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I wanted to go beyond stereotypes

you play a chauffeur who drives in the ' 60s, a black jazz pianists in the South. Why have you accepted this role? Well, Tony Vallelonga's a great character

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I wanted to go beyond stereotypes

you play a chauffeur who drives in the ' 60s, a black jazz pianists in the South. Why have you accepted this role?
Well, Tony Vallelonga's a great character, and the script is well-written. It has a sense of Humor, but also say something about our society. Basically the story is that people have more in common than you might think, even if they are completely different.

Were you under pressure, Tony right?
first, I was a little nervous because I had never played the Italo-Americans. There are in the cinema and on TV, many of the great figures of the italo-American and Italo-Americans to be played. Since I wanted to go beyond stereotypes. The figure was based on a real Person. I wasn't sure if I was suitable for it.

But?
Then I met Nick Vallelonga, the son of the late Tony, and his family. They were very generous to have me Film and sound recordings to which Tony speaks of his Trip with Don Shirley. To do this, I looked at Tony's films. He often played small roles, for example, in "The Sopranos". I same him too much, so it was more about meeting his physicality and rhythm of their speech. The help the family was very helpful. When I was in there in the figure, I felt comfortable.

Oh, you ate on the weekend, probably to a lot of vegetables; the pants are a little loose.Costume people to Viggo Mortensen

you were up for the role, also 15 pounds.
More like twenty. First of all, this was all in fun. For example, if we were in New Orleans, where there is good food. But after a while, it was exhausting. Sometimes the costume people told me: Oh, you ate on the weekend, probably to a lot of vegetables; the pants are a little loose. It was soon no longer funny and not at all healthy. Or eat a heavy meal before bedtime. I can't recommend it.

Could you confirm the family Vallelonga, that you have met Tony right? you have been paying attention: Nick was working every day during the shooting, sometimes his brother Frank, or the uncle of the two. In some of the scenes in the Bronx, the family members act as Amateur actors.

based on a true story: "the Green Book". Video: Ascot Elite

you Have spent to prepare a lot of time in the Bronx?
I knew the district, of course.

Clearly, you were in New York to the world.
Where I moved as a child with the family. My father was a business man, we traveled a lot. The big part of my Childhood I spent in Argentina; sometimes we went to Denmark, the homeland of my father. Later, I also lived in New York, the home of my mother. I went for the Film in the Bronx, to be able to imagine how it must have been. The neighborhood has changed a lot since then, of course. The houses still look the same, but the social composition is different. It used to be a uniformly Italian territory, today many Black and Hispanic-Americans live there. The Bronx is more mixed. Many Italo-Americans have moved, but there are still some – especially older people who remember how it was back then.

you Have read, also the letters that Tony at the time, wrote to his wife?
Yes, Nick gave it to me.

It's always about what the people over immigrants think about people of different races, from other cultures or religions.Viggo Mortensen, actor

do you Believe that Shirley helped him actually write these letters, so as to see in the Film?
so, it was not in reality, but I think that Shirley has influenced Tony. Obviously, Tony has learned a lot, the impression I got, at least, of the sound recordings. And Tony has also influenced Shirley, in the sense that it has become a bit looser. Tony might have asked: Why this guy is so fussy and stiff? And Vice versa: Why Tony is such an animal? But then both open. Tony finds out that Shirley has good reason to be cautious. And the musician may have fallen to Tony that he was not afraid to say what occurred to him.

what was it Like working with Mahershala Ali? They remained on the Set always in their roles?
no, not at all. Mahershala, and I don't belong to the actors who also want to be after the shoot with your role name. I admire to play his precise way. He often went back and repeated. I then had to stop, so that the connection does not fit, a new piece of chicken and some more food. For that, he respected my sudden outbursts; our characters have very different temperaments. I've always tried to bring Mahershala Laugh, which was very difficult, because he is a tough nut to crack. Only once or twice, I get it. He has got against me constantly.

So sounds Don Shirley in the original version: "Happy Talk". Video: YouTube/VintagesMusicFm

The Film shows how two people approach the have nothing whatsoever in common. Is the related to the polarisation in the current policy?
That's for sure. And I think it helps that the story in 1962, plays. It was a matter of the racial question in today's time, it could happen quickly, that someone feels offended or the truth of the representation disputes. In the Sixties, there is hardly a debate about whether it was really so. These were the laws, which were the differences, that was the language used by the people. You can make bad the question. Nevertheless, the Film helps to reflect on the present time. Whether today or earlier, whether in the United States or in Switzerland: It is always a matter of what the people over immigrants think about people of different races, from other cultures or religions. There are stories or certain politicians, who incite the conflicts and polarization. And then there are those for whom it's more about the things we have in common. "Green Book" promotes, hopefully, this openness.

some time Ago there was the action "speaks Swiss". Their goal was to bring together people who think politically different.
I think That's a good thing. Probably not everyone is happy about it, but something is a start. You don't need to look at only children make all these distinctions, they play together. Only by their parents or other adults you will learn: Look, this man sounds different, this one has a different skin colour or a disability. Since children are much more open, we should take as our role models.

(Züritipp)

Created: 30.01.2019, 14:27 PM

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