Rising Star Greg Canestrari On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

An Interview With Edward Sylvan

…Be happy and enjoy your life. Balance is everything. I’m certainly not saying to live recklessly just so you can have more to bring to the table of your career. I’m just saying that the fuller our life is and the more we have lived, the better an actor we could potentially become and the happier we will be. There’s so much more experience from which to draw to then really build our careers.

As a part of our series about creating a successful career in TV and Film, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Greg Canestrari.

Greg was born and raised in the US near Boston. He lived in New York City after graduating with a BFA degree in Performing Arts at Emerson College. Some of his stage and Musical Theatre credits include THE FANTASTICKS, GREASE, WEST SIDE STORY, CABARET and HAMLET. For the past 20 years, Greg has been based out of the London area where his credits include lead roles in MISS SAIGON and The West End production of LATIN FEVER in association with BBC’s “Strictly Come Dancing”. Greg also contributed to the development of various roles in the Musical THE LORD OF THE RINGS before it made its stage premiere. Greg’s most recent UK film credits include the role of Tim Kingsley in the upcoming feature film THE KING OF SUNFLOWER as well as his supporting lead role of Padre in the upcoming feature film ANGELS FALLEN 2: WARRIORS OF PEACE. His UK TV credits include the role of Mitch in Amazon Prime’s major upcoming series, THE POWER, Jerry Delucci in Season 1 of the international hit television series LILYHAMMER, Will Willis in BBC’s TOAST OF TINSELTOWN, Martino Marrone in Season 2 of TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES and Cohenno in 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY. Greg has also starred in various national and international commercials. When not on set, you can see Greg performing live as a vocalist at exclusive venues in London and its surrounding areas.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Sure. I was born and raised in an Italian-American family in the town of Bellingham, Massachusetts. While growing up, at that time, music and sports were my world, sports being a distant second. My family were always very creative including not only music but art and literature too. I was always close with my sisters.

I often shunned my neighborhood friends, though, to stay at home and get lost in my world of playing drums or guitar or whatever other musical thing I was into at the time. I was good at it, which made it easy for me to love, but it was also my escape. They went hand in hand. I was a loner as a kid. I still am in ways, however, when you get older I think you learn how to embrace the good people you’re fortunate to have in your life.

Growing up I was very much surrounded by Catholicism. Holidays, like Christmas and Easter, were naturally huge events for us. When I was around ten years old, I vividly remember being in church singing Sy Miller and Jill Jackson’s hymn, “Let There Be Peace On Earth”. I would always sing that hymn. I was in the church choir at the time because my mother was the organist. In our small town (small at the time), it was very unusual that you would see a little kid stand up in front of a huge congregation and sing a hymn as a solo. I was always nervous but I loved it, especially after the time the Sunday morning congregation gave me my very first rapturous applause. I couldn’t believe it! It was very unexpected. I wasn’t used to that sort of response by so many people at once, and at church. I almost felt a little guilty about it. I’ll never forget it. In thinking about it, maybe it was partly the reason why I got hooked on show biz.

Around this same time in my childhood, I had the privilege of seeing my very first Musical, “The King and I” which starred the one and only Yul Brynner at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Seeing that show, if nothing else, really planted the seed of my love for being on stage. It was predominantly music though, growing up in this modest town, that carried me through my childhood until I went to college.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Yes. It’s kind of a personal story. It’s also a little long so I will try to keep it short. It was in London in 2009, that I started working in the film/TV industry alongside my Musical Theatre career which I had developed from various shows over the years prior to this time. The West End production I was involved with in 2009 was “Latin Fever”, a musical extravaganza in association with “Strictly Come Dancing”. What a show that was. At that specific time, my wife was back in the Philippines arranging everything for her children to return with her to the UK and live with us.

A week or so into rehearsals, I had a video chat with my sister in the US. I could tell how careful she was trying to be in timing the delivery of the information she wanted to tell me. Mom was brought to the hospital by ambulance because of an unusually painful headache she was experiencing. My mother was close to all three of us despite the complications, But aren’t there always complications in a family. It’s amazing the perspective hindsight brings. She had headaches before but never like this. Anyway, it turned out to be an aneurysm. However, she had some of the best doctors and specialists in the world looking after her. She felt strong and all signs looked good which comforted us, albeit to an extent.

The night before her surgery I spoke with her on the phone. I was in the UK. It was all happening so quickly. God only knows how much I wanted to be there in person. I’ll never forget that conversation. She was feeling positive and I could hear her smile. My mother was always seeped in faith, even through the toughest of times. I know she was prepared for whatever the outcome of the surgery and probably even knew things we didn’t at the time. We were far from prepared. I couldn’t actually see past the emotion of that moment on the phone with her although I tried to hide it. Again, I just couldn’t believe I couldn’t be there with her and my sisters in person. It was almost like an outer-body experience propelling me there as we spoke. As we said goodbye, she told me, “Keep on rehearsing, keep on performing Greg. It will all be ok”. There was nothing but love.

The next day I was back in rehearsal mode, full throttle, doing my best to focus on the task at hand instead of secretly worrying about my mother three thousand miles away. I hadn’t told anyone about it at that point. Suddenly, I received a text. It was my brother-in-law. “Call me”. My heart literally sank to the floor. I went into a silent panic. I had to come clean to the Musical Director about what was going on. I made the call to the US. The surgery didn’t go well only minutes after it had begun. There I was, on the phone with my sisters, three thousand very, very long miles away. We were now all with her at her bedside as she took her final breath. My sister described to me every painful moment. I was beside myself and pretty much inconsolable. In the end, when it’s your time, it’s your time. Nothing on Earth is going to be able to stop it, even if you have some of the best doctors on your side. There were other additional and personal factors, as well, that contributed in making this so devastating for me. I can’t get into that now though.

I flew home to the US immediately. The funeral was an abyss of emotion for everyone there. Virtually the whole town attended. My mother was very much loved by many people.

A few days later, after things settled down a little, I had to return to the UK and go straight to the theatre for my West End opening of the show. I didn’t know what world I was in but the cast were very supportive. With two thousand five hundred people in the audience that night, it was incredibly surreal for me. I had to purposefully not over think it. Still, there I was on stage, in the darkness, in front of that incredible orchestra about to sing the first note of the show. The lights came up. I knew exactly who was in the audience. I managed somehow to keep it together.

A few days after that, my wife returned to the UK with the children. All these elements now were converging. It was, for lack of a more accurate word, bizarre to have been in such a fragile state of mind at the time while meeting my wife’s two children, for the first time, at the airport. I was nervous, excited but grieving too and not sure what to expect. I’m sure they had no idea what to expect either. They flew across the globe excited and bright-eyed to come and live with us and start their new lives in the UK. I felt for them. I would be lying, though, if I said I was ready at the time for this new chapter.

After the run finished, something in me felt jolted and out of place. I felt so disconnected. I needed something different, something more. I know I couldn’t leave show business because that was all I ever knew and it was still what I loved although something in me did die with my mother. Still, I could never forget my mother’s very last words to me on the phone. So I decided to focus all my energy on my shift into TV and film.

I’ll never truly turn my back on Musicals. It’s where I come from and where I received so much of my stage training. It was also during the Musical run of Miss Saigon where I met my wife so it has personal meaning for me too. It was important for me, though, that I made this shift when I did. I really dove in head first too. As fate would have it, entirely obedient to my mother’s last words, soon after, I was offered the role of Jerry Delucci in “Lilyhammer”. “Lilyhammer” is Netflix’s very first original program and the first series to stream internationally. It was a big break for me and started the ball rolling to where I am now in my career.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Not sure what would constitute “most interesting” but I do have a few stories. Here’s an interesting one perhaps when I was filming “Chimerica”. I don’t mean to drop names here but it’s relevant to the story. I was doing a scene with Alessandro Nivola, Cherry Jones and F. Murray Abraham. I somehow managed to cut my hand in the middle of my scene. I continued through it despite the pain. Granted it wasn’t excruciating pain but it definitely took me by surprise and almost threw me off. The director loved the intensity of that take. When I actually showed him my motivation for it he quickly understood and proceeded to applaud me somewhat cynically. After I sorted out the blood etc, we all began talking about the time DiCaprio cut his hand on the set of “Django” but played through it despite the pain. I hadn’t known about that at the time until these wonderful A-listers informed me about it. Sometimes I feel I can almost see my life from an outside view. I wish I could have taken a picture of that conversational moment. I would have framed it.

Another very quick story was when I played Cliff in “Cabaret” back in ’92. I was waiting for Fraulein Schneider to walk on stage in the middle of our scene. She never made it on until about three or four minutes later, leaving me alone on stage with a growingly suspecting audience and forcing me to have to produce some pretty clever improvisation on the spot. I guess you just have to consider these things a challenge to rise to in the moment. If not, the potential of an actor caving in badly in front of an audience is very real. Thirty seconds can feel like an eternity never mind three or four minutes of this. She was happy though to buy me not one but a lot of drinks in payment of that blunder. That’s live theatre for you as they say.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

First one I can think of off the top of my head was when I was singing “Bring Him Home”. It was a semi-professional Musical Theatre Production that toured Germany and Holland. A huge audience attended at the US Embassy in Bonn, Germany. The entire cast was sitting on stage behind me. I started the song, “God on high, hear my prayer….” Then, after I had sung this song a hundred times before, I drew a complete blank. I totally forgot the next line. In a split second, maybe in a panic too, I don’t know, I became so angry with myself that I kicked myself hard internally to get it right.

I focused from that point on like never before. I really let it rip. I instinctively improvised some words to muddle through until I remembered something, anything again. I started speaking, “… I am old and I need help…”. I could sense now the silent laughter coming from the cast behind me. Suddenly, the lyrics came back to me. I continued on to sing the rest of the song… “He is young. He’s afraid….” and so on. But now, I was so angry with myself but also so driven for having made that mistake that I poured every ounce of myself into the rest of the song.

Afterward, the cast told me that they were blown away by that performance and how I dealt with it all, despite the mistake. I’m not sure if the audience knew about the mistake. It’s hard to say when this song, even back then, was such a popular Musical Theatre song. Everyone recognises it still. From that one mistake, I learned the value of sticking with a moment no matter what, even if it appears like a lost cause. You can turn it around to make it work. There’s always hope if you stick with it.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Right now, I am in the middle of completing the last finishing touches of my role as Mitch in “The Power”. Once released it will be one of Amazon Prime’s signature series. I also recently wrapped the main filming of my role as Tim Kingsley in “The King Of Sunflower” as well as Padre in “Angels Fallen 2: Warriors of Peace”. Both set for streaming and beyond in early 2023.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

No matter what career you choose in life, the chance of failure will always be present. It’s the same for everyone no matter who you are. You can’t just hide in a hole your whole life fearing the unknown, unless you truly want to. If a career in show business is absolutely the only career you can ever image yourself doing, then yes, you should go for it. Don’t ever be afraid to follow your dreams. That’s why we have them.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

1) I firmly believe in authenticity and truth on screen. I don’t believe you can have this and not embrace diversity at the same time. Otherwise, we might as well go back to the days of Vaudeville in the early 1900s when white actors played black characters. How truthful was that? Just awful.

2) It’s also important to embrace diversity because in the end we are all human beings who thankfully can each bring to a project his or her own individual culture and experience to authenticate a story and role where others of a different culture would not necessarily be able to nearly the same degree. It’s about telling a story truthfully.

3) Everyone in life deserves a fair shot at whatever dream their heart desires whether they are black, white, asian, female, male, gay, straight, non-binary and so on, simple as that. It’s not rocket-science. We all have a story that deserves to be told and should be… in full. What stories there would be! I’m not, at the end of the day, a very big fan of censorship, especially when it becomes over-censorship.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1) Be patient

This one is not hard for me to discuss at all in retrospect. When I was 20 years old, I had a sudden and major life-crisis. A life-crisis… at 20! My life had just started in many ways. I was going to graduate soon from college. I should have been working hard and enjoying life. Of course I was doing that. However, one day I somehow developed this impending feeling that I was going to end up in a gutter somewhere. No one was ever going to know or care. “What the hell am I doing with my life?! I’m not nearly where I need to be in my career! What am I going to do?” I thought to myself, on and on. I guess I panicked. But then I thought about who and what I would possibly ever be if I were to quit show business. That straightened me right out because the answer to that was that I could not begin to imagine it. Be patient. Work hard. Then work even harder. Find inspiration. One step at a time. Some very talented actors don’t end up making it big until much later on in life. That’s ok. Be patient.

2) Commitment

This one is tricky because of logistics so I totally get it. A lot of actors have backup plans in their life. Meaning: Backup jobs, backup majors at college, careers, etc. There’s nothing wrong with that. Be aware though of how much energy you are giving, or feel you need to give, to anything other than what you really love and intend on pursuing in life. You might be, in reality, putting in so much sweat and tears, maybe even achieving too, something much different than what you thought you would be. Suddenly you question yourself. You would still be ok if that was the case. Just never forget about the commitment and dedication it takes to achieve a successful career in show business, if that is what you truly want to achieve in life. It takes a lot of focus.

I’ve battled with this many times myself having needed to take on various kinds of sides jobs through the years. Eventually though, I always woke up and figured out how to get back on track. I was so miserable not giving my energy to what I love and to which I have invested so much of my time already. Yes bills still need to be paid while making your dreams come true. That’s life. Choosing to commit will always need your commitment.

3) Advice

I believe it’s crucial to always be open to good advice and even constructive criticism in order to grow not only as an actor but a person. Be cautious though of what kind of advice you receive and from whom you take it onboard. It’s important to be discerning. A lot of people give advice solely from their perspective for whatever that may mean for them. That’s usually the only advice they know how to give which is rarely unbiased. They don’t usually mean any harm although that is exactly what it could bring if you listen to everything you hear.

There was a time when I used to be a little gullible. I’m not proud of that but it’s true. I sometimes took onboard advice that was not good for me. Not every time thank God but I believed in the good in people. I still believe in the good in people, however now in a very different way. It’s a completely different discerning approach I have now. I was too naive back then. You live and learn though. Such is life. Experience can be the greatest teacher. Now my radar is so attuned and cautious that advice has to go through strict ciphers before I even start listening. Doing this has served me well. I wish I was attuned to this much earlier on.

4) A full and happy life

This sounds corny I know but it’s true. Apologies if I sound a little preachy. It’s not meant. Sometimes I get so obsessed with my career that I wake up and feel like a rat running endlessly on a wheel. But to what end exactly? I’m less like that now than I used to be, despite the fact that I feel I still have a long way to go in my career. We get so driven, especially in our early years, that sometimes we miss the fact that it is this very life experience we are leaving behind to have a career that we need to bring to the table when we land a role. It’s a conundrum. At that point, we’ve realised that we avoided a part of life when it could have perhaps added a lot of insight to a role we needed to play. But above it all, we are still human beings besides actors. Be happy and enjoy your life. Balance is everything. I’m certainly not saying to live recklessly just so you can have more to bring to the table of your career. I’m just saying that the fuller our life is and the more we have lived, the better an actor we could potentially become and the happier we will be. There’s so much more experience from which to draw to then really build our careers.

5) Presenting Yourself

This often comes down to pure confidence in the end. Sometimes confidence comes with age so perhaps this is just a generalisation. It’s a given that it is very important to have talent and skills. But it’s just as important to know how to present yourself to people so that they will want to be around you and work with you. I often meet young people, even those in their twenties who are in the business but who have not yet, it seems anyway, developed the skills to communicate well and connect with people. If acting is anything, it’s about communication, even down to the very basic things like shaking hands or in the words we choose to use in a conversation when meeting someone in person. I say in person because I do not mean texting or videoing in any way. It’s crucial to develop these skills in person, when meeting people in person.

We are in the business of selling ourselves. It sounds crude to say and, basically, this is true about any business out there at the end of the day. I know what you’re thinking. Some things shouldn’t be rushed. All in good time. Different people develop skills at different stages in life. That is totally fine and of course natural and right. It is an incredibly important and useful tool to have though when, for example, meeting a director who you might find intimidating or producer or fellow actor. How are you coming across? You, first and foremost, want to be comfortable with yourself. First impressions, however, always go a long way in show biz. Judgment is extremely rife, sadly. I find the sooner we develop these life-skills, while being authentic, the better. It’s forever an on-going process.

For me, I was a very shy child. I wasn’t shy musically, only socially. I remember in high school though when I discovered the art of harmless flirting. Talk about a dam breaking. I probably learned this much earlier on but didn’t realize what it was called until then. It felt good and I perhaps became a little too enthusiastic about it at first. Discovering this, no doubt by accident, I think helped to bring me out of my shell and awaken the potential benefits of connecting with others. I gradually put the pieces together in my head. My social confidence grew from there. I have to say though, this was just my experience. I certainly don’t believe that flirting is the only way, or even the best way to break the ice with this kind of development. There are definitely other ways. But to each their own.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Remember why you love what you do. Remember why you are doing it and need to do it. Remember why, truly why, you chose to be committed to it at the start. Choose to change things up. Make them fresh again. Reinvent. Thankfully art, in all of its forms, allows a license for constant creativity. Bring that creativity to everything you do and you’ll never burn out but thrive.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I might end up getting a little too corny and idealistic with this kind of question, so bear with me. At the very least, for me, it would have to be kindness. Kindness is such a great and strong “action-word” and a visual one for me too. Kindness can be shown in so many ways. It is an inherent element of something much greater from which kindness itself is just an effect. When you’re being kind to someone, whether for the first time or on a regular basis, It’s because you want to be kind to them. It’s like standing at a doorway and peaking your head around the corner into a boundless world of love asking if you can come in. When you start to love someone, it is easy to be kind to them. But I don’t believe you can possess love for anyone without first being able to show them kindness. If every world leader was able to show kindness to other leaders every single day, without varnishing its meaning in any way, what a better world this would be.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Well, there are so many people I could mention who have played their own part in helping me, probably without ever having known it. I would mention my mother first and foremost though. Without her help and encouragement my career and the life I know truly would not have been possible. The amount of gratitude I have for her will simply never measure up, as long as I live, to what she has given me. I could also name a few professors at the colleges I’ve attended who were instrumental in their specific way. There are certain friends through the years who have shown unfailing and invaluable support. Of course, I want to mention my lovely wife who is always understanding when I have to film on location somewhere or whatever the case may be. All of these people plus some, together, with my mother firmly at the helm, have all helped me along the way.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Seize the day” I have always loved this quote. It’s a very adventurous quote too which I love because I am adventurous. Seizing comes in many forms and degrees. When you seize the day it can be very different than seizing another day. Still, you are seizing it. You’re taking control of it in a good and positive way to make it the best you can for yourself and/or everyone else. Robin Williams could not have said it better or have been more right in the film, “Dead Poets Society”. He was nothing if not an inspiration to me. I have seized many days in my life thus far, some only an attempt of a seizure but failed miserably. Still you try. What else can we do?

Looking, for example, at some of my childhood days that were not going very well for me for whatever the reason. I often would always want to be by myself to deal with it on my own. I would go out and find something in life, some piece of happiness somewhere, out in the woods most probably, where I would find solitude. Maybe it was just my adventurous nature talking to me. I don’t know.

As an adult, I could refer to one of my previous answers. When I was performing in Bonn, Germany, I seized the day. I took control of what was bad and made it better than it would have been if my mistake of forgetting the lyrics had never even happened. Seize the day. Make it not good but great. Sounds idealistic but it has in fact worked for me. If me, why not others.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

It’s actually difficult to say just one person. Professionally speaking, as I’ve been lucky enough to have briefly spoken to him on the phone a while back, I would love to sit down and have a private breakfast or lunch in person with Francis Ford Coppola. He has directed some of the most iconic and successful films in film history including some of my personal favorites of all time. His insights would be absolutely invaluable and a privilege for me to hear. I’m not sure it would need to be only business talk though. We are also both very Italian-American. I’m sure there would be a lot of interesting things we could discuss about where our families originate.

Sean Penn is another prominent person whose acting performances I have literally studied. I find him to be a very fine actor. So encapsulating. I would love to sit down with him and chat about life and the business over lunch.

There are many others actors too like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. They’re idols of mine. Also, Meryl Streep. I would ultimately like to work with all of these wonderful actors too.

Other prominent sports people I would love to meet are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I used to be a tennis player. Now I am a huge tennis fan. These two athletes over the years have repeatedly inspired me so much not only in the aspect of physical endurance but mental strength and temperament too. Just phenomenal.

How can our readers follow you online?

You always can find me on my website: www.greglive.com

My Instagram name is “iamgregcanestrari”.

My Facebook page name is “Greg Canestrari”

My Twitter ID is @gregcanestrari

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thank you. I enjoyed this. I wish you all continued success as well.