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Giacomo Gianniotti is taking Grey Sloan Memorial and ShondaLand by storm as the newest doctor to join the Grey's Anatomy cast.
First, there was McDreamy; then, McSteamy, and now, there is
McDork? Well, if you ask
Grey’s Anatomy newcomer Giacomo Gianniotti, who joined
the cast at the end of season 11, that is what he would call himself. “My
character’s a dork,” he tells
HELLO! about Dr. Andrew DeLuca. “He’s not like a
bumbling idiot; he has confidence, but he is just trying to figure it out.”
CLICK HERE TO READ SOME MORE FUN FACTS ABOUT GIACOMO
Giacomo moved to Canada from Italy at the age of 8 Photo: Getty Images
Similar to his character, who is a new intern at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the 26-year-old is fresh meat, so to speak in the city of dreams. Growing
up in Rome until the age of 8, then moving to a small town three hours north of
Toronto with his mom where “everyone had their doors unlocked,” Giacomo didn’t
really begin to pursue acting until he moved in with his dad in Toronto. “He
left everything he had in Italy to come be a father to me in Canada because he
didn’t have a dad,” he explains. “He’s kind of my rock so I moved to Toronto
and went to arts school where I started to take acting more seriously.”
For two years after high school, he returned to Rome and
then had more thorough training at an acting conservatory in Toronto before
paying a visit to ShondaLand. The audition for the
Grey’s role took place at
the end of 2014, and in February 2015, he decided to move to Los Angeles to give
the pilot season a try. He, along with two friends, packed up his Honda and a 5
x 8 trailer that they named "Trailer Swift and Two Chains" and set out on the
2,500 mile adventure from his hometown.
The humble actor joined the Grey's cast as a series regular in 2015 Photo: ABC/ Richard Cartwright
Somewhere in Missouri (about 15 hours into their drive and
four months after the initial audition), the single actor received a call from
his manager telling him the role for
Grey’s was down to him and another actor,
and that
Shonda Rhimes wanted to meet him as soon as he got there. In between jam sessions (he is also a
musician), some fun with a GoPro and almost losing his packed trailer on the
highway due to poorly attached chains, Giacomo prepped for his audition for the
remainder of their three-day journey.
After nailing the audition for the role, which at first was only
supposed to be a couple episodes, it was announced in January that he was
promoted to a series regular alongside the cast including
Ellen Pompeo, Justin
Chambers
, Chandra Wilson and Kevin McKidd. In fact, Kevin directed his first
episode. “I had a great first day, basically busting out of an ambulance, tons
of medical jargon and Kevin,” he says. “It’s nice to be directed by an actor.”
In addition to keeping busy in his scrubs, the humble actor
will be starring in the upcoming movie
Race about Jesse Owens competing in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Keep reading below for more
Grey’s set secrets like Ellen’s
favorite rapper and what Giacomo did in Berlin that broke the rules!
The Italian-born actor moved to L.A. a year ago to follow his dreams Photo: Getty Images
HELLO!: When you were cast as a series regular, did Shonda
come out with big balloons or something very Oprah-esque?
Giacomo Gianniotti: No, it was very discreet. Debbie Allen, one of our
executive producers just came up to me and told me they were picking up my
option and welcome to
Grey’s Anatomy.
She gave me a big hug.
H!: Grey’s is now in its 12th season, being
the new kid on the block, did the cast have any welcome rituals for you?
GG: I didn’t get any hazing of sorts, but Justin Chambers
is a really great guy. He just gave me the lay of the land of how things worked
and opened up to me a lot about just acting and how to deal with being an actor
on this show. I was very grateful for the wisdom he showed me.
H!: What’s it like working with Ellen Pompeo? She seems
to always have a smile on her face.
GG: She is so much fun. She is just in a state of a
constant good time and is making sure everyone else is having a great time.
She’s always pumping the latest Drake song when she walks by, dancing to it.
The 26-year-old has bonded nicely with his cast, especially Justin Chambers Photo: Getty Images
H!: You joked that your nickname is McDork, but do you
see yourself as the new heartthrob of the show?
GG: That’s just not my job. My job is to go on and, you
know, prepare my lines and connect with people. If people want to call me a
heartthrob, that’s fine. I’m not oblivious to, you know, parts of why a guy is
hired at a certain time, but obviously they’ve given me much more. They’ve
given me some really nice stuff to play.
H!: Now that you are on a medical show, do you find
yourself self-diagnosing or friends?
GG: No, no, none of that. I am waiting to be in a
situation like on an airplane or restaurant when somebody yells out, “Is there
a doctor in the building?” I know a little part of me, just a small part, is
going to start to get up. Then, I’ll immediately check myself and sit down.
H!: Has your family become Grey’s Anatomy fans with your being on the show?
GG:
Grey’s is
massive in Italy so my Italian family is so proud, and I have so many friends
back in Rome that are following me religiously so it’s great to feel that love.
My immediate family is in Toronto, and they also follow it.
H!: Any splurges since being cast on the show?
GG: I’ve always not really let my lifestyle change too
much. I think it’s more about eating out a little bit more or being able to fly
a friend or family in. Those little pleasures are the bigger rewards for me –
being able to include other people in my job and success.
Giacomo with co-stars Jason George and Martin Henderson at aTVfest in Atlanta Photo: Getty Images
H!: Any great advice you’ve been given since becoming an
Angeleno?
GG: When I first got here, a guy I met told me if you
show up on time with your lines down and sober, you are already ahead of like
80 percent of the actors in this city. For me, it’s a no brainer, that’s what
is expected. I’m very lucky, I was raised very well with a good head on my
shoulders, and I know why I came here. I’m very focused. I want to contribute
to the next generation of great actors in this world, so it’s just great to
sort of hear you’re doing everything right.
H!: When did you know you wanted to be an actor?
GG: I was 10. I never really wanted to be an actor until
I got this job in an Italian film called La Bomba (The Bomb). I had this small
part as a street kid, and I fell in love with the idea of all these people
working together toward this one goal. Everyone had their own role but everyone
is equally important; it’s very collaborative.
H!: Whose career do you aspire to have?
GG: I have a lot of heroes. Because I speak Italian, and
it’s my first language, I dream of a career that I can work in both the
European market and have American success. I see people like Javier Bardem, who
works a lot in Spanish films then he [stars] in the ultra-American blockbuster
film. To go back to your roots working with these incredible independent
filmmakers, speaking your native tongue in your native land – that for me is
sort of the dream.
Giacomo has joked that his guitar is his girlfriend
H!: Which actress would you love to play opposite?
GG: Probably Julianne Moore. I don’t think there is a
single actress I have more respect for than her. She’s the real deal.
H!: Grey’s is
back and you also have the movie
Race
coming out on February 19. What was it like being a part of this cast that also
stars Jason Sudeikis and Stephen James.
GG: It’s a really great independent film. It’s a biopic
story of Jesse Owens, who traveled with his American team to represent the
country during Hitler’s Nazi regime. We all trained together. I play a Jewish
runner Sam Stoller. At the last minute Jesse and another African American
sprinter Ralph Metcalfe replaced them because of Hitler [not allowing any
Jewish participants.]
H!: Was it fun to shoot in Berlin?
GG: I loved the city. The stadium is still there. Funny
story, on my lunch break one day when we were shooting at the actual stadium, I
wanted to go in, but it was locked. I hopped the fence and got on the track,
and I decided in that moment to run a lap for my character who didn’t get to. I
did the 400 meter relay for him as fast as I could.
H!: Going back to
Grey’s, what did you do when you found out you were going to be a series
regular?
GG: It was just happiness. It was sort of like a
confirmation of all the choices that I’ve made. Everything in the universe
telling me that I’m exactly where I need to be.
Grey's Anatomy returns February 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.