GateWorld: From a scripting standpoint, do you think that the allegory between the two was something they were actively trying to invoke? Or just a matter of fortuitous timing that subject matter like that paralleled real life so closely?
Tony Amendola: I don’t know. I think it was more just a matter of timing. I think that type of group on the show — a splinter group who is dedicated to social change and are sick of waiting and the slow road and become sort of violent — is a bit different. Because, thankfully and luckily, the Occupy movements never went that route. But the impetus behind it, in fiction and reality, has always been around in my opinion. It’s been around since the “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”-type of phrasing.
You know, the premise is that the governments have failed so it is the corporations that run everything. And that’s unabashedly a current worry in real life, especially coming out of this past election season and the economy and budget issues we’re facing now. You see the reports about the amounts of money spent on those fundraising campaigns by committees and companies, and it does make you worry. I think it was Time Magazine that had a picture of the White House on the cover with a sign that said “For Sale”. And some witty person responded online saying “Oh, no … the White House would never be for sale, but it is for rent!” [Laughter]
You worry about that. They talk about the world being in three different stages. There’s the traditional world where science and government and religions were created. And it was about creating some sort of system that stopped us from killing each other. And then there’s the modern era, where all of that takes a huge leap. And now it seems like we’re in the post-modern, which seems to be about social change more than anything else. With the exception of DNA. Since the discovery of DNA, I don’t think science has grown by the leaps it did in the previous hundred years.
Now it’s about social causes, and we’re finally catching up to dealing with social injustices. I want to live in a democracy, not a corporate democracy. I have nothing against corporations, mind you. But I do believe it should be about a better society and not about a bottom line.
GW: I think one of the things I love about Continuum is that it’s very heady. It’s smart sci-fi and it doesn’t try to dumb itself down for its audience. It’s very much like Fringe in that respect. Plus I’m a sucker for anything that involves time travel … whether it’s Doctor Who or Back To The Future or whatever. It’s hands-down my favorite sci-fi plot device.
TA: Oh, yeah! You know, one of the earliest sci-fi type things that struck me as a boy was The Time Machine. Another was Journey to the Center of the Earth. I remember those films vividly. And then the ones I gravitated towards as I was older were 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Alien and Blade Runner. These sort of dystopian universes. I just love the fact that Simon Barry [Continuum’s executive producer] writes smart stuff. He’s a lovely guy.
GW: Let’s talk about Pizza with Bullets. It’s a film you did with Vincent Pastore and Talia Shire and it came out in December. Tell us a bit about it.
TA: It’s very much a spoofy sort of look at that world — gangsters and the Mob. I play an odd character called “Sammy The Voice”, who doesn’t really particularly have a good voice, but whatever … he thinks he does. [Laughter]
It was just sweet. It was done during a slow time and Robert Rothbard, who is the director and one of the writers, got a bunch of people together and we did it. There are a couple of them, actually. I have two pizza projects. There’s also Pizza My Heart, which is sort of a Romeo and Juliet story, retold among two warring pizza families. And that was fun. I had the chance to shoot that in New Orleans, just before Hurricane Katrina. In this day of tax rebates and grants, that was New Orleans substituting for New Jersey.
With Pizza My Heart, it was directed by an old, old friend named Andy Wolk. Who since then has done a bunch of writing and directing. It’s always kind of sweet to hook up and reconnect with friends like that. It’s usually a very wonderful time.
GW: Any other projects you’re currently working on?
TA: Well, you know, as I said, Continuum has probably been taking up the bulk of my time. But last winter, after I wrapped up the first year on it, I said to my agent, “If anything interesting comes across your desk, let me know right away.” Something that would be odd, something different. And literally the same day, he called back and said, “Sundance called. There’s a film lab.”
What they do is they take eight screenwriter and directors from all over the world. And what they do is develop their scripts a little bit and then get a bunch of actors together, and they have you film the scenes that frighten you. Something outside your norm or your repertoire.
So we sent them a script by a French-Algerian director that dealt with aspects of the Algerian War, and that was awfully interesting. So I went and did that. And then two weeks later it was back to Once Upon A Time. And after some time there I did a play by a man named Robert Askins that deals with the Darwinian world surrounding a Greek restaurant. It was an outrageous comedy! I literally played a fish. [Laughter]
GW: You’ve been entertaining us on movie and television screens now for the better part of the past three decades …
TA: Ahh! Don’t say that so loud! [Laughter]
GW: Have you thought about scaling back and just enjoying the fruits of your labors a bit more?
TA: Well, you know, I do. But, as you well know, this is a profession that will slow you down of its own accord. So you like to make hay when you can. You do slow down, and then there’s a gap. Some actors have faces that make sense at certain times in life. Some actors just epitomize youth. And then once they hit middle age, no one knows what to do with them until their face and their persona settles. The same thing is true on the other side.
I didn’t have that face as a young actor. I was waiting to get older. I had an agent early on and I asked him “What should I do? How can I help my career?” and he said “Get older.” He was right, in my case at least. When I was younger I was working primarily in the theater for the first twelve or fifteen years. And I got very busy. In hindsight, it was a very smart thing to do, because it wasn’t my time [to make the move to other mediums].
Do I think about it? Yes. But slower times will happen on their own. And besides that, Los Angeles is a great place and film and television is a great profession because you do get times where you work extremely hard non-stop, and then you have occasional breaks. The trick is to not drive yourself crazy with worry during the breaks. Where you’re wondering where the next job will come from. And that gets better with age. You learn to trust your value a little bit more.
That said, I hope not so slow down for awhile. [Laughter]
Interview and transcript by Chad Colvin
Awesome
Class act of a guy.
He really is…as soon as I knew I’d have the chance to talk with him again, I was excited. Some actors are just in a different league. I felt the same way when I chatted with Robert Davi…they aren’t just a participant in Hollywood…they are a part of its history.
6 years ago. Wow, it doesn’t seem that long. I do miss the old Orifice.
Great article. Definitely not “dumbed down” – very interesting. Thanks (and yes I love Continuum, but Once upon a time… have no idea what that series is about, don’t like it, not my style)
Great interview, but I wish it had been recorded. Tony’s got such a great voice!
Tony is so amazing! I loved meeting him at the Stargate Convention last August, such a class act and so warm toward me when I was talking to him. A brief conversation, but a conversation nonetheless, and I gave him a well-deserved handshake, he was just so awesome. I am in love with his voice. He even tweeted me a response during the Continuum season finale. I said something to the extent of Confessing to everything I have done and ever will do if in a room with him, and he tweeted back “No need to confess. Liber8 knows all.”… Read more »
Love it