Pop-Culturalist.com

Lorenzo Pozzan is a dynamic leading man who is captivating audiences with his breakout performance in From Scratch. The must-see drama follows an artist who finds romance with a chef in Italy and embarks on a life-changing journey of love, loss, resilience, and hope across cultures and continents. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Lorenzo about From Scratch, how his connection to the story led to an expanded role, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling?
Lorenzo: Storytelling has always been one of the greatest forces at play in my life as far back as I can remember. As energetic and active as I was growing up, I used to love sitting in bed at night waiting for my Venetian nonna to tell me stories or going to visit my Corsican mina and sitting at her kitchen table for hours, listening to her recount tales from what felt like another epoch. My imagination would run wild, and I would create stories and scenarios of my own in my head and live in them and let them entertain me and enrich my life.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Lorenzo: Love. My love for human beings pushes me to study and understand our intricacies, starting with my own. The love for the unifying power of storytelling and its uplifting, therapeutic abilities. Love for diversity, unapologetic uniqueness, and the undeniable universality it highlights. The love for the incredible wealth of untold stories and unborn pictures still waiting to be shared, found or even told altogether.

PC: You’re one of the stars of From Scratch. Tell us about the series, your character, and what attracted you to this project.
Lorenzo: It was love at first sight. I play Filippo, Lino’s best friend in Italy. He is a good guy and filled with such passion for life, but sometimes he takes it too far. I love layered characters who embody contrast and duality. The writing is so rich, vibrant, and careful. I felt “seen” in the nuances of the Italian immigrants’ experience. My mother is from an island called Corsica, similar to Lino’s Sicily. My father is from Italy, and as a family, we have experienced cancer and loss on both sides, making From Scratch a story that thematically resonates with me on many levels. Netflix really created something special giving the Locke sisters full creative freedom to adapt this extraordinary true story. Telling it has felt cathartic, special, and healing—a true gift.

PC: You delivered such a breakout performance in this series that they actually expanded your role. How did that affect the way that you approached this character?
Lorenzo: Everything felt very organic. I was lucky to work with creatives that welcomed and encouraged dialogue, character questions, development, and notes. On my end, my approach was honestly a consequence of just how incredibly personal this story felt. I felt I could not do the material proper justice without bringing to life all the nuance and detail that was already on the page. Next thing I knew, opportunities had been added to broaden and deepen the arc of the character as well as the scope of this magnificent, life-changing journey.

PC: With this being one of your biggest roles to date, is there a scene that you’re excited for audiences to see? Which was the most challenging to film?
Lorenzo: The wedding scenes were the hardest to film. The task was ambitious, to say the least. We recreated parts of a villa in Florence and filmed it from spectacular angles with elaborate setups, capturing those special, intimate moments while in Los Angeles. It was obviously a success and lots of fun (watch Episode 3, for proof) but certainly not simple.

From an acting perspective, the dinner scene in Florence where Filippo jokes about Lino’s father not attending the wedding was challenging because of all the extras involved and the change in an already tight schedule. But unforeseen is the new normal on film/TV sets, and with a crew and cast like those involved on From Scratch, even the toughest challenges become feasible.

PC: You’re such a dynamic storyteller. As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role you’d love to bring to life?
Lorenzo: I love stories above all and greatly enjoy challenges. My personal preference at the moment is to play fictional or slightly more obscure roles that allow creative freedom in their portrayal while contributing actively to amazing stories. I would also love to play some sort of athlete dealing with the intricacies of the mind and body. Definitely look forward to having the opportunity of playing an action hero—and why not a superhero! And at some point, I’d love to tackle some of the classics (maybe a Shakespearean king). I also dream of playing a character from Corsica, or some very specific place, to really tap into the universal power of specificity.

To keep up with Lorenzo, follow him on Instagram. Watch From Scratch on Netflix today.