As I write, I envision certain actors in the parts to give voice to the dialogues. Alessandro Marco Conti or Marco as he is better known is another one of those characters drawn from real life. This part requires someone to fill the shoes of a very good friend and my very own brother. Big shoes! So it requires a larger than life actor. Bobby Cannavale is the only man for the job. You may know him as Gyp Rosetti on “Boardwalk Empire,” but I remember Cannavale as Roberto Caffey, the paramedic, on “Third Watch”…I also remember how I cried when his character was killed off. Later, Cannavale created the character of Joe, the loveable, talkative hot dog vendor for the movie, “The Station Agent.” That’s where I found my Marco. Joe Oramas runs a hot dog wagon in the middle of nowhere, outside a train station where he befriends a dwarf, Finbar, who has just come to town to be close to his best friend who recently passed away, and spend some quiet time reflecting on life while watching trains go by. Quiet time is non-existent with Joe around, as is anonymity. Fin goes looking for his deceased friend’s life, and finds a life of his own and a new good friend in the package. This is Cannavale’s forte. The loveable goof, who will always have your back. And in the end, that’s just the kind of friend Eli needs and the actor needed for Marco. I am certain that you, the reader, saw someone else when you first read Marco…I encourage you to share your “vision” here and why. I am always interested to hear what images my writing brings to mind in my readers. |