Skip to main content

Musician-Turned-Actor Fortunato Verduci Adds Authenticity to Calabrian Stories

Fortunato Verduci made a name for himself in his native Calabria as a musician specializing in traditional folk songs. One day, he received a call to audition for an American production being shot on location in his region. Three years later, he is responsible for helping to create some of the most memorable scenes in television, which thanks to VOD platforms like Netflix and Amazon, represent Calabria on the international stage. 

Born in the Calabrian commune of Motta San Giovanni, located on a mountain top overlooking the Ionian sea, Verduci was raised by a family of musicians. “I grew up to the sound of the tarantella and since I was a child. I’ve accompanied my father with the Motta folk group to play and dance around Italy and Europe. The dance facilitated me in acting because I was used to performing in front of the audience.”

Verduci didn’t initially have plans to pursue an acting career. A few years ago, word got around that an international film crew was shooting in the mountains of Calabria and looking for locals. He received a call to audition for a part as a musician playing traditional music. “I went with four other guys to the casting call, which was held in Praia a Mare (in the province of Cosenza, Calabria). That’s where I met the director. We did the audition and we danced. He liked it right away. We explained to him the significance of the dance, our regional tarantella, and the symbolism it holds in Calabria,” he recalls. 

The director was Emanuele Crialese, best known in America for The Golden Door. The international production was FX Network’s series "Trust," which recounts the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. The episode, titled, "In the Name of the Father," shot entirely on location in Calabria, was hailed by The New York Times as the best episode of the series. “Aside from having this small role, I had the chance to dance with all of these other actors, including Luca Marinelli, Donatella Finocchiaro and Francesco Colella. They learned our tarantella. They took dance lessons in the afternoon and then we all gathered on the set in the evening. The scene took us about two hours to shoot. The most beautiful part was the human interaction with the actors, engaging with each other on a human level, not just professional.” 

Watch a clip from our interview in Rome in which he talks about the filming of that scene..



Watch "Trust," Episode 8, "In the Name of the Father" on Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Sling and Google Play.

Crialese was impressed with Verduci’s work and recommended him to other filmmakers. So before long, more offers came rolling in. The next project, "Lo spietato" (The Ruthless), a film by director Renato De Maria who is known for his depictions of historical events, called on the traditional music of Verduci’s Calabrian roots once again. Like "Trust," the film touches on the infamous kidnappings that plagued Italy during the 1970s and '80s as well as the rise of the crime organization ‘Ndrangheta. Verduci’s scene, which features his signature music and dance, offers a beautiful cultural respite from an otherwise heavy and violent story.

Watch "The Ruthless" on Netflix.

Performing on the set of "ZeroZeroZero" in Calabria
Verduci’s third and latest work is Stefano Sollima’s screen adaptation of "ZeroZeroZero." The series is based on the bestselling novel by Roberto Saviano, which explores the roads of organized crime from South America to Europe. 

“One of the scenes I took part in was shot during the procession of the Madonna of Polsi. In that scene, I sing and play a song dedicated to the Madonna,” recounts Verduci. The scene to which his is referring was shot at the actual sanctuary of the Madonna. Located in the Aspromonte mountains of Calabria, the sanctuary was founded in 1144 and has become a sacred place for the people of the region. Although the series focuses on the brutal reality and consequences of organized crime, the scenes shot in Calabria reveal the region’s purity, beauty and rich culture. “The bearers of the statue of the Madonna were the real ones, that historically in that feast are from Calabria. So these were the actual bearers of Bagnara Calabra, a town near Scilla,” explained Verduci.

 Watch this video of Verduci on set performing with his fellow musicians...


Stream "ZeroZeroZero" on Amazon Prime..



 -Written by Jeannine Guilyard for Fra Noi Magazine.  Click here to subscribe.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait  “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann.  Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Extraordinary Career and Legacy of Dino De Laurentiis

Producer Dino De Laurentiis was one of the most prolific filmmakers ever, having produced or co-produced more than 600 films during a career that spanned seven decades. His legacy continues not only through the work of his children and grandchildren but also through a new generation of filmmakers in his Italian hometown. De Laurentiis was born in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius on Aug. 8, 1919, in the city of Torre Annunziata, located just minutes from the ruins of Pompeii. As a child, he worked at a local pasta factory owned and operated by his father. That experience had a profound effect on him, shaping a lifelong passion for food and an appreciation for business. At the age of 17, he decided to leave home for the big city. He arrived in Rome and enrolled in the prestigious film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. After attending the school for about a year, he managed to produce one film in 1940, The Last Combat , before having to leave Rome temporarily for m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty.  He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence.  Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Sweetness and Genius of Giulietta Masina

Fellini and Masina on the set of "La Strada" As open-hearted and sunny as Federico Fellini was dark and complex, they were perfect counterpoints during a half-century of marriage and professional collaboration.  Nicknamed a  “female Chaplin” and described by Chaplin himself as  the actress who moved him most,  Giulietta Masina confronted the tragedy of her characters with an eternal innocence and enthusiasm that gave Italians hope in the most challenging of times.  Born in 1921 in San Giorgio di Piano, a commune north of Bologna, Masina was the oldest of four children born to a father who was a music professor and violinist and a mother who was a grade-school teacher. Her parents sent her as a child to live in Rome with her widowed aunt while she attended school there. As Masina took an early interest in gymnastics, her aunt saw in her a passion for performing and encouraged her to pursue acting. So after high school, Masina attended Rome’s La...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Legend of Alberto Sordi - Rome's Eternal Son

′′They will always judge you, whether you behave well or if you behave badly. So screw it and live as you want but above all don't listen to anyone.′′  - Alberto Sordi By giving his fellow Italians something to laugh about during tumultuous times, he emerged as his generation’s King of Comedy. One of Italy’s best-loved personalities, Alberto Sordi played a pivotal role in Italian cinema from the end of World War II to the postwar economic boom of the 1950s. During those tumultuous years, he gave his countrymen a hearty laugh when they might have otherwise cried. Former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi perhaps said it best: “Alberto Sordi interpreted the feelings of Italians, especially in their most difficult and tough moments.” Born in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome in 1920, Sordi grew up in a creative household. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, a professional musician for the Rome Opera House. A young Sordi joined the children’s choir o...
Post a Comment
Read more