Christian Vaccaro
He played in Hendrik Harms’ Dollar Baby All That You Love Will Be Carried Away as Ian.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a little bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Christian Vaccaro: Hello my name is Christian Vaccaro and I’m an Actor based in the south of England.
SKSM: When did you know you wanted to become an actor?
Christian Vaccaro: When I was a kid my dream job was to become an archaeologist, but when I found out it was nothing like how Hollywood made it look in the Indiana Jones films, the next best thing had to be playing one in a stage show or film and getting paid for it. I didn’t really find the love of performing until doing The Tempest in a year 6 school production where I played the roll of Caliban, Prospero’s ugly fish slave (a roll I was clearly born to play). My Mum and Dad were so proud of me getting up on that stage and performing, I guess that memory really stuck with me till this day. As a child, I struggled at school due to being diagnosed with both Dyslexia and Dyspraxia, but I hear they’re both very common in actors.
SKSM: How did you become involved in All That You Love Will Be Carried Away Dollar Baby film?
Christian Vaccaro: Originally I found the casting advertised on Harms Way Production’s Instagram page and loved the look of the project, especially with the Stephen King name attached to it. After speaking to Hendrix directly expressing my interest, I was asked to send in my showreel & a selftape of a monologue that both showed me off as an actor and captured the energy of the character. He then asked me to read in a few short scenes, offered me the part the rest is history.
SKSM: What do you think it is about the story that attracts people so much?
Christian Vaccaro: I think with any King story it’s the idea of never truly knowing what’s going to happen next. The characters are all so fleshed out and I feel there’s always an element in at least one character that you can identify with, that’s what makes you care about them.
SKSM: Did you have to audition for the part or was it written directly for you?
Christian Vaccaro: Unfortunately I had to audition for the project. Due to my age, originally I went for the part of the Clark as I felt I could capture that character’s energy of working in a dead end job that your hearts just not in, but Hendrix felt I was more suited to the roll of Ian, a nervous/passive aggressive school teacher. With every role I try to bring as much of myself into the part and at the time I’d been a teacher for around 2 years and felt that life experience really helped understand the mindset and mannerisms of this character.
SKSM: You worked with Hendrik Harms on this film, how was that?
Christian Vaccaro: It was honestly one of the best experiences of my acting career to date. Not only is Hendrix one of the most professional, creative and hard working directors I’ve ever known, but he’s also one of the most caring. He knows how to get the best out of his actors and crew to create a safe working environment that your encouraged to collaborate instead of just being told what to do.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when they made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Christian Vaccaro: If I had to pick one it would have to be the table read where we just sat, laughed and filled our bellies full of Beer and Pizza. Everyone seemed to get on and you could tell there was chemistry established from the get go. Any moment that all the cast were in a room together was fantastic.
SKSM: Do you still have any contact with the crew/cast from that time? If so with who?
Christian Vaccaro: We have a group chat but we spend most of the time sending funny photos and memes to each other. The cast had a meet up in London a few weeks ago but I sadly couldn’t attend due to other work related commitments.
SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?
Christian Vaccaro: I’m currently working with a theatre company based in Canada. We’re creating 4 diffrent shows to be perfomred in Turks and Caicos for 6 months. It’s always been a passion of mine to travel the world and for any actor to get a stedy gig doing what they love for a living is a real blessing.
SKSM: Are you a fan of Stephen King’s work?
Christian Vaccaro: I love Stephen King’s work especially his addaptations by Frank Darabont. The Shawshank Redemption, & The Green Mile are some of the best storys ever put to film, and when I found out that he went through the same Dollar Baby scheme gave me a lot of hope. I love how King always breaks the classic convention of horror tropes but actually take the time for you to fall in love with his characters so you actually care what happens to them, the basis for any good storyteller.
SKSM: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Christian Vaccaro: As a kid I struggled to hold a conversation for more than 10 seconds with new people, I couldn’t even look a person in the eye without feeling nervous. Nowdays it’s a real struggle for people to shut me up.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that read this interview?
Christian Vaccaro: I hope you all enjoy our adaptation as much as we enjoyed filming it. Knowing how passionate King fans usually are, I’m sure they’ll let us know how much they love or hate it.
SKSM: Do you like to add anything else?
Christian Vaccaro: In the wise words of Tommy Wiseau, Director, Writer, Producer and Star of The Room (the best bad movie ever made),
“If a lot of people love each other, the world would be a better place to live!”
