The Italian-Canadian actor, who plays Andrew DeLuca in fiction, talks about how he reacted to his character’s death and how he prepared to say goodbye.
How did you get to be a part of the series “Grey’s Anatomy”?
I auditioned a long time ago for a role that was not the one I played, his name was Dr. Falco. Usually when you’re an actor, if they don’t call you after a few weeks, it means you didn’t get the part. Three or four months later I was on my way to Los Angeles and I got a call saying ‘Hey, do you remember the video you sent for the Grey’s Anatomy audition? Well, we want to meet with you ”. And so it was, I auditioned again and got the role of Andrew DeLuca.
Do you have a favorite moment in the life of your Andrew DeLuca character?
I feel like the most important moment for me when playing DeLuca was the end of last season, when he falls into a deep crisis after being insulted by his superiors, and there he really realizes that he needs it helps to control his mental state and his bipolarity … that was a crucial moment, because in real life I am very involved with all the mental health issues.
You directed one of the chapters of the series, how was this experience?
I’ve always had a great passion for being behind the scenes, and curious about directing. True fans of the series will know that other actors on the show also directed some episodes. Kevin McKidd, who plays Owen, directed several episodes, Chandra Wilson, who plays Dr. Bailey, did, too, so I wanted to experiment a bit on that, and to my surprise it went pretty well. The fans of the series really liked my work and were very happy. I hope to work more in the direction part in the near future.
What is the biggest difference between acting and directing?
Acting and directing are very different activities. It was nice the experience of being in control and also having some creative control over most of the decisions we make as a team, I’m thankful for that. I was very lucky to have a great team with me, they were all very kind and willing … I think that sometimes, when a director arrives at a production, he does not know the actors and that trust does not exist, that was not my case, because I knew my entire team perfectly, which made things a lot easier.
What was your reaction to knowing that your character was going to die?
I was surprised, in “shock” … but when the writers told me the story and how they wanted to show it, I felt happy and satisfied. We have our sister series, called Station 19, whose story takes place before Grey’s Anatomy, that gave us the opportunity to have more time to tell the story, if not, we would only have had 45 minutes to explain the whole background of DeLuca’s life and the reason he’s dying … would have felt a bit incomplete.
Follow the news of El Espectador on Google NewsHow did you prepare Andrew DeLuca to leave the show?
The issue of the pandemic made the recording very different and complicated, and even if it was not, it is very difficult to meet colleagues who do not interact with you directly in the series … now with the subject of COVID, we do our meeting weekly by Zoom and we don’t have a bit of physical contact with the other actors, so when I found out I was going to leave the series I was sad, because normally they would say goodbye to me, we would all see each other, we would go out to eat … now it’s impossible . Then I remembered that I was going to direct an episode, so I had time to interact with everyone and take the opportunity to say goodbye.
If DeLuca hadn’t died, what would he have liked to do on the show?
I think his condition, being a bipolar person, made various things in his life more complicated than normal. His work, his love life, his personal relationships … at the beginning of the season DeLuca is seen finally reaching a stability, in which he is receiving professional help, he is exercising, he worries about resting. He is finally taking responsibility for everything that is happening to him, and I would have loved to see him in that new beginning.
What challenges did filming in the midst of the pandemic bring for the cast of “Grey’s Anatomy”?
Our recording days were shorter. We had less time to do the same amount of work, so it was very difficult. The biggest challenge for directors in a pandemic is time, you have to be very organized to carry the project forward. Another point in our favor is that we are precisely based on the pandemic for this season of the series, so we must be all the time with our masks, gloves, hats and biosafety equipment … that was a great advantage.