Victor Alfieri

By Derek in Actors and Actresses on May 15, 2009

Former Model Turned Actor Appearing In Major Motion Pictures

Victor Alfieri started his career in modeling and then worked as a police officer for two and a half years in his native country, Italy. He's played roles on the soap operas "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "Days of Our Lives." Victor can be seen in the new film "Angels and Demons" which premieres May 15 and stars Tom Hanks.

Please visit his profile on IMDb for more information.

You started your career modeling, moved on to police work and then settled in as an actor, when you were younger did you dream of pursuing these avenues or did you have something completely different in mind?

I actually did not have that in mind at all. At one point I wanted to be a writer, I am still writing now a days. Writing is one of my passions and my dreams, but becoming an actor, not really. I never thought about it. I went into modeling just for fun when I was 16 and to make some extra money.

In the 90’s, you packed your bags for LA, leaving behind your life in Italy. Why did you decide LA was the place for you and was it a tough transition?

I was dating a girl, just in love, my sweetheart, the girl I met in school and like everyone else my first love. When she broke up with me I was very crushed, I was heartbroken. My friend was actually studying English in Los Angeles so he told me, ‘hey why don’t you come here for a vacation and have a nice time’. I said ok went over there and eventually moved to LA, but just for fun, I wasn’t trying to pursue acting or even thinking about acting. Just to see what was going to happen. So I got into an acting group and I guess I was just fit for it, I was meant to be an actor. Basically I discovered my talent in LA.

You are currently starring in the film, Angels and Demons, which opens in the US on May 15, had you read 'The DaVinci Code' or 'Angels & Demons' prior to working on the film?

I read The DaVinci Code, I didn’t read the Angels and Demons book, it was a personal choice. I think every time you read a book you make a movie in your mind. Like you create your own movie, you imagination goes wild and basically it is really hard to top it off and complete with the human imagination. Every time you go to see a movie after you have read a book, 90% of the time you are disappointed because you made a better movie in your mind. So I decided not to read the Angels and Demons book and just go for the movie. I was shooting it and I was in good hands, Ron Howard is a good director so I was going to see what happened. That is what I did.

You were part of the Italian Police Force for 2.5 years, how did your training and experience from this position prepare you for playing your role in Angels and Demons?

At the beginning I didn’t think about it, but it all came back. I guess I have to say I was myself, that is what I did 2.5 years. I used to wear a uniform, even thought it wasn’t a Carabinieri uniform, it was a police uniform, but still same duties, same style. It was easy, it came easy to play and relive those emotions.

Many performers are afraid or unwilling to watch their final work on screen; do you typically watch your final product?

I am very critical. I criticize myself a lot, but that is normal I guess. But no, I am not afraid. I enjoy watching a good movie and I know watching a movie is not just watching yourself it is watching teamwork.

Do you have any big plans for the Angels and Demons premiere on Friday?

No, I already saw the movie last week in Rome, at the premiere. I will be in New York, I may go see it, I don’t know if I will go see it again. Once is good. Probably I will buy the DVD or Sony will give me the DVD and maybe I can watch it at home.

The movie theaters are going to be very chaotic this summer. There are so many good movies out. I am really proud of the movie industry right now. When I say good movies out for the summer, it’s like entertaining movies. Movies you go to the theater and just enjoy. I went to see Star Trek yesterday and for 2 hours I was out of the world, I was in another world. That is what I like about movies sometimes. It is good when they send good messages but also good when you are relaxed and you are in a different dimension, don’t think about your troubles, you are in a different world.

You are also working on a new series for Fox called ‘Person’s Unknown to premiere this fall. Can you describe the character you portray and tell us what about this project attracted you?

I play Stefano D'Angelo, this is a guy that loses his fiancé. His fiancé gets kidnapped by an organization that we don’t know who and who’s doing it or where they are taking these people. All I know is that she has disappeared. So this show is about 10 characters that get kidnapped and taken into a town out of the world. We don’t know where this place is in the world. There are other people which are part of it, looking for them. They are trying to find clues why they are there and how can they rescue them. It’s kind of like a mystery-thriller. Christopher McQuarrie, if you remember, he won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects, that is what he likes to write, to create. He likes action. There is a lot of action in this TV show. I would say it is like Lost meets 24. It is going to be good. I am very proud of that series.

You have had the opportunity to act alongside some extraordinary actors; Helen Mirren, Tom Hanks, Harvey Keitel; do you have any one actor that you have worked with that taught you the most?

All the actors that I work with, they are always nice to me. They are all equal in a way. I would like to continue to work with actors like that. They are professional, they know what they are doing, they bring your acting up too. The most beautiful one was Jennifer Garner on Alias, I was very excited when I worked with her because I was a huge fan and she was such a beauty.

You have worked on episodic television, daytime television and feature films. Which do you most prefer?

If I have to pick a personal choice, of course I would say movies, feature films. You get to travel, you have more time to spend with the role, with your character so you can study the acting better. You can perform better. If you get the chance to make an interesting movie, deep movies, maybe you can also relay the movie into a message. Maybe change something that is going wrong in the world nowadays, in our society. That is the beauty of it. But as an actor that has to work and make a living I would answer that I would like to do it all.

You've played a lot of roles in front of the camera. Would you like to play a role behind the camera, such as director or producer?

Yes, I would love to do that. I am a writer. I am producing a movie right now call Phoenix with Director Howard Himelstein, who directed me in my movie ‘My Sexiest Year’, the movie with Harvey Keitel. Yes, I would like to go behind the camera.

Do you have a preference since you have already done some behind the camera work?

No I don’t have a preference. But I still like to act so I think I will stick with writing and producing right now. Being an actor, writer, director and producer would be too much. It would also be very distracting. I tried to do it on a short film and I saw that it to be a lot of work.

Actors usually look for inspiration from somewhere. It could be to prepare for an upcoming role, or maybe to provide some motivation. Professionally, what inspires you?

Just the love for the movies. I don’t have anything particular that inspires me when I prepare for a role. All I do is get very excited if the script is good. I like to think that the role has to be good, it has to inspire you, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to play this character, it is so interesting.’ But sometimes I read the script and I fall in love with the script that I say any character will do it because I just want to be attached to this project because it is such a good movie. I believe that that is the good attitude to approach a movie because it is teamwork it’s not just a one actor act. It is the producers, the writers, the director, the crew and the makeup people. Even the extras, they are very important to a movie. Everybody has to be in sync and everybody has to perform right otherwise if one ring of this chain will fall, everything will fall and you will snap out of the movie and think ‘oh my gosh it isn’t a good movie'.

You mentioned before that you were a writer, can you tell us about the screenplays you are currently developing?

I am currently working on 3 movies. I am working on a Christopher Columbus story, a story that has never been seen before. Basically it is his early life, from his childhood to when he was 28. I want to stop there, the entire movie is about how he got to that point to decide to go discover by accident a new country. I finished the screenplay and I will be working on it maybe next year.

Then I have Phoenix, this other movie that is a drama. It is the story of two brothers that reconnect, reunite after 25 years, after being separated after their mother died. They are going to go on a road trip and rediscover their friendship, their brotherhood and their love for each other. That is the movie I am producing right now with Howard Himelstein.

Then I have another movie which is an action-horror-thriller. It is a very interesting project that I wrote about 2 years ago. It is an action movie for the first part that turns into a thriller that turns into a horror film. So it is unique.

Tell us one thing about yourself that people would be surprised to know?

I am very open and forward. I don’t surprise people because I am really straight forward. If I don’t like something I say so, if I do I say so. The one thing that I could surprise people is my anger towards criminals and people that take advantage of other people. That is the cop in me. I think it is in your DNA. I don’t think they would expect a pretty boy to step into a scene and confront the bad guys right away.

Do you have any advice for aspiring actors?

The thing that I could say is to be determined and keep going no matter what they tell you, you have to keep going. If somebody is determined and has strong stamina because in this business you have to be really, really strong because sometimes you don’t work for years. Sometimes they try to put you down. Always believing in yourself and never stop.

Would you advice be different for people who currently live overseas, say in Italy and wish to break into the American market?

I think the same applies. There is no difference between Italy and America. Even though in Italy the business is really tough because it is a small business over there. It is the same thing, you have to keep going, you can’t stop. You never know when you are going to be a success. I remember my first movie, I was like ‘oh my gosh’, it was by Universal Studios in 2001 and I was like ‘oh my gosh, this is it, this is it’ and it wasn’t it. You always have to work at it, you never know. You might do something really small compared to stuff you have done and you become an overnight success. It isn’t in your hands, all you can do is keep going.