The actor, Sebastiano Pigazzi, opens up to L&rsquo;OFFICIEL about playing Anthony's boyfriend, Giuseppe, in 'And Just Like That...' Season 3 and being stereotyped as a heartthrob, both onscreen and off.

PHOTOGRAPHY&nbsp;Julian Hargreaves

First of all, 29-year-old actor Sebastiano Pigazzi wants to clarify a few things. First of all, despite his Italian roots and distinctive name, he was born in the United States, not Italy, as can be read on the internet.
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"Whoever runs my Wikipedia page hates me. My date of birth is incorrect and it says I was born in Rome, but I am an American citizen born in Boston. I grew up between New York and Los Angeles... which is a little west of Rome.&ldquo;
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In the third season of &rdquo;And Just Like That...," Pigazzzi plays Giuseppe, a heartthrob poet at the Hot Fellas bakery and Anthony Marentino's lover. The character speaks with a thick Italian accent, which confuses fans who meet the actor in real life.
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&ldquo;When people meet me, they always say, &lsquo;Wait, you're not even Italian.&rsquo; I say, &lsquo;Yes, I'm Italian. You don't have to have an accent to be a real Italian.&rsquo;&rdquo;
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Pigazzi's ties to Italy and its film industry run deep. His great-grandfather, Giuseppe Amato, was a renowned producer and screenwriter who worked on Federico Fellini's 1960 masterpiece La Dolce Vita. The actor's grandfather, Bud Spencer, rose to fame in the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s and 1970s. Both were considered legends of Italian cinema, but Pigazzi was not interested in the industry as a child.
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"I didn't think about acting until I was older. When I was a child, I had no real idea what it meant to be part of a &lsquo;cinematic family&rsquo;. I watched films, but I wasn't a film buff, and I still am not. Although I regret not asking my grandfather more questions and not paying more attention to what he said while he was alive."
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Now Pigazzi is exploring the history of another Italian family on screen in And Just Like That... with the appearance of Giuseppe's mother, played by Patti LuPone.
<blockquote>
"We had a great time. She's a true professional and a pleasure to work with on set. I had one scene with her, Mario, and Victor Garber&mdash;just the four of us&mdash;and I thought, &lsquo;Wow, these are Broadway legends.&rsquo; I felt out of place and thought, &lsquo;Should I be here? Am I an impostor?&rsquo; But it was a lot of fun."
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The path to the role
Pigazzi admits that as a child he watched several episodes of Sex and the City with his mother, but at the time he found the show too explicit for his age. Later, he rewatched some episodes and appreciated them for what they were.
The initial description of the role of Giuseppe frightened the actor &mdash; the character was described as having a &ldquo;Hercules-like physique,&rdquo; and someone with six-pack abs was required. But then the role changed, becoming less focused on the bodybuilder image.
His first interaction with the cast was during a Zoom script reading, which went well. Sarah Jessica Parker sent him a heartfelt message during the first week of filming. Meeting Mario Cantone, who plays Anthony, was particularly important.
<blockquote>
"We hit it off right away from day one, and now we're really good friends. He makes me laugh on set. We have a very playful dynamic &mdash; I think we're even more playful off-camera because there's more seriousness on camera in terms of our relationship. Obviously, we're in love with the story, and that comes across as something more serious."
</blockquote>

A delicate situation
Giuseppe was Anthony's first love interest after his marriage to Stanford Blatch ended &mdash; the character had to be written out of the show after actor Willie Garson passed away in 2021. Pigazzi was worried about how fans would react.
<blockquote>
"Yes, of course, I was terrified. I thought people would see me on screen and say, 'Oh my God, forget about him. I remember reading the news about Garson's death and thinking it was so crazy because he was so young and talented. I never in my life thought I would take his place. So I was a little scared, but in the end, I can't control what people think. I just try to do my job."
</blockquote>

Character evolution
In the new season, Giuseppe has become more mature and serious in his relationship with Anthony. The actor notes that the characters complement each other &mdash; one is more playful, the other more mature.
<blockquote>
&ldquo;I think he's grown up. He and Anthony balance each other out. And although there's an age difference between them, I think Giuseppe is probably a more cheerful character this year. He's a little calmer, but still has a maturity about him.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Creative parallels
Pigazzi admits that he has some creative similarities with the character&mdash;as a child, he wrote poetry and experimented with different materials to make clothes, mainly coats. Although he even created a website, he didn't have the courage to present his work to the public.
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Giuseppe is much more outgoing and ready to embrace and live the life of an artist than I am. I'll try to do that for a while, but then I can be a snob sometimes. We're very different, definitely &mdash; our clothes are different, and he's really clean-shaven, I'm rarely clean-shaven.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Fighting stereotypes
This season, Giuseppe appears less often in his Hot Fellas uniform&mdash;a short denim jumpsuit designed to attract customers to the bakery. The character does not want to be perceived solely as an object of desire. Pigazzi shares these feelings.
<blockquote>
&ldquo;I would probably agree with Giuseppe. I just don't want to be pigeonholed into one thing. I'll play any role at least once if I think the character is good. My dream project would be to shoot something of my own one day. But I don't want to play the same character over and over again, that's for sure. I want to avoid repetition.&rdquo;
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The actor humorously notes that bread plays a big role not only in his career but also in his life.
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Bread has played a big role in my life, so it's only fitting that it plays such a big role in my career. It's my weakness too. I eat a lot more bread now. Luckily, it's bread and not pasta &mdash; because if it were pasta, I'd be even more doomed.&rdquo;
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GROOMING: Barbara Bertuzzi

'And Just Like That...' Star Sebastiano Pigazzi Wants to Be More Than a Heartthrob

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