We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Danilo Ottaviani. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Danilo below.

Danilo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Practicing is the key. In acting you need 3 fundamental elements: a script, a scene partner and an audience. Listening is everything and it’s a key factor in an acting performance which is mostly made of reactions to something that happened before. There are no shortcuts in this business and learning how to act is a slow process that improves with work experience and the amount of time that you dedicate to the craft. The obstacles can be many but the biggest and most dangerous one is doubting yourself or thinking that you’re not able to do it. Knowing that you have a talent and that your talent is unique because it only YOURS and nobody else’s is a great way to begin the learning process without too much fear of failure.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started out in this business 10 years ago, I graduated in 2012 from one of the top acting academies in Italy (the Teatro Stabile of Turin) and I moved to the US in 2013. Since then I worked in many different facets of the industry such as theater, voice over, commercials, TV and film. My greatest love was and still is the stage and I was fortunate enough to be part of several productions in NYC.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think that learning how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes can be extremely rewarding and very therapeutic, it can also be dangerous at times but if you are a true professional you know how to navigate the process of portraying roles that appear to be a little edgy. Learning the true meaning of ‘listening’ is another very important aspect, there are many levels of listening and I think that through this craft you can really learn how to feel and perceive at a very high level. You also get to know a lot of talented and like minded people, I met some of my best friends in acting classes or through work that I’ve done.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Learning how to act in a language that’s not your mother language can be very difficult at the beginning, because you have the feeling that you have never acted before… It requires a lot of patience and dedication. It takes months of practice and speech lessons before you’re able to master it. As an actor I never wanted to limit myself and I wanted to be able to act Checkov as well as Edward Albee and Moliere without problems, and now looking back I can say that I did it, but it wasn’t easy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daniloottaviani.com
• Instagram: ottaviani.danilo89
• Facebook: Danilo Ottaviani
• Youtube: Danilo Ottaviani

Image Credits
Ph. Mihaela Bogdan