He’s Acting Up Suddenly, Antonio Marziale ’10 is everywhere! “I like stories that evoke a curiosity in me,” says Antonio Marziale ’10 on his life as an actor. And lately he’s found quite a few stories to tell. He stars as Isaac Bancroft in the current Netflix hit Altered Carbon and played Daryn Boston in season 12 of Supernatural. But his impressive performance as Elliot in the original Netflix film Alex Strangelove has propelled him into the global spotlight.
Born in London, Antonio and his family moved to Lugano when he was 10 years old. He, brother Luca ’08, and his mother took frequent trips to London to see West End shows which sparked his interest in the performing arts. He moved to the US when he was 14 to attend a performing arts high school in Boston and then studied acting at Carnegie Mellon University. Antonio’s creativity spans into photography as well. Over 81k people follow his Instagram account (@ tonimarz) to see an eclectic stream of posts. “It is important for me to have a creative outlet separate from the industry,” he says, as it gives back the control that is often lost to directors, producers, writers, and others in the acting game. We caught up with Antonio to ask him a bit about his life. You’ve been acting professionally for five years; when did you decide this was what you wanted to do? I think I always knew it was something I was passionate about. I was drawn to the camaraderie of theater and using performance as a way of storytelling. I remember at TASIS a few of the teachers would be in the Shakespearean plays, and that was always really special, getting to connect with a teacher outside of the classroom, usually dressed up in some kind of Venetian garb. All ages were embraced in the theater program at TASIS which supported the idea in my mind that theater is community-driven. You’ve been particularly busy these past couple of years. Is this a case of nailing it at an audition and suddenly everybody wants Antonio in their shows? 64
I wish! To be honest most of the time I don’t think there is much rhyme or reason as to why you get a job or why you don’t, it’s so random in this industry. Having so little in your control can be disheartening, but it can also be very liberating. It is important to focus on the artistic process and the passion towards the craft. But when the stars align and you do get the job, it’s definitely an amazing moment! How are you handling this newfound fame? Have things changed? Not really. Sometimes people will recognize me, and it’s usually people just excited and wanting to share a moment with you. I like meeting new people. I’m always happy to hear that a project that I was involved in has affected someone in a positive way. Netflix obviously loves you; is your involvement with them deliberate? Do you think that they are able to push boundaries and be more creative than the traditional networks and film studios? Netflix is very hands-off which is why I think so many young directors and creatives are gravitating towards them. With studios there is so much input and they are always on set putting in their two cents. Netflix is not like that at all, they really want to give full creative control over to whoever they hire which usually results in new and innovative stories. What can we see you in next? There are a couple of really exciting things in the mix, nothing I can talk about just yet, but definitely on the grind!