Teo Celigo Talks about the Art of Acting and Some of His Favorite Roles

Teo Celigo Talks about the Art of Acting and Some of His Favorite Roles

Actor Teo Celigo has been working hard on his craft for a long time. So, needless to say all of his hard work is paying off –including more exciting projects coming up. Here is what he had to say:

How did you first get into this field of work and who were some of your influences growing up?

I grew up watching a lot of Italian TV. The Planet Hollywood era. Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme. These guys will never be expendable to me! I grew up near the Italian border and their movies were all we had.

What kind of training have you had, if any?

I graduated from Stella Adler Conservatory in LA, but my training never stopped. It’s like going to the gym. As an actor your body is your instrument and you’ve got to keep it sharp. Mind, body and voice. I’ve also done some training at UCB which was hugely beneficial. The actor remembers most of the time and improv teaches one how to think.

What has been your favorite project to work on so far?

My favorite project has been What If. It was just a group of people coming together to create a fun film and we never lost track of that. It felt like we were all in a flow. And we won 2 awards for it -one of them for Best Experimental Film at the Festigious Film Festival. Sometimes you don’t always have a positive experience on set, but I cherished every moment of it.

What has been one of the biggest highlights/achievements of your career?

I’ve worked with Academy Award Winner Milton Justice in Waiting for Lefty and Book of Days. With David Guetta on his music video This One’s For You and Grammy Award Winning director Dave Myers on a Mexico Tourism commercial.

If you had a chance to work alongside anybody who would that be?

It’s hard to choose just one! I’ll say Quentin Tarantino – it seems like a lot of fun to be around him and I love his films, of course.

What have you learned most about this business?

On the business side, it’s crucial to create your own content and put yourself out there. On a personal note, three things: expectations will kill you, never quit and focus on yourself, nobody else.

What projects do you have coming up?

Acting wise, I have a fictional podcast coming up about a secret police unit that hunts vampires. I am producing two shows as well, one is an animated show, a controversial satire on religious beliefs, the hereafter and the absurdity of life –it’s ridiculously funny! The other is an ensemble comedy that follows the eccentric bullpen of a baseball team -and how they handle pressure while waiting for their opportunity to shine, which I believe has tremendous potential.

What is your best piece of advice for aspiring artists?

It comes down to making the first step. Once you do that, focus on the process and become the best you can be. That will take a while in fact, it will never stop, but you will gain confidence. It will also take patience and learning to be ok with where you are. Along the way you’ll meet people who you’re going to create with so always be respectful, even with those you don’t agree with. And lastly, if you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong. Artistry of any kind is difficult to create but it should be fun, first. If not, you might as well go into accountin!