It was the summer of 2013 we finally secured an interview with Daniele Favilli, who was more than
happy to give up some of his busy schedule to chat to us for our then, new
website. Due to his exceptionally busy schedule and the fact that there were
about eight hours’ time difference between us, our questions often took a very
long time to be answered. We devised an easier plan, to fit in with his
schedule. It worked for a considerable
amount of time, until quite recently when his workload became busier and it was
impossible for Daniele to reply to all the other questions given not just by me
but by the fans. So, although it doesn’t look like a lot was achieved over that
period of time, I wanted to at least end 2018 with this Interview, marking five
years since it all began.
On 12th June 2013 we
caught up with Daniele who had been working on the film Swelter, written by
Keith Palmer and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. It would be released at the
cinema on 27th April, 2014. It was an American action film which
also starred Alfred Molina and Lennie James. Lennie James plays a
Sheriff in a small town who has a dark past that he can’t remember. He has his
hands full when his ex-partners arrive in the town looking for stolen money,
they believe he has ownership of.
Daniele: Hello! Swelter is done filming. I'm
rehearsing for a new film in Rome: Banality of Crime. A gangster story
we'll be filming starting July 1st (2013).
Would
this be an Italian or English-speaking film?
Daniele: English. But Italian production.
On the 24th
March 2014, Daniele had posted photos of the Rocky Horror Picture Show on his social
media page to which we'd posted links onto our Facebook Page. You should still
be able to view those.
What
role are you playing in The Rocky Horror Picture Show?
Daniele: I play Rocky in a Spanish version. Sort
of Zorro (winky face emoji)
On 30th March 2016,
Daniele had had ideas to make a movie about the Lost Years of Angelo and Jack
but after writing to Russell T Davies he'd heard no word back. He considered
running a crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter but wondered if the support
would be there for that from the fans.
I thought it would be, but
the media thought otherwise - it seemed that stories featuring Captain Jack
were stronger with a certain tea boy named Ianto Jones.
I loved the fact that as
an actor who played Angelo in Torchwood, that Daniele was still as passionate
about the series that he wanted to replay his character in a little more depth,
before the end scenes of his character, trying to prolong his life with alien
technology.
Daniele: I wanted to explore the lost time
between Episode 7 and Episode 8. Torchwood: Jack and Angelo: The Lost Years.
In Jack's lifeline it
could also happen after Episode 8...something like, after the end of Miracle
Day, he travels back in time and meets Angelo again...maybe during the 60s or
World War II...so it would be interesting because, from his point of view, he
saw Angelo die already.
So
would this be Angelo lamenting on his past to his grand-daughter and then slipping
into the first scene opening?
Daniele: I think it should start with Jack and
then as he goes back in time, we'll show what happened before...
It's a Jack story. As the
idea is that Jack and Angelo live an adventure together, but Jack does not know
it is Angelo.
On the 26th
February 2017 a photo on Daniele's time line showed Daniele sporting a David
Bowie style hairdo, naturally I was curious.
Daniele: The hair was dyed and shaved for a
movie I did in Italy in December.
I was surprised at how
little Daniele had changed over the years, not a crease, or grey hair in sight.
He was also still very fit and agile. I was a little jealous, haha!
How
do you do it, how do you retain your youthful looks?
Daniele: Maybe it was Captain Jack who passed
that to me (winky face emoji)
Daniele posted a photo of a
character he played in the Italian film I Peggiori sporting the bleach blond
hairstyle.
Daniele: This is the look of the movie in Italy.
Pretty hard core, uh?
On the 23rd
March 2017 during research for another article, I had a few questions regarding
Daniele’s scenes in Miracle Day.
Where
were the scenes for Immortal Sins and the Colasanto Mansion filmed and where
Jack and Angelo had their apartment?
Daniele: The locations were mainly at Warner
Bros lot in Burbank, California, by the Warner Bros Studios. I don't know about
the mansion.
Although
you played young Angelo did you also play the part of old Angelo in the
hospital bed at the Colasanto mansion?
Daniele: No, it was not me. The old guy was
actually cast before me. He kinda looks like me, anyway, uh?
Had
you heard of Torchwood before you took the role of Angelo, or had you only
heard of Doctor Who prior to this role?
Daniele: I had heard of Torchwood before I was
in the show. I watched some of the first season. When I got cast I stopped
watching the show because I did not want to know anything about Jack (just like
Angelo did not know anything about him).
When
did you get the acting bug? Were you a child actor or did you come into the
profession at a later stage?
Daniele: I got the acting bug when I was about five
or six years old. I was in school and I remember the teacher had us children
put up a brief play about Homer's Odyssey and I wanted to play the lead.
Unfortunately, she picked another kid. But then, this kid could not remember a
single line or focus on the scenes, so I proposed myself and the teacher gave
me the role. I remember I thought I wanted that to be my life.
What
was your first ever production, on screen, or on stage?
Daniele: The first that was paid well enough was
a period film I shot in Italy set in 1789 and called "Il Pianto della
Maschera" (The Cry of The Mask). It was a small production but to me it
was just like being on the set of Barry Lyndon!
Angelo
Colasanto was the first time I got to see you in action and have since followed
you on social networking sites. Miracle
Day was also the first time that the fans got to see Captain Jack in a full-on
naked sex scene, aside from the episode with Brad the barman, Colasanto and
Harkness had the fans glued to the screen for longer than a few seconds.
How
difficult is it to play a scene such as this and still be able to make it a
beautiful moment between two people knowing you are being watched by an entire
film crew?
Daniele: So... there was not so many people on
set considering the type of scene. The crew was the minimum necessary. In
general, I focus on the person working with me. And John was very funny and friendly,
so it was fun. He made everybody feel comfortable by making it not a big deal.
In scenes like that I
focus on my characters needs and play along with them. Sometimes it is need for love and acceptance
(like in Angelo), other times is dominance or secure excitement. I try to
figure out what my character is going through and work with it. I'm not saying
it is easy, but I personally work very well with very intense scenes.
What
are you working on today? More sunbathing or actual working? (question taken
from another photo on Daniele's page in 2018)
Daniele: The sunbathing was real work (laughter
emojis). An Italian TV series called I Delitti del Barlume (The Barlume
Crimes). I am also filming the independent film OKLIM. Which is possible thanks
to crowd funding.
What
does OKLIM stand for or is it an actual word?
Daniele: Oh no, it is a word. Oklim is the name
of the protagonist.
Can
you tell us anything about the film or is it all hush hush?
Daniele: Well...it's a super independent
production in which the story focuses on the need for deep felt art instead of
just the commercial products. Oklim is a pure soul with his deep vision of art
in films (Fellini for instance) and hates what is the mainstream today. So, he
goes his way. He gets beaten down a lot before finally, somehow, he succeeds.
It's quite a bitter sweet movie. Not a tragedy but not happy ending too.
Are
these the kinds of films you like getting your teeth into?
Daniele: Sometimes. I like big productions too.
I like intense characters. Angelo was intense, and conflicted. That gives you
material to work with.
With Daniele’s busy
schedule now taking precedence over his social media time, we ended the
interview here. Who knows, maybe in another year or two, we’ll catch up with
him again and make the interview a two parter???
Thank you so much for a
wonderful interview, Daniele, and all the best for the New Year.
Photographs courtesy of
Daniele Favilli and
Giovanni Napolito
