to WRWWR. It’s such a specific and interesting setting that rarely gets discussed. At the core of all of this, are the fascinating and multi-dimensional characters. There are no cliché characters, they all live complicated lives filled with hardships, tough decisions, love, and difficult relationships with other characters. To even begin to unravel everything in the show would take far too long.

What’s the best part about playing Enrico’s character?

I get to be completely unhinged and turn up the primal voracious side of myself. It’s like being a kid again. When kids are hungry they eat. When Enrico wants to take off his speedo and launch it, he does it.

What are the challenges and the highs that you experienced during filming?

This role was quite challenging because I had to physically and mentally become a different person in almost all aspects. I had to lose twenty pounds, learn a new dialect in Italian, understand what it meant to be born with a cleft lip and be comfortable with nudity in front of a large cast and crew.

There was one really complicated group scene, which I won’t spoil, that we rehearsed about five times but we were rushed for time so we decided to shoot it, and only could do one take. Before we shot it, Luca Guadagnino told us to give it all we had and let everything out. And we did. I remember all the crew and family members were glued to the monitor watching the scene. Thankfully the shot came out well and we were all super pumped with adrenaline. When those high pressure moments go well, there’s no feeling like it in the world.

How did you manage to rise above the challenges?

I think the desire to prove to everyone, but Luca in particular, that I could play this part well made me go into a maniacal mentality where I was just super focused on doing the best job I could. At that point you start to savor the challenge.

How did acting start for you? Was it something that you’ve always wanted from a young age?

I’ve always wanted to act. I didn’t think I could ever actually do it until I was asked to audition for the lead role in this feature film. I made it all the way to a third call back, it was between me and another actor. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the part, but I figured if I made it that far, with some training and some commitment I could become an actor. And I had to prove to the director that he made the wrong choice, I suppose I still have to do that.

What scares you?

I’m scared of mediocrity. Which in my head symbolizes the real fear; not being able to accomplish all the things I’d like to achieve.

Out of all the roles that you’ve played, is there any role/character that resonated with you the most and why?

When I first read the Enrico character, I thought to myself “wow I’m nothing like this guy”. After playing him, I do appreciate how real he is. He doesn’t put on that façade that most of us are forced to wear, in order to adhere to the social norms imposed on us by society. Enrico may be limited in the emotions that he feels, because he tends to feel in extreme ways, but when he feels sad or happy, he’s sad or happy, there is no in between or passiveness in his character. There’s something liberating about that.

Aside from acting, what else keeps you busy?

During quarantine I started writing, it’s not something that comes super easy to me but it can be therapeutic. In general though I like to cook, design my own clothes, watch a ton of movies, and participate in lots of sports. Healthy body healthy mind.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I have too many. Right now I’d say Tres Leches cake.

What are you most excited about in the near future?

I’m excited to see where the rollercoaster that life is takes me. I know it sounds pretentious, but I live life like it’s a movie and I don’t like guessing or knowing what’s going to happen next.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

“The Old Man and the Sea” Only because it’s one of the first books I read and it had a profound impact on the way I live my life. Just like Santiago, I might not end up with the prize, but it won’t be for a lack of effort. There’s nothing more sadly poetic than a noble hard fought failure.

We Are Who We Are is now streaming on HBO