Feb. 1 – “My dream? To win Oscar. Not because it means to be an Oscar winner, but simply because one day I’d love to have an important recognition: to be rewarded for all the sacrifice made to do what I do; to give a deeper meaning to all the difficult times and all those times I got knocked down and found the strength to get back up. It would be a reward to myself and to the fact that I never gave up.”
Marco Pancrazi is an actor: he was born in Tivoli, near Rome, twenty-nine years ago. He is one of the many talents who decided to leave Italy to follow a dream, “the American dream” that gives the possibility – or illusion – to live other lives: cinema. “Before embarking on an acting career I worked as a stuntman in many Italian and Hollywood productions. Then I decided to dedicate myself to acting. I left Italy and went to London to study English: I lived there for almost a year, before moving – in November last year – here in Los Angeles, where I am improving my English and studying very hard.” Marco’s career on the silver screen began in 2004, as a stuntman. He has worked in many films with great directors and actors, such as Spike Lee, Ron Howard, Woody Allen, Penelope Cruz, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, and Emile Hirsch. While working as a stuntman, Mark began studying as an actor, getting his first small roles. His first teachers were Frida Bruno and Massimiliano Milesi. On the other side of the Atlantic he met Ivana Chubbuck, Vincent Riotta, Nathan Osgood, Michaeljohn Gonzalez, and Antoinette Franceschi; but he focused his attention on learning “The Method” with Michael Margotta and Francesca Viscardi, Lifetime Members of ‘”Actors Studio “New York, and students of Lee Strasberg. Marco speaks of film with great passion and enthusiasm, detailing his future plans and the satisfaction for the short film “The Labyrinth”. “This short – says Marco – was created for a festival called ’72 Hours – National Film Challenge ‘. It’s a worldwide festival based in the United States. And it has one peculiarity: you have to make the film in 72 hours. Writing, shooting, editing and delivery: 72 hours in all, it’s a great experience. I established a very good relationship with the whole team and espcially with the director Alfonso Bergamo. I love working with Alfonso: for me he is a genius. And the results were amazing. Out of 300 competitors from around the world, we got to the final stage and we won 4 Awards: Best Film – Audience Award, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, and Best Use of Genre. It gave me great satisfaction.” The short has also taken part in other events, and was awarded the “Special Mention” at the “Fluviano Film Festival 2012” and received the award for Best Film at the Festivals of Bergamo, Aosta, Cagliari, Naples, Solofra and Tivoli. He was among the finalists in the competition to “RIFF of Rome” and “David di Donatello 2012.” “There are a couple of important projects coming up, which, don’t want to talk about, for good luck. But I will say that there’s a film in which I play the ‘bad guy’, and a play written and directed by a talented Italian actor ” Marco, a young Italian abroad, does not exclude that one day he will return to Italy. Indeed, he has an ambitious project: “An Italian living abroad definitively has a much higher advantage than an Italian in Italy. And that’s a shame, because I think we all dream of working and doing what we love in our homeland. But Italy today does not offer much. Cinema is an industry that is taken seriously here in LA: all results should be excellent and there is little room for petty personal favors.
They’re looking for good actors. Overall, I don’t exclude that there is a chance I will to return to Italy, we will see what happens in the coming years. Obviously if things changed, and I mean both at the political and sectoral level, I will probably come back. Italy is a gorgeous country, it’s my home. And it’s obvious that if one day I’ll be able to call the shots, I will immediately go back to change things and start producing only quality cinema with the best of Italian actors, directors, young producers and writers. Because for now it’s not fair that reality tv show winners automatically get the starring role just because they’re popular. In cinema, like in everything else in life, to succeed you should have to study.” Marco is tenacious, determined and with a great desire to experience things. “Here the competition is endless, I know, but the United States offer me the kind of career I want to follow. I’d rather stay here and fight every day to do something really good.”