Original-Cin Q&A: 'Joey Pants' thanks Canada for his first lead role in From the Vine, and says he never let his kids watch The Sopranos
In a 40-year career with more than 100 film, television and stage credits, Joe Pantoliano established himself as one of the best character actors.
From his breakout as “Guido the Pimp” in Risky Business, to Cypher in The Matrix to mob thug Ralph Cifaretto on The Sopranos, “Joey Pants” has never played a lead.
That drought ends with his latest film, From the Vine, an Independent Canadian film where he stars as Marco Gentile, a depressed CEO who experiences an ethical crisis and returns to his hometown in rural Italy to remotivate himself and his life..
There he finds a new purpose, reviving his grandfather's old vineyard, offering the small town of Acerenza a sustainable future, and reconnecting with his estranged family in the process.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Joe about working on this film and how he felt connected to his character Marco.
Joe Pantoliano plays Marco, a former business exec turned small-town Italian vineyard keeper.
From the Vine will be available across Canada on digital and on demand Friday, July 10.
ORIGINAL-CIN: From the Vine is such a sweet movie. Who wouldn’t want to drop what they are doing in life and move to a beautiful village in Italy to make wine? How did you connect with this little Canadian film?
JOE PANTOLIANO: “Well, you know, it’s a funny story. There was a movie that I was supposed to do that was being shot in Sicily, but it went south and the money wasn't there.
“So my agent called me up shortly after and he said, ‘Don't shoot the messenger, but there's another movie that's going to be shot in Italy that they want you for. So take a look at the script and gauge your interest and the character's name is Marco.’
“So I started reading it and I'm on page eight and I'm looking. And I see that this guy is on every page. So, I called my agent and I said, ‘I think you made a mistake. This character Marco is the lead.’ And he said, ‘They want you for the lead.’ I said, ‘Why would they want me for the lead?’ He said, ‘Well it's a Canadian company.’
And i thought, ‘Well that makes some sense! Canadians love me.’ (Laughs)
OC: We do!
PANTOLIANO: “So I called the director and the producer and we had a nice conversation and there wasn't much time. You know, they pretty much had it all set up and I was the last piece in the puzzle.
“So we talked and then I think five days later I was in Toronto and I met Ken (Kenneth Canio Cancellara) who wrote the book that the film is based on. Then the next thing I knew, I went to a wardrobe fitting, had a little dinner and then the next day I was on an airplane headed to Italy.
“Then everybody showed up and It was this little tiny crew and our small cast and we started using people in the movie that were from the village as extras. It was a beautiful experience.”
OC: Oh, to retire in Italy or move there to make wine! It’s my dream. I would do this in a heartbeat if I could.
PANTOLIANO: “I’ve been thinking about doing something like this and retiring in Italy. However, now, that is pretty impossible with what is going on. I’m not even allowed in the country. Americans have screwed it up so badly that we’re not allowed in Europe, Canada or Mexico! How’s that for a joke?”
OC: That’s a whole other discussion.
PANTOLIANO: “I know, it’s crazy! Mexico's building the wall and they're going to pay for it just to keep us out.” (Laughs)
OC: Did you find yourself relating to Marco?
PANTOLIANO: “Oh very much so. I recall telling Sean Cisterna (the director) that I had so little time to put this character together, I was going to turn it into a documentary.
“Listen, but seriously I remember just about 11 years ago looking out of my bedroom window and thinking that I just wanted to die.”
OC: Truly?
PANTOLIANO: “Oh yes, absolutely. I didn't know why I would want to die but I did. Seemingly, all of my dreams have come true, and I was thinking, ‘I’m making a living that I thought was going to make me happy. And I was married to a woman who I thought was going to make me happy. And I had four kids that I thought were going to make me happy. But in that moment, I just wasn’t.
“I had all these things and I was miserable and I quickly realized shame on me for being miserable. I think that's a universal theme for some reason. I know it's a very American thing but I think even in Canada people can feel this way.”
OC: Well, thank goodness you realized that and are in a good place now.
PANTOLIANO: “It really makes you think though. You go to university and you get a degree. And you get a great job and you find a wife and you have children. And then you think you’ll be happy, right? And look at where things are now.
“The universe has put the brakes on all of it. So we're not working and we've been forced to isolate and by being by ourselves, we get to think more. I have to tell you that in a lot of ways I've never been happier than in the last 4 months and I have a lot to be thankful for.
“My kids come up here because we got a lot of land and a lot of space up here. So we've been isolating and minding our P’s and Q’s.”
OC: You’ve had the opportunity to travel a lot for your career but shooting in this small town of Acerenza in Italy had to have been spectacular. Your character Marco settles in to revive his grandfather’s vineyard. Did you know anything about that process?
PANTOLIANO: “No, nothing at all. I have visited vineyards in the past, and I was very interested in wine. And I was in the restaurant business, so I was familiar with good wines but running a vineyard? I don’t know if that is something I could do.
“The smells and the taste and the dankness is something else. I remember all of us got bronchitis because the town is 5,000 feet in the mountains. So when a cloud would come in it would actually stay there. It felt like we were in a thick fog, but it was literally the cloud we were living in.
“This helps the wine because all of that moisture mixes in with the Oak and the barrels and the grapes and gives it that earthy rich taste.”
OC: You got to work with one of our finest Canadian actresses, Wendy Crewson, who plays your wife in the film.
PANTOLIANO: “I love her so much.”
OC: Did you hit it off right away? You had a lovely chemistry.
PANTOLIANO: “Yeah, we did but she's tough. She smacked me around and believe me, I needed it. So she took me to task and I loved it. I fell more deeply in love with her when she beat me up.
“I could just tell you, I thought I was in love with her so that wasn't acting. She's also just so stoic, in a lot of ways. She took care of all of us on the set.”
OC: Back in 2005 I was invited to do the junket for the movie Racing Stripes, for which you voiced one of the characters. I brought my 12 year old son Ethan to do all of the interviews for me because it was a kid's film and they wanted kids to do it.
So he sits across from you and he's asking all the right questions and I'm standing off to the side being a very proud mom. All of a sudden just out of the blue he says to you, ‘How come you whack so many people on the Sopranos?’ I was mortified, and you were taken aback and proceeded to lecture me as to why I was letting my twelve-year-old son watch the Sopranos!
PANTOLIANO: “That is absolutely hilarious.”
OC: Honestly, Joe. I'll never forget that for the rest of my life. You kidded around with him, asking him if he even knew what being whacked meant!
PANTOLIANO: (Laughs) “I just got to let you know, that's my general take on those kinds of questions for young kids. I'm like, ‘What the hell is that? How did he know about the Sopranos?’
“You know to this day I've got a 40 year old, 34 year old, a 28 year old and a 22 year old. None of them ever saw The Sopranos, because you know, I didn't want them to see that character I played.”
OC: When you look back at your amazing career and all of the memorable characters, from your breakout in Risky Business or The Matrix, or even most recently reuniting with Will Smith in Bad Boys For Life, they were never lead roles. Was that something that you just always preferred to do?
PANTOLIANO: “It was never a set out plan, but I just wanted to get the next job. If I can be memorable and if I can do something that's also different, change it up, I’m happy. Whether it’s drama or a comedy, I always tried to diversify my work so people wouldn’t get used to me.”
“I think part of the reason why I'm working so much again is the nostalgia part of it and I'm all for it. Listen, I’m thrilled to still be working. If I wasn't doing this I'd be in a walker in some retirement village.”
OC: Well, it was lovely to see you in From the Vine and I am sure we will be seeing you in many more projects once this pandemic is over. I would like to be the first to say that I am going to campaign to see you in more lead roles! What do you think?
PANTOLIANO: “ Well, sure! I mean usually I get the lead when they can't afford to pay the movie star.”
OC: I hope you didn't get paid in Canadian dollars!!
PANTOLIANO: “Worse, I got paid Italian lira!” And be sure to tell your son that I am pissed at him for watching the Sopranos!“