BELLO #185
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After being invited for festivities at a friendly woman’s house, a group of teenage<br />
friends find themselves having the time of their lives. However, as time<br />
goes on, strange events begin to happen that cause the friends to suspect the<br />
woman of not being as genuine as she initially seemed. This is the premise of<br />
the new horror film, Ma, that will be released May 30 in theaters. Gianni Paolo,<br />
Brayden in Starz’s Power, plays Chaz, one of the teenagers that is subject to<br />
Ma’s antics. We got the chance to speak with Paolo about all things Ma, along<br />
with some other parts of Paolo’s life.<br />
By Mercedes Banwart<br />
You are fairly new to acting. How did you get started in the<br />
industry?"<br />
Basicall, when I was playing Junior Hockey my first year out<br />
of High School, I had a lot of free time. A lot of the kids on my<br />
team would party and drink and go to bars but I decided to<br />
take improv and acting classes. It was all a little new to me because<br />
I always wanted to do it but was never able to. About a<br />
year later, I moved to Los Angeles and the rest is history!<br />
With Ma coming out at the end of this month I am curious:<br />
have you always been a fan of the horror/thriller genre?<br />
YES! I’m more of a slasher type movie kind of guy. I CANNOT<br />
do supernatural and ghosts at all. If someone is coming at you<br />
with a knife, I can square up and have a chance. When we<br />
are talking ghosts, there is NOTHING you can do! My favorite<br />
horror movie is definitely Scream. I love the mix between horror<br />
and comedy because one second you’re on the edge of<br />
your seat and the next you’re laughing like crazy. I also think in<br />
movies like that, the laughs can be bigger because it’s such a<br />
relief.<br />
What was special about this set and this cast?<br />
It was basically like a summer camp for 5 weeks. I got to know<br />
the cast and crew SO well and I found one of my best friends<br />
(Corey Fogelmanis) while working on this project. A lot of the<br />
chemistry you see on screen was 100% real. When we weren’t<br />
on set filming, we were all hanging out regardless. Octavia<br />
taught us so much every single day and it really shows.<br />
Was there anything you found challenging while working<br />
on the film?<br />
My character was very high energy and the life of the party,<br />
so when Octavia, or Diana would have a serious moment and<br />
my character makes some sort of joke in the film, it was hard<br />
to kind of keep up that energy while next to me they were preparing<br />
for something intense. A couple times, I would have to<br />
walk away from set and just listen to stand up comedy and<br />
keep myself in that mentality. We also filmed in the basement<br />
for about two weeks which, by the end of week two, I was like,<br />
“get me out of here.” Luckily enough, that was the point where<br />
we ACTUALLY needed to get out.<br />
How was working on a film set similar to/different from<br />
television?<br />
I think with film it’s a little more spontaneous, especially a lower<br />
budget Blumhouse project. Every day we figured out what<br />
we needed to do to do the writing justice and we would just<br />
kind of pick what worked the best. In TV, it’s a lot more organized,<br />
there are pre-built sets, and if you’ve been playing a<br />
character for a long period of time then you’re so familiar with<br />
him or her, there is little that will surprise you. There are pros<br />
and cons to both.<br />
What drew you to Chaz’s character?<br />
I loved Chaz because he just said whatever he wanted. I think<br />
that is noble in some sort of way because he doesn’t have any<br />
judgement on himself. I think Scotty Landes, the writer, did<br />
such an amazing job with not only Chaz but the whole script<br />
and I just loved waking up and being able to have fun every<br />
single day playing this role.<br />
How are you and Chaz alike?<br />
Chaz and I are definitely alike in a lot of ways. The humor was<br />
so spot on to what I am attracted to. When I first read the<br />
script I just remember thinking I haven’t laughed, cried, and<br />
been weirded out this much while reading a script ever. Chaz<br />
also says the wrong jokes at the worst times which I can definitely<br />
relate to.<br />
Who inspires you in the industry?<br />
Donald Glover is someone who I really look up to. Not only<br />
was he a writer/actor on Community, he also has a stand-up<br />
special, performed improv and sketch on house teams at UCB,<br />
and created one of my favorite shows on right now, Atlanta.<br />
I started watching Donalds Youtube group, Derrick Comedy,<br />
before he started doing any of that when I was about 11 years<br />
old, and it’s amazing to see what he’s become. Another guy<br />
I love is Will Forte. I would listen him talk about his process<br />
with Last Man On Earth on podcasts and it just inspired me so<br />
much.<br />
What do you like to do when you aren’t working?<br />
I still play hockey every week, and box almost every day, and<br />
I truly think it keeps me sane. I also help produce a podcast<br />
called, This Past Weekend with Theo Von. We’ve had on some<br />
amazing guests I’ve gotten to meet that I really admire such<br />
as Chris D’elia, Bobby Lee, Jocko Willink, Andrew Santino and<br />
Joey Diaz.<br />
What are you looking forward to the rest of this year?<br />
I’m super excited for everyone to see Season 6 of Power! Being<br />
on that show is an absolute dream. If you told me I’d be<br />
making a TV show with 50 Cent when I was 12 years old, I<br />
wouldn’t have believed you. It is truly one of the best experiences<br />
I have had thus far!<br />
17<br />
May 2019<br />
Bello