Luca Castellani talks about starring in ‘America’ short film, working with Cheyenne Jackson and Aly Muritiba

Luca Castellani in ‘America’ short film. Photo Courtesy of Muritiba Filmes.

Luca Castellani chatted about starring in the new short film “America,” and working with co-lead Cheyenne Jackson and director Aly Muritiba.

Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” This quote applies to Luca Castellani.

Starring in ‘America’ short movie

“My experience doing ‘America’ was fantastic,” Castellani exclaimed. “I mean, it was my first film, so it was all very new to me on set. The overall experience was so great, and I just want to keep acting for the rest of my life.”

“The feeling of getting something done just gives you that sense of validation,” he noted.

“I have been studying for five years, and I went to film school. I have my own mentor, Michael D. Cohen, who I also have private classes with,” he added.

Working with Aly Muritiba

On working with writer and director Aly Muritiba, Castellani remarked, “Aly is a very serious Brazilian director. When you are doing a project together on a collaborative level, he is legit and you need to show up and do your best.”

“The experience was great. Aly made me feel so comfortable and that was so empowering for an actor,” he noted.

“Aly’s writing is so deep and so poetic, where every scene was so full of emotional depth,” he acknowledged. “His writing is very rich. If I were to compare it to a piece of food, it would be Brazilian lasagna.”

“Aly knows exactly what to do, and he does what a director does best, which is directing people. It’s easier to be an actor when you have an exceptional director like Aly. That helped me so much,” he elaborated.

“Aly created a very safe environment on set with all the Latino people, because the majority of the crew was Latino,” he said. “Aly’s direction and his writing made my work as a lead actor very easy to do. I needed to deliver truth and emotion, and I did that!”

“The film is about immigrants and the environment on set felt very Latino, which helped my character a lot,” he added.

Working with Cheyenne Jackson

On working with Cheyenne Jackson as his co-leading man, Castellani remarked, “Cheyenne was delightful! Our chemistry was so great. He was just such a giving actor and person. He was a great scene partner, very easygoing and he treated everybody on set as an equal. He was able to relate to the script so much. Cheyenne made me feel so comfortable, he was very respectful and so involved in the process.”

“Cheyenne truly helped us bring this piece of art to life. Working with him was such a gift. I could have not have a better scene partner to work on this film with than Cheyenne,” he added.

Speaking of Cheyenne Jackson, he praised the Broadway show “Oh, Mary!” where he plays Mary’s Teacher opposite Jane Krakowski as Mary Todd Lincoln.

Castellani: ‘America’ is meant to be seen on the big screen

Castellani hopes that people get to experience “America” on the big screen in cinemas.

“The emotion is one hundred times more intense if you watch this short film on the big screen,” he admitted.

“Doing this as my first film worked so well, and I really think it was meant to be. I think my career in acting was meant to start now,” he explained. “Making this movie was a miracle because everything worked so well.”

“We decided to do it, and it worked very well. It came to light so beautifully,” he said. “I could not have asked for a better director than Aly I could not have asked for a better co-lead like Cheyenne. The short ‘America’ turned out to be so incredible.”

Castellani on relating to ‘America’ on a personal and emotional level

Castellani was able to relate to the queer love story “America” on both a personal and emotional level. “The story is so beautiful,” he noted. “It was such a gift to play the character, Tom, because I left Brazil a decade ago when I was 17 years old.”

“In these 10 years, my life took so many turns… some for the good, some for the worse, but I’m in a very different place now in my life than when I was 17 and moved to America. I feel like I’ve accomplished so much, and I’ve conquered so much,” he elaborated.

“I’ve gained success. I’ve had my businesses, my entrepreneurship, and I’ve done so much with modeling, my companies and with my other ventures. My life is way better than it was when I left Brazil at age 17,” he explained.

“In order to bring my character, Tom, to life, I need to look back and remind myself of what it felt like to be an immigrant that had no documents, that just moved to America, that didn’t speak the language well, who is doing whatever he needs in order to survive,” he said.

“I don’t remember what that felt like, honestly. With all due honesty, it was very painful to go back to visit that place to remind myself what that felt like so that I could bring that to my character,” he admitted.

Castellani on what playing Tom has taught him

“Presently, I have my career, my financial stability, my house, my credit card and my car. I can travel whenever I want. I have my citizenship, and I am now an American citizen,” he said.

“Playing this character gave me this gift of looking back and being able to give myself credit, which gave me another level of power that I didn’t know I had,” he admitted.

“It also gave me the confidence of knowing I can do a film now, knowing I am an actor, and I re-assured me that I’m good enough to book any audition or part in a future feature film,” he noted.

“In regard to everything that is happening in the world right now, the film is so poetic and so beautiful,” he said. “With Cheyenne and Aly’s help, everything worked out well despite how hard it was.”

“Everything worked out the way it was supposed to. For those four days of shooting, I never thought I wasn’t Tom; my character became my life,” he added.

Closing thoughts on ‘America’

“It’s a beautiful story about immigrants, which is what matters to me the most,” he underscored. “I feel like when I was a kid doing science projects in school, and this film is my Science Fair project.”

“I am so proud of this movie, and I want people to watch it. Our movie is Oscar-worthy because it is such a beautiful story and narrative. It’s very timely and it needs to be told.”

“It tells the story of Latinos and the stories of immigrants. It’s very important that Hollywood tells such stories,” he noted.

“It’s so rewarding when you walk into a screening and it’s a full house and then, you watch everybody reacting to the movie… laughing crying, enjoying it, and even, holding their breath,” he concluded.

To learn more about actor and model Luca Castellani, follow him on Instagram.

Read More: “America” short film review.