Carlo Imperato Corriere Di Bologna Interview 2024

Danny Amatullo (the star of «Saranno Famous») lives in Bologna: «I'm here for Silvia, I love this city»

The actor Carlo Imperato, 60 years old of Italian origin, was one of the protagonists of the cult TV series of the 1980s. «When I flew to Los Angeles to audition, I wasn't really sure I wanted the part»

«You have ambitious dreams: success, fame. But these things cost money. And it is exactly here that you will begin to pay... with sweat! If you remember these words it means that you too are among the millions of viewers who for years have followed the stories of the students of the New York School of the Performing Arts, the most famous school of the 1980s TV series, that of «Saranno Famosi» . They were uttered by the legendary Lydia Grant, the dance teacher who encouraged her boys, all from different social backgrounds and with various problems behind them, to redeem themselves through art, pursuing their dreams. Leroy Johnson, Bruno Martelli, Coco Hernandez, Danny Amatullo became familiar names to everyone at the time. The latter was a young Italian-American  with the dream of becoming a great successful comedian. Funny, a little clumsy and lazy, but with a heart of gold always ready to help his companions in difficulty, he was played by Carlo Imperato  (now sixty years old), who after that role which gave him global fame, continued to work in world of entertainment between theatre, cinema and TV both as an actor and as an author. Imperato has been at home under the Two Towers for some years .

How did you arrive in Bologna?

«Thanks to Silvia, my girlfriend who is from Bologna. We met a few years ago through mutual friends. One thing led to another and here we are going back and forth between Los Angeles and Emilia."

What do you like most about the city?

«I am also of Italian origin. Both my parents are Italian: my father is Neapolitan and my mother Roman. I love the warmth there, the importance given to family, the food is spectacular, you have good relationships with your neighbors, you go to work peacefully. In short, it's real life. Not like in Hollywood. It is a historic city, with architecture that leaves you speechless. I love our house. I would say that I like everything about Bologna. It's how the world should be."

They saw her at the Dall'Ara stadium at the match. Are you a football fan?

«It was the first time I attended a football match in Italy. In America I go to the stadium in both New York and Los Angeles. But here… it was like going back in time. How to enter the Colosseum. What an emotion. I don't follow football like I follow American sports, but after that last-second equalizer, I became a big rossoblù fan. I like how naturally football is part of the life of Italians."

Why doesn't he speak much Italian?

«At the behest of my grandparents and my parents. They wanted me to speak in English so as not to be marginalized, to be fully integrated into the American culture which was very judgmental at that time. They did it to help us get far in life without the obstacle that a different language can pose. After all, we lived in New York. I understand Italian much better than I speak it, unfortunately. But I'm sure that with all this back and forth, I will regain possession of many words that I heard as a child."

Returning to “Saranno Famous”: how did you get the role of Danny Amatullo?

«When I flew to Los Angeles to audition, I wasn't really sure I wanted the part. I hadn't taken part in the film, I wasn't very motivated. When I arrived at the casting, there was another guy with me, a typical Los Angeles native who refused to shake my hand when I introduced myself. Him being so rude and unprofessional motivated me to give my best and take the role away from him. And so it was."

How did you experience fame after the success you achieved with the series?

«I never got too big, it hasn't changed me at all thanks to the fact that I come from a family that raised me with my feet firmly rooted to the ground. I have always seen acting as a job, a job like many others. Yes, ok, it gives you notoriety but that doesn't make you better than another person who is not known. I was lucky to make the most of my profession and to remain the Carlo that everyone has always known."

Forty-two years have passed since «Saranno Famosi» was first broadcast and it is still one of the best-known series, which has inspired many other subsequent productions. Why do we always look to the past?

«Because you are always fighting with an archetype. "Saranno Famosi" was the first of a genre never told: young adults working to make their dream come true. It was very well done in all aspects: good actors, good directors, good authors, beautiful sets, beautiful costumes. They described reality as it was at that time. Now we think first about having the budget for the special effects and then about the rest. Once a show is successful, instead of proposing something new, clones are proposed because it is easier to replicate a successful recipe than to mix new ingredients. I'm sure we'll get to the thirty-first episode of "Star Trek" and the ninth of "Transformers." And all this replication is done only because it ensures an easy profit, there is nothing nostalgic about it."