Today is:
Follow us on Twitter so we can
alert you of updates!
www.Twitter.com/TeenmentNews
Peter Facinelli:
Awesome Fans, The Power of Twitter and Landing the Role of a Lifetime That Doesn't Exactly Suck!
by: Susan J. Yeager
Peter Facinelli is relaxed and friendly, despite being interviewed in the middle of a mall where hundreds of fans (read that young and older female admirers) have waited for hours to get an autograph and/or take a picture with the good-looking actor. The chaos doesn't seem to faze the man who knows portions of the proceeds are going to raise money for charity and that these are the people who support his movies and television projects. He'll supply the one hundred and ten percent to bringing characters to life, but what good is that if no one sees all of his time and effort? He'd still be acting even if he wasn't in one of the past year's biggest cultural phenomenon (The Twilight Saga) or on one of cable's most buzzed about new television shows ("Nurse Jackie" ). After all, he's been working steadily for over 15 years, building a following and a resume that most thespians would kill for. Meeting some of the people who are affected by his work? Well, days like this are just icing on an already very delicious cake.
The acting bug actually bit Peter fairly early in life, though he didn't admit it right away. "When I was in third grade, I saw 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' and I thought 'Those guys look like they're having fun. That's what I want to do.' That movie kind of inspired me to want to be an actor. I never really did anything about it because telling my parents that I wanted to be an actor was like telling them I wanted to go to Mars! I was first generation American. I was born in Queens. We didn't know anybody in the industry. I didn't know how to get involved or how to do it. I was also painstakingly shy."
"All through high school, I never did a play. When I got to college, I started telling my parents I was going to be a lawyer because I liked the whole courtroom drama aspect of it. Then I realized that lawyers spend most of their time trying not to go to court. So I skipped the courtroom drama and went straight for the drama. I transferred in to NYU and studied theater there. I studied hard. They taught me a lot. I can honestly say, if I didn't study acting, I wouldn't be doing what I am doing now. It's not like I was this natural-born actor. I really worked hard. I had a New York accent that was pretty thick. They cured me of that going to school. I learned a craft and then I learned to apply it. When I was 21, I started working and I've been working ever since."
"The first thing I ever did was a movie called 'Angela,' Peter recalls when asked about his first professional job. "Rebecca Miller wrote and directed it," (Rebecca is Arthur's daughter). "I played, 'Lucifer', the devil… completely unrecognizable. I was head to toe white make-up, which was kind of a preview [of what was to come]. It's all come full circle."
Several television guest spots and TV movies followed, including one called "An Unfinished Affair" where he met his wife, actress Jennie Garth. He starred in a hit teen movie called "Can't Hardly Wait" with Jennifer Love Hewitt and almost every other teen actor who was note-worthy in the late nineties. He was in the "Scorpion King" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and guest-starred on the critically acclaimed HBO series "Six Feet Under." The cutting edge drama series he starred in on FOX called "Fastlane" proved to be a little too edgy for the network and they cancelled it prematurely after only one season.
Peter almost missed the chance to create an iconic character and be a part of a film franchise that would further fuel a world-wide obsession with a little "family" named "Cullen." "My agents called me," he begins when asked how he first heard about "Twilight." "They said, 'There's a movie being made called "Twilight." It's a vampire movie. Do you want to go up for it?' and I said, 'no.' I just thought, 'Vampire movie?' The first thing that came to mind was blood and gore and some kind of zombie, B, vampire movie. They said, 'No, it's based on a book which has got a nice following and Catherine Hardwick's directing it.' I said, "Well, I love Catherine Hardwick's work so I'd love to meet her." And they said, 'Well, your meeting is tomorrow.' I said, 'okay.' There was no script so they sent me the book. I started reading it at 5:00PM. I read it straight through till 2AM in the morning. I couldn't put it down. Fell in love with the book. Fell in love with the character. I went in and auditioned. I had one scene. I read with Catherine and I got the part."
The "part" is that of "Dr. Carlisle Cullen," the father-figure to five young vampires, in the movie version of "Twilight" and its sequel "New Moon." He is currently filming the third installment of the saga called "Eclipse" and Summit Entertainment has just greenlit pre-production on the last book of the series titled "Breaking Dawn." That book is rumored to be split in to two films which would have Peter playing "Carlisle" in five films. The character is a kind-hearted vampire who has long ago given up feeding on human blood and substitutes animal's blood to sustain himself. He and his family live in regular communities with mere mortals where he works as a doctor. When his son "Edward" falls in love with an average, teenager named "Bella" the family's secret is compromised.
Fans that worried that the actors wouldn't take the beloved characters as seriously as they took them could rest easy that at least "Carlisle" was in great hands. Peter put so much thought into creating the character, he should have his own commentary on a DVD so fans can fully appreciate the respect he has for the books and the written version of the man he plays on screen. "I think the rest of the cast used to laugh at me 'cause I was like the foremost aficionado on 'Twilight'," he admits with a laugh. "I had done so much research online… back stories… knew everybody's characters. I knew when they were bitten. I was like a walking Wikipedia of 'Twilight.' I'd have conversations with them being like "I bit you in blah blah blah year, you know in 1924 and this is where Carlisle's traveled. I kind of mapped out all of his travels, where he would have gone after he was bitten in the 1600's, places he would have traveled. Things he would have seen. I did a lot of research on history. I felt like I needed to know all of that history so even though it's not said on film, it was in me. I felt like me, having that knowledge in me, would give me that appearance of living many, many, years. So I did a lot of imagining of what it would be like to go through all those times and why he loves baseball."
"Babe Ruth, at one point, he was the biggest slugger in the world. He pointed to center field with his bat, and then the next pitch… belted it right in the spot he pointed at. People were kind of debating, 'Well, did he really point to the spot or was he just holding his bat out?' Many people believe that he pointed that bat and hit it right where he wanted it. The whole Babe Ruth thing, when I point that bat… that wasn't in the script. I went up to Catherine, she didn't know what the Babe Ruth pointing of the bat was, but I told her about it. I said "I'd like to do this because I feel like at some point, Carlisle met Babe Ruth and that would have given him his love for baseball.' So that was my homage to Babe Ruth."
Peter tells us that the physical transformation of playing a character that is over 300 years old (but doesn't age after being changed into a vampire) was crucial to making him believable on screen. "I remember going in in the morning when I was shooting 'Twilight,' the driver drove me to work and when I was 'Carlisle,' in full costume and make-up, he didn't know I was the same guy. When I washed off my make-up and got back in the car, he was like, 'You play Carlisle?' He didn't realize that I was the same person, because the transformation is so different. But it definitely helps when I put that make-up on; when my hair is done the way 'Carlisle' does it, when you put those contacts lens' in… you start to feel that character."
"And the clothes help too," he continues. "People say, 'You seem so much older in that movie.' I was going for that. It's not so much that I look older, it's the way he dresses is more mature than the Cullen kids. So when people meet me and I have jeans on and a t-shirt, they're like 'you look so old in that movie' and it's because of how he dresses."
"I worked a lot on his physical movement. Carlisle moves very distinctly and his speech pattern is very different from mine too. It's more breathier. And a little bit has a little tinge of mid-trans-Atlantic accent. He's from England but I thought over time he would have lost it to fit in. I felt like he would still have a tinge of the proper way of speaking that was different from a contemporary speech pattern. So those are things I worked on. I was very cognizant that I'm only ten years older than the cast mates. I wanted to make sure that I appeared to be a father figure and not like a brother figure to them. I wanted to make sure on film, that he appeared to be their father. So that's what I worked on. It helped that that the other actors were playing their characters more contemporary. So when I played mine from a different era, more poised and proper, it helped bring that character to life."
"I also gave him the love of scarves. That wasn't in the book or the script, but I thought 'Carlisle,' because he's from England, he has this proper form, he might have carried that down and still wore scarves. I also thought 'Here's a guy who got bitten by vampires, he might have this phobia about having his next exposed.' These are the back story that no one knows… but there are reasons for everything I do." See, we told you that he took it seriously. And that was all for the first movie!
"The second movie, I had all that knowledge already so I was like, 'Okay, where do I go from there?' Also, the second movie, the Cullen family's not in it that much, so I worked more on the relationships of stuff rather that the back story… his relationships with his kids and Bella. So that's where I took it in the second movie."
Speaking of the second movie, during the time of the interview, most aspects of "New Moon" were still tightly under wraps, so Peter was not at liberty to say much about it. This is what he could say. "New Moon is kind of a love triangle between Jacob and Edward and Bella. It's going to have some more special effects than 'Twilight' did, because it really focuses on the werewolf side of Forks, with Jacob's character. The transformations of werewolves into humans and humans into werewolves are going to be a neat special effect that I'm excited to see as a fan."
When exactly did Peter realize how big a deal this little movie was going to be? It wasn't while they were making "Twilight." "During filming, nobody knew that it was going to be such a phenomenon. We were just trying to make a good movie. We knew that there was a fan base. We didn't realize how big it was going to snowball in to and become this cultural phenomenon. Certainly, I never imagined coming to a mall where the whole mall is filled with thousands of people. The summer after we finished filming, I remember being in Hawaii and there were kids reading the books. So it made me feel like 'Wow, this is starting to snowball in to something.' But not until, I think, the premiere where we just got belted by blocks and blocks of screaming fans. It was really surreal because no one had seen the movie yet. You had all these screaming fans, screaming with excitement for something they hadn't even seen yet. I remember thinking 'Wow, this is great! Hopefully, they'll like the movie because this excited crowd can turn in to an angry mob on the way out if they don't like it.' Thankfully, the movie was really good and they loved the movie and it's carried over to this."
In situations like this, celebrities can either choose to ignore their massive fan base or they can embrace them and Peter has certainly chosen the latter. "It's changed," Peter laments about the flood of information on the Internet and the methods used to keep in touch with fans. "When I started the business, the more mysterious you were, the more separated you were from the fans... the more interested they were in you. Because there is so much information out there with the Internet, I feel like the more connected you are nowadays with the fans, the better it is. I love and appreciate the fans. My ways to give back is to connect with them in ways like this, and in ways like twittering. It's kind of fun to be able to share that. I'm not in to documenting my life in some 'Kate Plus 8'… Jon and Kate way but to be able to throw the fans some information and have them be happy and tell them what I'm up to and have them respond the way they do is kind of fun."
"I was kind of against twitter when I first heard of it, he continues. "I didn't like the name of it. 'Twittering' sounded dirty and I didn't like it. I was like "What's this twitter thing?" Once I started getting in to it and so many fans signed on to follow me, I thought 'Wow, what a powerful way to reach people.' I had this twitter bet with my friend, he lost. In losing, his thing that he had to do was dance down Hollywood Boulevard in a bikini. So it was a lot of fun for the twitter folks, they had a great time with it, but I thought, 'How can I turn this bet into something positive?' So I took this thing and made it into a charity event. Affliction Clothing Store came on board and they donated $ 10,000 to the Christopher Reeve Foundation. I thought, 'Wow, that's a powerful message.' That's a real powerful message to say, 'Look what we can do in unity.' Even coming together for something as silly as this bet, we all came together for something and something good came out of it.
"Being able to twitter, 'Hey I'm going to be in WV' and get people to come out here to come and help with this other charity event… it's a very powerful tool to be able to reach a mass amount of people with a touch of a button. So I find it a great tool. You say to yourself, 'Well, how can I use this for something positive?' and not just tell them, "Hey, I picked up laundry today.' So I try to have fun on it, but then I try to also have people connect and do some good."
Have an IPhone and want to know more about Peter? There's an app for that! "I have an application on my IPhone now. Someone created an app for me, which is like a Web site on my IPhone. So I started having, basically, followers on this app. They've kind of dubbed themselves the 'appinellis.' I started a scarf drive on that Web site because 'Carlisle' wears scarves, so they came and started talking scarves all the time on the app. I said, 'Why don't we do a scarf drive? Let's see how many scarves you can make in a month. The one who creates the most scarves, I'll try to get two tickets to the nearest Twilight convention.' So when I get all these scarves, I'm going to donate them to people who need them. That's why I think twittering and the application is a great device… a great tool to be able to band people together for something positive."
While in the midst of the "Twilight Saga," Peter is also generating a buzz on a new Showtime series. It's not exactly something his younger fans should watch, but those 18 and over should probably check it out. "'Nurse Jackie' came around and Edie Falco was attached to it. I thought, 'Anything Edie Falco does has to be good because she's a very talented actress,' so I read the script. I thought it was great. It's a very contrasting role from 'Carlisle.' It's fun to be able to play two people who have the same occupation that are worlds apart. It's kind of exciting because I have this mainstream franchise, cultural phenomenon on one hand and then I have this well respected show that's gotten some great critical attention. Again, it's mass market appeal. I mean it got, I think, the highest rating Showtime ever got for its premiere."
All of his hard work is paying off and Peter finds confirmation of that in some unique places. "Somebody sent me a picture of 'Carlisle' and 'Dr. Cooper' (his 'Nurse Jackie' character) side by side, they look so completely different! For me, it's amazing to say that that's the same person. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the work that I've done in the past. I'm glad that some of the work I'm doing now is getting some attention."
What's also getting people's attention is the amount of time that Peter dedicates to charity. "In between work, I try to spend time with my family, but I also try to give back to the community by doing these charity events. I went to play Vampire Baseball up in Portland and that was for the Make a Wish Foundation. My wife and I are talking about starting a fund, called the 'Little Faces Fund,' which would be funds basically to give to charities that help children." The father of three little girls believes very much in giving back and being thankful for all of his blessings. "I'm in a great place now where I can reach a mass amount of people," he says thankfully. "One phone call, I was able to get Affliction to sponsor an event and get $10,000 for the Christopher Reeve Foundation."
With the third "Twilight" film in production now, "Nurse Jackie" resuming shooting, a beautiful family, and ample charity work on the schedule (and don't forget promotion of "New Moon), Peter Facinelli's juggling act is enough to make even the most seasoned performer a little dizzy. The actor seems to take it all in stride. "It's a very exciting time for me and my career," he says understatedly. Yes, it is. But this is one actor who is talented enough and deserving enough to have his cake and be allowed to eat it too.
To read our coverage of Peter's Mall Visit... Click Here!!
To find out more about Peter, including how to join his social networks... www.Peter-Facinelli.com
All Photos Provided and Copyrighted by: Summit Entertainment or EnterTeenment News(unless otherwise credited). Do Not Use without permission from these companies.
