Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Enzo Zelocchi

Enzo Zelocchi is a jack-of-all-trades who’s taking his career into his own hands. Instead of waiting for opportunities to come knocking on his door, the actor, director, producer, and writer is creating them for himself. The result? Two viral trailers that broke records.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Enzo about his career, learning to trust his gut, and we learned more about the two projects that audiences are dying to see!

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Enzo: The universe pushed me towards it. I started modeling when I was thirteen. It slowly, but consistently pushed me towards that direction. Shortly after, I started doing commercials, and then I booked a TV show. After that, I became a TV producer. Sometimes when things are meant to be, they’re meant to be.

PC: When you look at your career, who or what has had the biggest influence on your career, either personally or professionally?
Enzo: Personally, definitely my auntie, who is like a mother to me. She recently passed away. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be doing what I am today. She believed in me more than anybody else, more than even myself. I owe her everything.

On a professional level, directors like [Martin] Scorsese and Steven Spielberg – their films move and inspire me. They inspire me to create and push myself. Those are two directors, but I have a whole list. Also, the powerful performances of actors like Al Pacino, Christian Bale, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jack Nicholson, to name a few.

PC: In addition to being an actor, you are also a producer, writer, and director. How has your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actor and vice versa?
Enzo: When you have the chance to wear many different hats, it gives you a better understanding of the process and the difficulties every person can face. Once you understand what a director needs, what a producer needs, you understand as an actor what you can do to make their lives easier and to give the performance you need to give.

PC: With so many different facets to your career, is it ever a challenge to balance all of it?
Enzo: You have to make a commitment to your craft and sacrifice a lot in terms of your personal life. It is a choice that I made, and I do not regret anything. It definitely is a challenge to balance it all, especially when you’re working on multiple projects.

As an actor, you’re all in it. You’re living in the character. You’re building their memories. You’re a thousand percent in it. As a producer, you’re thinking about the business, the finances, and putting it all together. But it’s always fascinating when you can find the right balance and ability to get it all done. It’s a life skill that’s very important for any artist.

PC: You have a couple of really exciting projects coming up. Are there any that you can chat about at this time?
Enzo: Absolutely! The First Secret is inspired by Ian Fleming’s James Bond. I was inspired by the character and developed him into the first Hispanic superhero in the history of Hollywood. We started shooting it last year. Because of COVID, we had to stop because we were supposed to go back to London. We hope to resume as soon as possible, but at least we were able to put together a trailer that we released in March of last year. It received over twenty-eight million views! It was the second most-viewed video worldwide at the time on Instagram.

Another project that I am working on is called The Source. We cut a trailer for that as well. It left a lot of people wondering, “What the heck is this?” I really wanted to create the wow factor with the trailer. That was my big goal. We were able to get over two hundred million views. It broke records.

People were questioning whether it was the right time to release it. They were urging me not to. But when you follow your heart, there is nothing you cannot achieve. That is what I learned in life. Listen to your heart. Believe in yourself. Don’t listen to your fears and keep going!

PC: You wrote, produced, and star in The First Secret. How early on in the process did you realize you wanted to wear all those different hats?
Enzo: At the beginning, I had to make a choice: Do I wait for a phone call or do I do the calling? As actors, you often wait around for the right opportunity, the right script, the right character. You can wait for years and years. I thought, “You know what? Life is short. I have no time to waste.” I started writing and setting goals.

I always write with the brain of a producer. I was like, “What is my budget? What is the best way to make this story work to fit this budget, location, cast, everything.” That is how I normally start my process. I started to create my own opportunities. You can’t wait for your chance. You have to create your own opportunities.

To keep up with Enzo, follow him on Instagram.

Photo Credit: Bjoern Kommerell