The Sopranos star James Gandolfini: I am a screaming ass
The star of the The Sopranos, a popular TV series, mafia boss James Gandolfini said that his character in the performance “Lord of Carnage” is a screaming ass, and the role he embodies in the course of every performance is completely different from what he is like in real life. The popular Lithuanian actor Giedrius Savickas reflects on his character quite similarly.
“A role in the theatre was a new thing for me. I have not done that for over a decade, but resisting the offer to act with such an excellent team and in a play like this, which had me intrigued as soon as I heard of it, was practically impossible. In The Sopranos I am a sensitive, but brutal mafia boss. It is quite similar in the play. Right at the beginning of the performance my character is one of the first ones to reveal his brutality, when a fact is uncovered about my character Michel simply throwing his child's hamster straight into the street”, – J. Gandolfini said in one interview.
In the performance “Lord of Carnage”, shown in Broadway, which is called New York's centre of theatre, J. Gandolfini performed the role of Michel Houllié. Michel Houllié is the dad of the boy who was hurt in a fight, a small businessman, selling household appliances.
“We perform “Lord of Carnage” six times a week, and this role is a great charge of energy for me. I feel like I am releasing my demons when I perform it. And, even though the performance is about mundane, but serious, sometimes even painful things, it does not lack irony. People laugh, and I like it when people laugh”, - says the star of The Sopranos. J. Gandolfini was nominated for a Tony award as the Best Actor in a Play for his role in “Lord of Carnage”.
The role of Michel Houllié in the Lithuanian performance “Karo dievas” (lit. “Lord of War”), directed by Dainius Kazlauskas, will be played by the TV star actor Giedrius Savickas.
“The role is very realistic, complex, never tried before, and I do not know what it will be like. I, of course, pull it towards myself, but the role of Michel I am performing is not about me. My character and I are very different”, - revealed actor G. Savickas.
The opening of the performance created by Idioteatras, together with the theatre guide teatrai.lt, will take place in MINI theatre and concert hall at Vilnius Siemens Arena on 16th February. Tickets to this performance are distributed by Tiketa.
The performance is based on the play “Lord of Carnage” by French playwright Yasmina Reza. It depicts the relationship between two neighbouring families, which comes to the daylight once the Reilles (Aurelija Tamulytė and Darius Gumauskas) pay a visit to the Houlliés (Viktorija Kuodytė and Giedrius Savickas). Having just met and acquainted themselves, the neighbours seek to clarify the incident between their children – one of them hit the other and beat some of his teeth out. However, as the visit progresses, the apple pie and coffee get replaced by rum, and the neighbours change utterly, too...
