Gilles Marini last spoke to us as he was on the verge of becoming a regular cast member of the hit ABC seriesĀ Brothers & Sisters.
At the end of the fifth season the show finished and since then Gilles has been expanding his horizons with a variety of different roles.
We gave him a call to talk about the end ofĀ Brothers & Sisters, find out what else heās been up to and to discover if thereās anything he canāt do.
How are you today?
Iām doing fantastic. It couldnāt be better. I woke up this morning and my wife took me to the most incredible spa at The Four Seasons. Itās a little private house and itās fantastic. We have massage, amazing attention. I really needed that and I think itās a great present from my wife.
Last time we spoke to you youād just gone into āBrothers & Sistersā. Obviously now the show has finished. What was it like when it came to an end?
I was on my way to New York City to get a humanitarian award and it was kind of shocking because no one knew that it would happen. It looked like we were in the roster then a lot of things went off last minute so it wasnāt 100% ABCās fault at all. I think thereās lot of things inside that no oneās aware of and the next thing you know they decide not to keep going with the show. The sad part is that it never really had a perfect ending. Iāve been thinking that maybe Brothers & Sisters should make a movie to close it.
That would be fantastic. The show ended with Luc and Sarahās wedding but thereās definitely more mileage in it.
Oh my god yeah. The show respectfully needs to be closed and I think the best solution for that would have to be making a movie with all of the cast. I think it would be a great idea.
Weād love it if you did thatā¦
Iām going to actually make some phone calls and see if anyone is interested in producing that. I think it would be a great way to finish the show and give respect to the audience who are really dying for that. It was a very successful show around the world. Not many shows can have any type of people, any type of culture whether young or old be able to like it. It was a very special show and I was very sad to see it finish.
Since āBrothers & Sistersā finished youāve been popping up in shows such as āModern Familyā and āHot In Clevelandā. What have those experiences been like for you?
As soon as the show started (Brothers & Sisters) as actor you never know whatās going to happen next. You come out of the pilot season and may be out of a job for a bit but that wasnāt the case for me. I got very lucky. I went into a play after the show (ThisĀ at Kirk Douglas Theatre), something that was very challenging for me. The true form of acting is doing a play and I wanted to show Hollywood and all the people that only saw me as one thing that I was actually able to act in a very difficult environment with no strings attached and no safety net.
I did the play for about 2 months in Los Angeles and then I went into a show calledĀ Switched At BirthĀ where they hired me to play the biological father of the character Bay. Iām actually still working on that now. Then I went on toModern Family; that for me was something incredible because they won all the Emmys on the Sunday then on the Monday they hired me to do the show. It couldnāt have been a better moment for me that there are some people out there that think of me to do a comedy. It was incredible to be blessed with the presence of all those incredible actors. Winning everything and being part of that show, we actually got the best ratings. WhenĀ Modern FamilyĀ aired we actually beat the Baseball World Series final in America that night. For me it was an incredible moment in my life because I felt like āwow people are watching and they obviously like what the show is aboutā. Maybe they were paying a bit more attention and saying āthis dude fromĀ Brothers & SistersĀ is doing comedy. Letās see what he brings to the table.ā
After that I didĀ Hot In ClevelandĀ then I didĀ Are You There Chelsea?Ā the new Chelsea Handler show. That is going to be airing very soon in America, I donāt know if you guys have that show yet, but itās completely hilarious. Chelsea Handler is a great comedienne and she has her own sitcom now. Iāve done a guest spot on that.
Now pilot season is coming so thereās a lot more to do for me and thereās movies. For the first time in the last three and a half years Iām free so Iām very excited to see what Hollywood brings to the table.
Last time we spoke you expressed the desire to do different roles and youāre getting the chance to do that in those shows. You also said you wanted to do action roles. Is that something you still want to do?
Yes. Itās the first time Iām free and Iām going to really pay attention to that. Iāve been doing martial arts for the longest time. Iām actually practising Ju-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Itās something thatās becoming incredibly popular and in the UK with one of the greats fighters called Michael Bisping.
Iām really ready for any kind of action movies. The best thing that could happen to my career right now would be shooting aĀ James BondĀ film and Iām the bad guy. That would be a fantastic gig because I know I could bring to the table something that theyāve never seen before. Itās something that attracted me since I was child where I can play a character thatās the bad guy and bad-ass. It brings so many different things to the table and I would be the perfect nemesis for 007. Iād love to play that.
It would be good to see you do something like that because it would be completely different to anything weāve seen you do before.
Yeah. Itās simple. America sees me as a French lover and itās normal. Donāt get me wrong I love that and itās working now. At nearly 37 years old it wonāt work like that anymore so Iām enjoying the prospect to play it wide. Itās very difficult to be natural, to be understood, to be charming, to be all of those aspects; itās not really me so itās somehow really hard to play that. I know America sees me like that and I have a lot of those roles. Iām blessed and Iām happy with that. I have to play differently every time with a tweak when it comes down to the characters.
Lately Iāve been doingĀ a lot of comedy and sitcoms infront of an audience and that is something Iāve never done before. I rasied to the challenge and itās been working really well. I canāt reveal the news yet but Iāve been approached by the same people that I work with already and they want me to work again with them. That means that maybe comedy is something I pay a bit more attention to and do a bit more.
Would you like to have your own sitcom?
Absolutely. I think sitcoms are for sharp actors that have to be included and passionate with what theyāre doing. Youād never see one of those āI want to be an actorā in the reality world be able to excel at comedy when it comes down to being able to have a real sitcom. Itās a very difficult and demanding job that requires that you to have passion and dedication as an actor. I think if ever I get a chance to be in a sitcom I will be extremely happy.
Do you think you may return to theatre at some point now youāve had that experience?
Yes. Theatre was an incredible experience. Every night, and sometimes twice a day, you had a different audience right in front of your eyes and they all react very differently. Down the line you learn how to manipulate the character differently, you know when people are going to completely laugh their butt off and you try things that donāt work. I think for an actor if youāve never done a play then you are three-quarters of an actor. You have to do a play to feel like youāve finally made strides in this business that is extremely difficult. I felt I grew so much as an actor when I stepped into the theatre world and had so much respect for the people that were doing theatre for the longest time. You obviously donāt do theatre for the money, you make absolutely no money doing theatre, youāre doing it for the passion of the job. If you can break that then thereās nothing in this industry you cannot do so I was very thrilled to do theatre so why not do it again?
Some of the best theatres in the world, besides Broadway, are in England. Why not go to England where people who are passionate about theatre will come and watch?
You should get on a plane and come and do something in the West End. Weāve got some great showsā¦
Incredible. Thatās why the English actors come and take over the world every time. They have this education. For the actor itās easier if they pretend to be American but they have that thing, that je ne sais quoi that comes out of the theatre world. Thereās nothing they cannot break and thatās why theyāve been so successful.
Theatre is very difficult and people donāt always give the actors that do it enough credit. Whatās it like getting the instant feedback every night?
To be honest I was extremely scared. Iām my worst critic. Every time I do something I think itās awful and I should just go back to the drawing board. Itās good to do that to a certain extent but then afterwards you have listen to what the real critics are talking about. We had incredible critics.
Melissa Gibson who wrote the playĀ This, that I was in, is a genius. Sheās an old-fashioned type of a writer so it was very technical and it was difficult to break that piece. The punctuation was different; it was very specific. Itās one of the hardest times Iāve had in acting but it was also the most thriving one. I thought that I was accomplishing something and the critics were fantastic.
People loved it and it was packed every day and every night. It was incredible. I canāt wait to feel that again, see the people laughing at you and what you say, smiling and feelingĀ like theyāre part of it. You can smell themā¦itās so incredible and so different. I really enjoyed it.
In the future would you like to step behind the camera and have a go at writing and directing?
One very smart Welshman called Matthew Rhys (Kevin inĀ Brothers & Sisters) was one of the greatest inspirations for me. I worked two years straight with this man and thereās no limit to what Matthew can do. He is an incredible actor, heās very complex, very intelligent and a stunning director. The best ever scene I had (inĀ Brothers & Sisters) was one he directed. Seeing Matthew being able to do that ā weāre pretty much the same age ā really made me feel like only you can stop you.
If you want to do something like that one day then you have to jump into it. Matthew is a great example of never saying no, never giving up and always doing things that he believes in. I thank him for that forever. I believe one day Iād love to write and direct a little project. I want to start with shorts and then down the line see if TV maybe a itās something I know a lot about.
One of the things weāve noticed about your career is youāre never afraid to try something and do things differently so why not give it a go?
You have to man. You only live once. Itās one of those jobs where youāre allowed to be anything and get away with it. I think you have to be able to be and do anything. Always something you feel in your heart will be successful but most of all something that will make people feel. I would love to make people feel, happy or sad, just feel and understand the process of what I went through when I was either shooting it or maybe writing it. Iām very attached to that. Silly enough when I didĀ Dancing With The StarsĀ I had people send me emails saying ālisten, Iām in a wheelchair but every time I watch you dance I feel like Iām dancingā. For me I didnāt need the 10s from the judges and going all the way to the final. What I needed was someone out there who actually, saying things like that, would bring tears to my eyes and make me feel I was doing something positive for the world. Thatās what I really look for.
You can act in a variety of roles, you can danceā¦is there anything youāre not so good at?
I donāt know. People have to put me to the test. I didnāt think I was able to dance, then I did. Maybe singing? Maybe singingās next? I sang a little bit at the end of the show (Brothers & Sisters) with just a boom mike over my head and the sound was ok.
In life thereās nothing you cannot do. Some people have their abilities but in the end if you do it with passion youāre going to get away with it. I donāt think Mick Jagger is the greatest vocalist in the world but is he the most passionate? Yes. Whyās he still working? Because heās the most passionate. Thatās why everyone loved the Rolling Stones. Itās not about how good you sound or act, itās about how passionate you are when youāre doing it. Thatās why some people are very good at what they do because they are passionate about it.
Like you say if you donāt throw yourself into something whole-heartedly and give it a go then you never know do you?
You can never know. Iām doing a lot of mixed martial arts lately and Iām thinking maybe I should fight once or twice? Maybe Iāll get my ass kicked but who knows? If I donāt try then who knows? I donāt want to be a fighter as a career but putting myself to the test makes you realises how good or how bad you are and what you need to work on. For me thereās nothing you do bad when you try. If you try and fail who cares? At least you tried and that gets my respect. If tomorrow I decide to fight and in three seconds get knocked out I still stepped into that cage for example. It could be anything like that, anything at all.
Itās the positive attitude. If you go into something positivelyā¦
Often if youāre positive and you try your best then thereās no regrets. For me I say a lot that if you make a choice there is nothing wrong about it, good or bad, youāve made a choice. You went for it and you believed in it. Donāt let other people tell you what to do. You can always have friends and family guiding you and thinking thatās silly but in general you should the make the choice if youāre passionate about it. Then it will be a good choice.
On a bit of a different note we notice youāre a very active tweeter. How is it for you to be able to connect with your fans through social media like Twitter?
Whatās fun about Twitter is that you tweet something, and for me itās more family related and fun times – I try to keep the political under the radar because I have very strong opinions about things – so fans, people and friends out there can read and see what you do. The person doesnāt have to answer and itās so not invasive. If you donāt want to tune into Twitter you just donāt go into it. If you want to see what people you like in the business are doing you just go and look at their page. The secret with Twitter is itās invasive if you want to and not if you donāt have to. Itās not like watching the news or having the same person for the last three years doing silly stuff on the Internet and it being in your face everywhere you go. Thatās invasive; you donāt want to see it but itās still in front of your face.
With Twitter if you donāt want to see it you donāt go there, if you want your friends and fans to connect with you then itās very simple and very easy. I personally read everything and you know it because we connected like that. I personally read everything that people say and I know thereās a lot of people that will look at but not answer it, comment on it but thatās not the point.
The point is to read it, answering or not is a secondary thing like the ālikeā button. Twitter is very successful because you can actually look at and know what people do who you like without having to do anything specific. Just go, login, look at it and go āoh youāre doing that, let me contact him because I think this is cool or let me answer that because I think this is wrong.ā You have this very close encounter with the people from the industry and I think thatās why Twitter is very successful.
Itās a great idea and whoever made that happen is set for life.
What else have you got coming up this year?
Hopefully Iāll get chance to work with one of the major networks here this year on a new pilot. This is the goal and itās what Iām going to concentrate on for the next three months; getting my own TV show. I think Iāve paid my dues and shown the producers in America that I can handle a lot of things and a lot of pressure. Iām a good hard-worker and I make people feel so hopefully they see that and understand that maybe itās time to bring something different to Hollywood. Something with a bit more flavour thatās never happened before. Hopefully that will happen.
Thatās my main goal for 2012 ā getting my own show. Besides that Iād love to work on independent smart movies. That is something I want to do because I want to be challenged, I want people to be able to say āwhat you did was fantasticā and I want to be recognised for it. This is more like a legacy thing. Iām doing my job and Iām taking it so seriously. Itās silly, Iām taking it very seriously.
To keep up-to-date with Gilles head over to his official siteĀ www.gillesmarini.comĀ or follow him on Twitter@GillesMarini