We were lucky to catch up with Francesco Antonio recently and have shared our conversation below.

Francesco, appreciate you joining us today. Do you have an agent or someone (or a team) that helps you secure opportunities and compensation for your creative work? How did you meet you, why did you decide to work with them, why do you think they decided to work with you?

When I was in the Acting Conservatory at York University in Toronto, Canada, they had a showcase at the end of the year for all of the senior students. We all had to perform 2 monologues and the seats would be full of agents who came to watch, like scouts. The hope was to walk off stage with a talent rep and for me that was huge because this craft, this industry became my obsession and my purpose. I knew that I had to get an agent so I could get auditions and eventually climb my way up to the top.

I had worked really hard on my showcase, my professors had been coaching me, they even picked my outfit for the performance, it was very strategic. After my final dress rehearsal, I  thought it would be a good idea to stop at the local bar for a Guiness and a Jameson to calm my nerves. Mid- way through my drink, 2 youths decided to take me on in a 2 – on – 1. My face and hands were mangled. The shirt my professors picked was torn and covered in blood. I was in so much trouble and I figured that was it for me. No one was going to sign me.

The next day I battled between showing up to the showcase or just skipping it. I showed up at the last minute, in time to perform. I was so swollen, I looked like Rocky Balboa doing Shakespeare. I did the performance but I really thought no one would call me because of my appearance and that’s when Jana Abrams gave me a call. I remember going to her office, in a suit two sizes too big, nervous as hell. No matter how tough I thought I was, this meant a lot to me. When we sat down for the interview, the first thing she did was ask me to raise my hands up, then rotate them around. “Yeah you’ll never be a hand model”, Jana said.

Now years later we have a huge team including my US rep Dena Saraceno from Aegis Talent and my Music team at DKO Music Group who have been a huge part of my music development and career.

Francesco, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an actor, recording artist, writer, director and partner at several companies in the digital media, film production and fitness industry

My life really started when I was in Highschool. I didn’t go to most classes except for Drama. The teacher, Mr.Farro always showed me respect and I enjoyed using his class as an outlet to entertain without being called a class clown. By the end of the class, I fell in love with acting and he convinced me to audition and apply to several acting conservatories to train.

After 4 years in a conservatory I was signed by my agent Jana Abrams and began auditioning in Toronto. I used my creativity to create my own, independent projects, so I can build my resume. This allowed me to get in more rooms, faster. I was blessed to book some fantastic jobs and immediately I began building my network and team. After working in Toronto for a year, I moved to California to pursue acting in Hollywood.

At the same time I was working on music as a recording artist and one day when I was in a Toronto studio I met music legend SNOW. He heard me freestyle rapping and took me on under his label DKO MUSIC GROUP. With them I released two songs “Together” and “Help”.

Now between Toronto and Hollywood, after several TV and Film projects and music releases, I continue to work on my craft as an actor, director, writer and performing artist. I have also partnered and work with companies like Creative Social, Woodbridge Media and Apex Fit. I like to stay busy and use my passions for multimedia, arts and fitness to build businesses that provide excellent services and products to my community.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After my first big show in Toronto, I took every single penny I had, got a lawyer, applied for my Work Visa and moved to California. I took the biggest risk of my life, leaving behind everything to start a new life with not a penny to my name. When I got there, I had moved into a house of 10 actors and shared a corner of a room with 4. It was a crazy change for me and that whole first week I survived on canned beans and minute rice. I was motivated though, ready to build my career and make every connection I could possibly make.

As I started to build momentum and find my footing…. the pandemic hit. Literally a week after I got there. I have to pack up and go back home, the industry and world was at a standstill. This of course would last the next 3 years which is all I had on that Work Visa I spent all of my money on. I was at rock bottom, I was heart broken and realized I basically had to start all over.

I fell into this crazy depression, I gained a bunch of weight and when I realized that all I was doing was hurting myself. I decided to push myself to get healthy and get working. I worked on creating my own projects, I worked at finding the money I knew I would need to reapply for my papers and through hard work and not giving up I ended right back in California, with my Visa, with a new opportunity and this time way more prepared  and in even better shape than my first trip. Life is crazy and sometimes it seems like it’s slowing you down but if you keep working you may find that those obstacles are really opportunities to do better.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal has always been to win an Oscar. But let me be clear in how this goal came to be. Acting was something that came to me, and I tell people all the time that it literally saved my life by giving me a purpose. I feel as a result I owe it to the Acting Gods and to myself to be the best. When I was in university, I sat in a lecture where a professor asked a lecture hall of about 100 theatre students where they saw themself in 5 years, prompting them to consider sweeping floors at their favorite theatre or being the assistant to the assistant of a big casting director , ect. When he called upon me my answer was this: ” In 5 years I want to win an Oscar” He laughed at me and said my goal was stupid, that it was impossible and called on the class to also join in on laughing at my farfetched goal. He asked me “What will you do in 5 years when you have no Oscar” My answer was this: ” In 5 years if I work at the level of getting an Oscar and still have no Oscar, I know I will still be further ahead than the person who spent 5 years working towards sweeping floors.”

So my goal is to still win an Oscar but it’s not about the Oscar, it’s about working harder than everyone else so I can be the best.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.francescoantonio.ca
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francesco.antonio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrancescoAntonioOfficial/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefranantonio/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/FrancescoAntonio

Image Credits
Jonny Marlowe Amazon Prime Five Seven Films Woodbridge Media DKO Music Group