Exclusive Interview: Andrea Scarduzio Discusses His Journey into Acting, How He Hopes to Inspire Others, and The Equalizer 3

Andrea Scarduzio is a gifted storyteller who is best known for his transformative performances in projects including Roam Rome Mein, Genius: Picasso, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Currently, he can be seen starring opposite Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 3.

Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia. In the film, Andrea shines as Vincent, one of the foes that Denze’s character faces off with.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak Andrea about his journey as an actor, how he hopes to inspire others to dream big, joining the cast of The Equalizer 3, and what it’s meant to him to be a part of this iconic franchise.

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting and storytelling? When did you know that you wanted to pursue it professionally?
Andrea: I knew very, very early on. When I was five, I watched a lot of films with my mom. One day, we watched Conan the Barbarian. I was so impressed with Arnold [Schwarzenegger], his body, the sword-wielding—basically the whole thing. My mom had to explain to me that he wasn’t a real barbarian and that he was an actor. After that, I watched more movies with Arnold and became obsessed with him. I dreamt about becoming an actor.

A few years later when I was eight or nine years old, I watched Carlito’s Way, which I know isn’t a movie for kids, but I watched a lot of films that I wasn’t supposed to be watching. [laughs] I became obsessed with Al Pacino. He felt a lot closer to me because he was Italian.

I thought it was cool to play different roles and scenarios. It resonated with me right away.

PC: You’ve been so open about the ups and downs that you’ve faced in life and throughout your career. During those more challenging times, how were you able to persevere?
Andrea: I’m proud of the hard times. I come from a small country town in the middle of nowhere. No one there dreamed about becoming an actor or coming to Hollywood. Everyone was very realistic, and the traditional path was to go to school and get a job. But I think it’s important to share my story and hopefully inspire a kid who may come from a small town that you can dream big. I want to represent endless possibilities and the idea that if you put in the work and are true to yourself you can achieve anything. It doesn’t matter where you come from, even if it’s a small town in the countryside of Italy. You can really do anything if you’re willing to put in the work. The world benefits from you when you’re being the best version of yourself and chasing your dreams. I want people to be successful. I want kids to chase their dreams. I hope that my story can inspire others. I’ve been getting some beautiful messages in the past few days since the film came out, and that’s been the most rewarding part.

To answer your question, I’m not sure how I got through the difficult times. From 2004 to 2007, I lived in a garage. Times were tough. A lot happened. I had some health issues. My wife vanished. Someone stole my identity. I was deported. This all happened in the span of a few years. It was a lot of hardships. How did I get through it? I’m not sure. I just knew that I had to keep working and there was something here worth exploring. I really wanted to do this.

I could have been successful in so many other jobs. I could have done so many other things, but this is what I really wanted. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a child. I was either going to do it or I was going to die trying. I never thought about giving up.

When I didn’t have auditions, I would do fake auditions. I would read and work on my English. Twenty years ago, I didn’t speak a word of English. I kept working and waiting for opportunities to come my way. I had to have faith. I did a lot of mediation. I was always working on becoming the best version of myself.

I had to have faith in myself and the universe that eventually the hard work would pay off.

PC: And now you’re one of the stars of The Equalizer 3. The film is out now and it’s been incredibly well received. What was it about this script that resonated with you?
Andrea: When I was auditioning for the role, I loved the character and the scenes that I read. It immediately resonated with me in a way that interested me in playing this character. I knew I wanted to explore his subtleties and embrace that stillness. That was the feeling that I got from the character when I was auditioning for the role. When I got the script, it was so spot on in terms of how I interpreted the character. There’s so much that’s internalized with this character as opposed to his brother who is very loud and big, which is how I interpreted the character before getting the full script.

Once I got the role, I had a few ideas about who this character was. I thought he was a guy who would be reading Marcus Aurelius, which was included in the film. The ideas were very much in line with how director Antoine [Fuqua] saw the character. Martin Landau said on The Actors Studio that villains never see themselves as the bad guys. They always think that they’re doing great for the world. That was such a shocking idea that stayed with me for twenty years. That’s insane. It’s a clear sign of being a psychopath and being unable to relate to other people’s emotions or feelings. You’re brutally going about your business and you don’t care. There’s a lot of that in this character.

It’s interesting. I’ve been acting for twenty-one years and have gone through thick and thin. There’s a part of the work that you do as an actor and part of the work that you do as a human being. It all converges into these moments and into these performances. You don’t always get to play all your notes in a project, but you get to play some and explore. There was a lot of physicality in this role, especially towards the end. It’s funny how everything comes into play, even the recovery time in between takes and that mental preparation. It’s really beautiful. Filmmaking is really beautiful. Hard work does pay off. No dream is too big.

PC: You’ve also said in previous interviews that Denzel [Washington] likes to take a lot of risks and you didn’t know what he was going to throw at you. How did that push you as a storyteller and actor? What did you learn about your craft working alongside him?
Andrea: It was absolutely amazing. It was so interesting to watch one of the greatest actors alive take so many risks and be so open. He would do a scene and then do it in a completely different way. You never knew what he was going to do or say or what his intentions were, and every take was so good. There was never a bad take. He gives the director a lot of variety for the editing room. I didn’t know what would make the final film because we did it in so many different ways. It was brilliant. I got to watch one of the greatest actors play and not be bound by what’s in the script. He was so free in his performance.

That’s one of the reasons why he’s one of the greatest. It was a master class. You feed off his energy, and you have to be present because you never know what he is going to throw at you. It was like a tennis match. He serves, you respond. It’s a back and forth. It was so inspiring. This is a dream team. Denzel and Antoine are the real deal.

PC: This is the final film in this franchise. What has it meant to you to be a part of this legacy?
Andrea: It’s amazing. I met Pedro Pascal a couple of nights ago and he said that I was now part of this legacy and that we were bonded. It feels great because you know that a Denzel film is going to be immortalized. It’s part of history. He’s done so many great films in many different genres.

I was just talking to my mom, who isn’t into action or violent films, and even she loved it. Who isn’t going to watch a Denzel film? Everyone watches it because every performance is amazing. This is a Denzel and Antoine Fuqua film.

It’s been amazing to see the response from the fans. They’ve been saying it’s the best of the three. The reviews have been great. I’ve seen it three times and I still want to watch it. One of my best buddies in LA has been begging me to watch it with him. We were trying to go to the Grove recently and it was completely sold out. We couldn’t get a ticket for any screening. I’m so incredibly thankful. Again, it goes back to hard work pays off. You just need to have patience, humility, resilience, courage, and all of that.

I’ve been doing gratitude work and meditation for years. Gratitude is very powerful. We always have a lot to be thankful for even when we don’t have the things that we want. There are always reasons to be thankful. The universe responds to that.

When you’re in a state of joy or state of gratitude, the universe will give you more reasons to be thankful. It’s magic.

PC: I know that you’re big on manifestation. Now having worked with both Denzel and Tom [Cruise], what’s left on your bucket list?
Andrea: There’s so much that I want to accomplish. There are so many people that I would love to work with and so many stories that I would like to explore. I’ve said this in the past, but I’d love to play a pirate. That goes back to my childhood when I was really fascinated by them. But maybe it’s literally anything with a sword. [laughs]

I have so many dream roles. I want to push my physical and mental limitations and play roles that allow me to explore myself.

There are also so many people that I’d love to work with, from Scorsese to James Cameron to Spielberg, as well as Christian Bale and DiCaprio. The list is endless. I would definitely like to work with Christian Bale. I feel like any time you work with these great actors, you show up with empty pockets and you leave taking so much away.

My dream has always been to act and explore characters and worlds. It was never about being in Hollywood or living in LA. The dream was to see the world through characters and meet great people who can inspire me to be better.

People who I look up to make me want to grind harder. I’m not the same guy that started this journey twenty-one years ago. In five years, I want to be better than I am today. If I’m not, then that means I wasted time. That’s also the message that I want to send to kids. I talk to my nephew who’s ten. He has dreams. He wants to be a soccer player. Sometimes he tells me, “Uncle, I’m not good enough.” I always say, “It doesn’t matter where you are now. It’s about what you’re willing to do to be better. It’s about the person that you’re willing to become to accomplish your dreams. That’s what counts. Nobody knows how hard you’re willing to work. Nobody knows what you have in your heart. Nobody knows what you have in your soul. Nobody knows how much you’re willing to take. Only you know that. So what are you willing to become? No dream is too big.” That’s what I tell my nephew. He tells me, “I’m not good enough to be a soccer player.” I always say, “Maybe not now, but what can you become in five years? That guy will be good enough if you work hard and you believe it.”

When you look in the mirror in the morning, the person you see can be your best friend or your biggest enemy. The choice is yours. If you met me twenty years ago, this dream was out of reach. It really was. I couldn’t even speak English. But it’s about who I became in the process that counts.

To keep up with Andrea, follow him on Instagram. The Equalizer 3 is in theaters now.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Stefano Montesi