One on One: Anthony Azizi

I am all In. Let's kiss you.

I Am all In with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast.

Hey Everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am all In Podcast one on one interview. We have a very very very special guest. Anthony Azeezi played the role of Luciano for one episode in two thousand and four. He plays a hotel manager that helps Emily and Rory into their room in Rome, Italy. The only time we see Anthony as Luciano is in season five, episode two, A Messenger Nothing More. Anthony is

What's up?

Hub? So? You played Luciano, the hotel manager who helps Emily and Roy into their hotel room. Had you ever seen or heard of the series when you when you got cast for this part?

You know, I did because there was a lot of heat on on the show because of the writing, and as you can see now, I mean it's it's the Palladinos, you know.

I read for them and it was good to read for them. They're they're a really good team. They've been around now for a long time. And so, yeah, I had heard of the show, and I knew the popularity of the show, which was a very popular show.

So yeah, I had heard of the show and I heard.

So so tell us about that day you went in and read Framian Dan So that was the first time you met him both and they were both there.

Yeah, And I was shocked because I would think they'd be too busy for a role like that, you know. I mean, I don't say he's my uncle anymore, but you know he's because he and he kind of Tony Tony shall Hoop is a very dear friend of mine, and he's working on their new series, Missus Maslin. You know, at the level of just I was surprised you were in the room one hundred percent.

I was like, oh, shoot, I can't I can't believe they're in the room. Yeah, And I was.

You know, whenever you walk into a room and you're not expecting.

Certain stars to be there or producers to be there.

I mean I went in one time and I didn't Nobody told me Jeff Goldblum was going to be in the room, and I had to do all this crazy scenes with Jeff Goldblum and it's kind of shocking. So I was shocked that they were both in the room. Yes, they were both in.

The room, right, Yeah, I know, I know that feeling when you walk in and it's like, oh my god, there's a movie star right there watching, not reading with me, but watching, and then there's the big time director there watching. Yeah, and it's like that's that's like whoa, yeah, so did you did you feel but your experience enough at that point in your career where that that wasn't going to throw you off, right, I mean it didn't intimidate you.

No, a little bit. It really did a little bit. It did a little bit, you know, it did it did? It did a little bit. Yes, it threw me off a little bit. It threw me off. I knew the show was very popular. It was a smaller role. I mean, I didn't know. But you know, when you're starting out as an actor, you can't you really can't. Uh, you know, every job matters, like you always think that it's gonna be recurring.

It's funny actors.

Actors every job they do, they think it's gonna be recurring.

They're like, oh, they didn't kill me, so I might come.

You know, they may they made next season, they may have killed more girls in Italy, and Luciano will be beloved and.

He's gonna start to make a bust and took it go crazy crazy to tell you guy.

So to be honest with you, at that point, you're so desperate for work because you're you're starting out, that you don't you know, it is a little nerve wracking because you want you think it's going to be the it's going to be bigger than what it is.

Right, did you did you practice your accident for the role I have?

I grew up in New York, in Philadelphia.

And oh, did you really you're a Philly guy.

But Philly guy?

Oh geez? Were you? Did you?

Were you?

Did you live in South Philly?

I did not live in South Philly. I lived off in Philadelphia outside Philly the.

Main line, and then mostly in in like al tou Bethlin, Lehigh Valley, and I say Philly.

My dad was was was at the he was at the children's hospital, he was a job. He's buried. He's buried in Valley Forge.

I spent a lot of time, you know, in Philadelphia growing up.

So yeah, I was born in Philly. I know, Philly. That's my area.

Oh wow, South Philly. You are a South Philly guy.

No, No, No, born there? And then my parents moved over to South Jersey right away.

Oh okay, so so because.

My mom my dad's from uh god, my mom's from Upper Derby and my dad's from God, it'll come to me at Drexel Hill.

Well yeah, but see It's so funny because those are technically not in They're not Philly Philly, but they are Upper Darby's Philadelphia enough, you know, I mean all that places are you know, Villa Nova is Philly enough.

You know, britin Maher, all those places.

But I love Philadelphia and I love I love growing up in those in the in then in that area, and yeah, and then so I grew up with a lot of Italians and then living in New York, I had so many Italian friends that my.

Accent on that is pretty real.

I mean I spoke Italian at one point pretty fluently, I speaking. And so it was no problem for me to do that role, you know, I mean, I know you guys like that. I worked worked in restaurants for many years as an Italian, as a waiter in Italian restaurants. Basically, that's that's what it is to be you know that that type of role is like a service.

He's an Italian server. You know.

So you were your scene was with a Kelly Bishop. What do you remember working with her? What was it like?

They were with Kelly?

But I think Alexis was in them too, right, Yeah, there, she's very professional, she's very she's old.

School, uh, proper trained actress.

Who really knows how to hit her mark and say her lines very well. And she's an old school professional and and that that's always refreshing, especially on a show like I think that the Palladinos. I think they really like to hire talent, you know. I think they're very talent driven. They're not really bells and whistle and what's the what's the hot flavor of the months and that I don't I don't. I think they they write something and then they go who best can do this role?

Mm hmm.

And so they always have very strong casts. You know.

They're really good at being able to That's that's one thing I would say about.

They're very good at being able to adjudicate talent.

Although they've yeah, although they've kind of hired me, although they've never hired me since.

No, not to their credit. Yeah, they I think for Gilmore, they could have had anybody that was That was at a time when movie people were you know, going over into television. That's when it was all beginning, right because it was always for boating and it was always separate. But then into you know, like the late nineties, and there was a sort of drip of movie people into as you know, as film projects were drying up and there were less and less, they wanted to do television.

Right, there were a lot of there were, Yeah, I mean.

That everybody was unknown nobody. I mean, I think Ed Herman and Kelly Bishop, you know, they were the ones that came in with the resumes, right, especially at herman. But Kelly done a lot of great work and been a lot of great films, but those were really two nobody else knew who anybody was.

Yeah, I mean I think Alexis had done I think one other thing.

She told me, no, no, no. She came right out of n y U Film school to do this role. She never acted before.

Holy yeah, Holy moly.

Yeah, her first gig. She was a model. Oh I see, and you know, a smart kid, and she wanted to write and direct film. She was she was Yeah, she was an n y U.

She was smart.

It's a sweet, very sweet, very quiet yeah, very quiet set.

It was good.

Didn't didn't know what she was getting into. Man, It's like it's a lot of hours.

We were getting hold like a like a creative.

Brain like that.

You know.

It's like, all right, so we have a bunch of fan questions, right, So so let's get to these fan questions. Uh, this is from Melissa from Eugene, Oregon. Do you have a preference on doing a film or a TV series?

Well that's a really interesting question because I when I first moved to LA my agent at the time was a very famous agent, Like I mean, he had a lot of big stars and he and he specialized in a lot of ethnic in minor. He was just he was from New York. And he had people like Angela Bassett and uh Rock Dunton and Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Buscemi, a lot of character, a lot of great actors from New York.

And when I went in, who was who was the agent?

If you don't mind, Lewis Ambrosio?

Okay? Was was he an Isam?

No, he's Ambrosio Mortimer.

He had his own Oh he's Ambrosia. Okay, okay, gotcha? Gotcha?

And and I and you know, well, you know he he had a whole bunch of issues that came up later that was insane. But I have to say I loved him because he always gave me. He gave me a chance when nobody else did. But it's because I knew people that he knew in New York and a way when I went in fromhim, I said, Louis, where do you see me?

Anthony? Anthony, stop bothering me. You're you're a film guy, Anthony, I said.

But see, it was funny because at the time, at the time, I don't know how I saw this in my mind.

But I knew that television was a better beast for me for those reasons you said, so, she would you. I knew that the would be greater longevity. Okay, there would be longer.

There would be if I got on a series that lasted, I'd be on the series for longer, and I would be able to.

I would be able to make a better living.

I would make more money because I didn't see myself as a film star. And then as as as Murphy's Law would have it, my first big job was getting a pretty big role in a major motion picture for Universal Studios.

But I have to say.

I prefer series because of this. I like the grind. Some actors don't like the grind.

I liked. I was the guy when I had my series.

The different series I had, they would always schedule me in the mornings very early and then at night late because they knew I would show up and I and I'd love to be there at grind.

I mean, after a twelve.

Hour day, I was making everyone on the set laugh, and because I just love being on sets, So at the twelfth hour, when everyone's exhausted, I come in there and I'm not like, let me get the hell home.

I'm like, let's do this, everybody, let's go and let's have fun. And you know that was me.

So yeah, I prefer television and I always have. And I'm glad because I started to get more television work and then as you know, it turned and it became very much more now with all the series it's and all the you know, all the streaming, it's all about the series, you know, Breaking Bad and all the same.

I mean, there's still films, but the film.

Industry is tough now, you know, unless you're going to be a superhero, it's tough.

Mm hmm. Yeah. Okay, So this is from Clarice from Dallas, Texas. Uh, what has been your favorite project to film?

Well, is that a TV series or a film?

Any your favorite? Your favorite doesn't matter, favorite experience so low.

I mean, I'm really been lucky, man.

I mean for you know, because when you look at someone like Seinfeld, you know, he's a multi millionaire, but he was stuck for sixteen or whatever. Friends they were stuck on that one set their whole careers, you know, And I've been I've been in so many different ones.

I would say one of them is lost. There's no way.

I can, you know, working for Damien Carlton Q's JJ Abrams with such a diverse cast, shooting on the island of o Wahoo and my childhood friend Daniel day Kim played h Jin I think the name of the character was. I mean, we grew up together in in in Pennsylvania and Philly and outside Philly, and and it was just it was just a great that The Loss is definitely one of the great jobs that I worked on. There's no question that always comes and I like my character, and I just I like the show.

I would say.

The other the other one that really really comes to mind simply because it I mean it was just grand was Commander in Chief with Geena Davis and Donald Sutherlan just because the Rod Lourie had assembled a real that was I think Donald's.

First TV series.

And of course I got to go to work every day with Geena Davis, who has She's an icon.

I mean, she's Academy Award, Golden Globe.

I mean everything, emmy, So it was cool to go to work with her every day. She's awesome, she's brilliant, beautiful person. And uh yeah, that the Commander in Chief was a big one for me for sure.

You you worked with Matt Zukri on The Resident, tell us about.

That he's a really sweet guy. Man, Yeah he is, he really? I mean, god, what uh I've had hearing these nightmare experiences. But of all these different actors, and especially the young ones, no way, man, Matt Man, Matt, I love him. I mean he's such Oh yeah, that was the point up for me.

But that you know that that job was one of those incidents is where they said you are going to be like, you know, every job an actor, so I'm going to recur.

And I did recur in a couple couple I forgot how.

Many episodes I did, but I was supposed to come back even more. And then they used because they didn't want to spend money on me, they used an extra to be me and used the back of my head in all the scenes and I didn't say anything. They just got a guy to look like me. So but Matt was Matts, lovely guy, good actor, very good actor. And I really liked working on The Resident. I love that job. That was a fun job for me. I played like the crown princess of some Saudi or some Arabic country.

Her personal bodyguard slash father figure. So it was fun cool, it was cool. It was a cool job.

Yeah, we love we love Maddie over here. He's he's been on the show a couple of times. He is a lovely guy and really really really is.

What you see is what you And so was the I forgot his name, the couple of his partners on the show, the whole, the whole, I think.

I think Maurice Chestnut was on that show. Maurice Chestnut was awesome.

They had a great cast, and of course there's a there was an Indian doctor who was played they had I forgot his name. Sweetest guy everybody who's just so sweet.

I love that. I love that.

So we know you have two teenage sons. What's that? What's a like grown raising teenage boys.

Well, they're about to drop their their.

Which is called Twin Talk LA and they decided to do it because they are teenagers growing up in Los Angeles that have had, you know, friends die from overdose, friends die from suicide. They have these takeovers with cars like kids, kids going to these takeovers. I mean, there are just so many things that are quintessentially Los Angeles things that I think people would be interested to hear about that would affect teenagers all over the country, teenage

We have about ten of them, ten or twelve of them recorded.

We're not going to start dropping them until we have a bunch and then we'll start dropping them and it'll be very interesting.

Yeah, it's really cool raising kids.

But I'm lucky because raising kids in Los Angeles and teens in Los Angeles, it's probably difficult anywhere, but LA it's challenging, you know, I mean it's challenging.

We I have a young son and yeah, I'm uh, we're facing all of the issues at a time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, LA is a different kind of a place, it is, for sure. Uh so they had do they have any interest in following in your footsteps getting in the acting game.

Well, they keep saying it because you know, they've been around it. They've been on sets since they were kids. And then I had that Broadway show. I think the Broadway Show really was good and bad. I think having them moved to New York and seeing you know, living in a cool ass apartment, going to Lincoln Center every night, and then all the people they met after the shows, including the Clinton's.

Tom Hanks, John Lithgot.

I mean, I mean, it's the list is endless of people who came to see the show because the show won a bunch of major awards.

I think they got the bug a little bit.

I think they just like being they're very they're very social kids, and they they they like talking to people, they like listening to people, and.

Uh, you know, they're they're they're they're soccer players. That's their performance art.

And you know, one of them, both of them may have aspirations to even do that professionally. I don't know, but they're good students. So I don't really necessarily. I want them to do what they love, but I don't push them toward this business. No way, right, this is too.

Crazy, right right? So what are you working on now? You have anything coming out?

I am, I'm working I guess. I guess this job would be up in the top great jobs. I'm working on a series for Apple TV called Tehran and it just won the Emmy for Best International TV Series. They have they have Emmys for International and our own local Emmys. It's a it's an Sbiona show about Israelis and Iranians and it's dope. The acting is dope, the writing is dope.

And Hugh his House. I don't know. For those of you who watch, you know he's doctor House.

And Glenn closest film and television icon in her own right, and I'm working on that right now. We shooting Greece, so I've been going back and forth from LA to Greece, so it's been a little challenging, but I'm really I love Greece and I love the Greek people, but I really love the show that the people on it. The director Daniel Serkin is one of the He's just a gem of an artist, human being. There's a handful of directors. Brian Spicer, Rob Lourie, the late Mike Nichols, Daniel Sirk.

I mean, there's just real great.

Mike Nichols was directing an episode.

You're serious, I've worked with.

I'm just just saying, there's okay, handful of directors that I just have been like wow or I really love being around them and they're so gracious to me. And Daniel's amazing. He's a really really talented guy.

Where are you shooting in Greece?

Athens mostly? And it's all.

Do you have any downtime while you're there? You get to enjoy the place.

I do. I do.

And I've gone to a few places, and you're I have family all over Europe.

So I went to Germany, and.

I'm gonna go to Istanbul on the next ride and then maybe go to maybe go to Israel. Maybe goes that family in Israel. I have family, and I have family in Italy, France.

There's a lot of choices. Yeah, but what you do.

It's because because once you're out there, and Athens is pretty central to Europe, so you can jump on a plane and in two hours be anywhere in Europe.

It's cool.

All right, we're gonna we're gonna get into a little thing we call rapid fire. So I'm gonna fire questions at you about the show, and you're gonna fire answers back at me as fast as you possibly. Ken, Anthony, are you ready?

I'm gonna try. Sure, rapid fire my brain works. But by the way, this white beard is for oh but it does. Like my kids call me Papa Smurf. It ages me, so my brain I feel like I'm a nine year old guy.

Nah man, you're looking good, brother, What are you talking about? Come out here we go. All right, here's the first question. Ready, how do you like your coffee?

Black?

Are your team Logan, Team Jess or Team Dean Team Dean? What is your favorite Gilmore Girls couple Luke and Lorelei or Richard.

And Emily Richard and Emily?

Would you what would you order at Luke Stiner, Fries, Jackson or tailor Taylor for town selectmen?

Taylor?

Well, would you rather listen to hep Alien or the Troubadour's cover.

Songs, Troubadour's cover songs.

Harvard or Yale?

Harvard?

Why Harvard?

Because I think that if you go to Harvard you'll get paid more money when you get out of I don't think for some reason Yale is an IVY League too.

But you never.

Every time, anytime anyone talks about an IVY League school. Shit, there's nine of them, man, there's eight of him. You never mentioned any of them. You never hear about Cornell or Dartmouth. You never all you hear, You never hear about Brown.

All you hear is Harvard, Harvard, Harvard. Oh you want to Harvard? You want to Harvard Harvard. That's the only reason why.

What's Rory's bigger mistake? Crashing the car her boyfriend built for her or sleeping with her ex who is.

Married, sleeping with her ex who was married.

Gotcha, happens to be the same guy. But who from Gilmour would you not want with you stuck on a deserted island?

I would probably say the role that herman played, Richard.

Yeah, Richard, you you would not want him on the desert island. No, I would not want rich I tell me why because he went to Yale.

Because because he just he's gonna talk too much, and he's I don't don't really want to hear. You know, the even are really great, Richard.

He's gonna talk to uh something in your life. You are all in on.

Soccer.

There you go, big soccer guy.

Huh, big soccer guyself and my kids they that's all they do.

I mean, who's your team?

Who?

Who you? Who's your European team?

Our European team, and I don't know the results I thought. My kids keep texting me, is Chelsea? Okay, that's our European team. But we also have European teams all over like like Like I said, I have family and friends that are like in France, so we support certain teams in France.

Like in Greece.

We have for all the relationships I have with the Greek people, not only did I work, but I know we love the Greek soccer. Their club system is great because we know the teams and we're when fans were kinda panath and I.

Say that ten times real fast, go ahead, but.

We have shirts and everything from the team and the I just can't even say the name of the club.

You know, I was in UH. I was in Germany in nineteen eighty seven or nineteen eighty eight, one of those years when Germany won the World Cup. Oh wow, I was there. I was in that country. I was in God, where was I was in Hamburg at that time?

Oh my god? That was the people going.

Crazy, losing their minds. It was like the entire country erupted and the celebration went on and on. I mean it was quite a weekend, I'll tell you.

Wow.

Yeah, which all my German friends were just going they were going nuts. It was fun.

Oh yeah, they're nice people. Just in Germany. I was just so when you say took it. I was in Frankfurt last time, when I was in a I love Germans. They're great. They're great people.

Yeah, they're they're very you know, once they get to know you a little bit, they they're they're they really warm up and they're just so funny and so smart and warm. It's it's one of the you know, my uh mother's mother is from Frankfurt. Actually, so when I landed in Germany the first time, I kind of felt like I was home.

Wow.

I understood the people. I just understood their their mentality.

Well, they're very quiet people, they're very proper people.

It's ironic that it's such a radical movement of hatred arose from such really soft spoken, loving kind people.

It's it's it blows my mind.

That that that they could have had such a a dark period in their in their existence, because they're really good people, like I mean, they're very sweet people.

They've gone above and beyond since those days is post World War two, to make up for all the you know, the sins of the father and really wonderful people.

Man.

I've done a couple of conventions over there in the last couple of years, and man, they show up and droves and they are wonderful. Yeah, they are just they're just really filled with joy and filled with love, and it's it's really an amazing country and beautiful country. Wow, what aful country.

Beautiful.

Yes, I can't wait to go back to Europe anyway, Anthony, thank you so much for waiting, apologize for that.

And thank you for having me. What a joy and what a pleasure. You're a lovely person yourself.

I feel your energy and I wish that's with whatever your endeavors are, because you're a very sweet man.

You're thank you. You're a good good man yourself, and good luck with everything, and have fun and.

Great thank you. I'm gonna eat some soul for you.

Yes man. Gosh, you're making me want to go to Europe. Man, I'm getting the bug because the weather's warming up a little bit and I just want to go to Europe. Anyway. All the best to you, Anthony, and uh and good luck with your son's podcast. Where can we what is the name of it again.

It's twin Talk l A. And it'll be up and running in the next spot two or three months and you can get it on all the platforms, Spotify, Apple.

Those places.

All right, great, and everybody do that because you know it's it's interesting, interesting topics for sure.

Funny man, dynamic kids. You'll like it. They're funny, they have a I mean, we have some crazy episodes.

All right, good deal man, all right, all the best.

You too, man, Thank you, good talking to you.

All right, see you hey, everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at I Am all in podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com. Oh you're Gilmore friends. If you're looking for the best cup of coffee in the world, go to my website from my company Scottip dot com s c O T. T y P dot com, scottip dot com Grade one Specialty Coffee