RAINE MAGAZINE Volume 20 | Innovate
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FILM<br />
Al Sapienza<br />
From an infamous mafia hit man<br />
going head to head with Tony<br />
Soprano, to a corrupt mayor<br />
with a good heart, and a union<br />
lobbyist who duels with Kevin<br />
Spacey, Al Sapienza has brought<br />
to life some of the most memorable<br />
characters in film and television<br />
today. With a career spanning<br />
over thirty years, Sapienza has<br />
made a name for himself in the<br />
entertainment business for not<br />
only his undeniable talent to create<br />
unforgettable characters, but also<br />
his commitment to hard work and<br />
dedication with each project he is<br />
working on.<br />
Al Sapienza is a true artist<br />
who has the rare ability to explore<br />
a boundless range of characters<br />
through acting dancing and singing,<br />
on both the stage and the screen.<br />
Read along and find out what is the<br />
driving force behind his creative<br />
genius.<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: Why do you love acting?<br />
SAPIENZA: I love acting because<br />
I get to play cops and robbers,<br />
or cowboys and Indians just like<br />
I did when I was little and I get<br />
paid for it. Everyone is nice to<br />
you on the set even if they hate<br />
you. They pretend to like you while<br />
you’re shooting. They feed you all<br />
day. You get to play all different<br />
kind of people with very different<br />
professions than your own. You get<br />
to kill people and not go to jail. You<br />
get to kiss and be married to a<br />
lot of beautiful women in different<br />
shoots. You get checks <strong>20</strong> years<br />
after you did a job for that same<br />
job. You get to constantly express<br />
yourself. What’s there not to love<br />
about being a working actor? It<br />
beats delivering mail!<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: Funny career story?<br />
SAPIENZA: In my first Broadway<br />
show I was 21 and I was in<br />
rehearsal. I hooked up with<br />
and spent the weekend with the<br />
Directors daughter and we had a<br />
wild fun weekend. When I went<br />
back to work on Monday I was<br />
fired. I was rehired a week later. I<br />
guess he didn’t like me spending<br />
a weekend with his daughter. I’m<br />
friends with both of them to this<br />
day! I’ll never tell you who!<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: Biggest challenge to<br />
overcome?<br />
SAPIENZA: Never getting the<br />
A leading roles in movies or<br />
series. Always being the other<br />
guy! I still think those roles will<br />
come. I am an internal optimist.<br />
But then again I still believe world<br />
peace is possible.<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: If you could do it all over<br />
again what would be the one thing<br />
that you would change in your<br />
career?<br />
SAPIENZA: I would have gotten<br />
really serious about the craft at<br />
14 years old instead of 29. In my<br />
twenties I just thought it was all<br />
a giant party. I didn’t really start<br />
digging deep into the psyche of the<br />
characters I played until later in life.<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: Where do you see yourself<br />
in five years?<br />
SAPIENZA: Wherever this<br />
wonderful ride I’m taking will take<br />
me. As an actor you never know<br />
what project will pop up every other<br />
month and where it will take you. I<br />
just love that.<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: Tell us three things on your<br />
bucket list?<br />
SAPIENZA:<br />
Making love to Angelina Jolie<br />
Flying in outer space<br />
Learning to fly a Helicopter<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: What has been the most<br />
helpful advice that someone has<br />
given you that has contributed to<br />
your success?<br />
SAPIENZA: When I first came to<br />
LA. The wonderful actor Paul<br />
Gleason told me not to worry<br />
about my career. Just work on the<br />
work really hard and they will find<br />
you because they always need<br />
GOOD actors. He was right. Great<br />
consistent work is the best thing<br />
you can have going for you.<br />
<strong>RAINE</strong>: What words of wisdom<br />
can you share with other creative<br />
entrepreneurs?<br />
SAPIENZA: You want to be<br />
creative. Look at your friends<br />
in medical school. The friends<br />
who are doing residency shifts 18<br />
hours a day 6 days a week. Look<br />
at your friends who just graduated<br />
law school. How many hours a<br />
week do they work at their new<br />
firms. You have to work harder and<br />
LONGER hours per week. Writing,<br />
learning, studying, reading plays<br />
and screenplay, filming student<br />
films anything to put in creative<br />
hours per week and you have to<br />
assign those hours every day to<br />
yourself. Sit in a chair and write for<br />
9 hours a day! Or rehearse scenes<br />
for class. Just put in the hours<br />
every week. No shortcuts. No<br />
laziness. Do that and you will have<br />
a career within 10 years. I guarantee<br />
it! The difference between an<br />
amateur actor and a pro is this. An<br />
amateur does shitty work, gets<br />
discouraged and quits. A pro does<br />
shitty work and keeps going for<br />
however long it takes to get it right!<br />
Photo credit: King PDT
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