Today we’d like to introduce you to Franco Machado-Pesce.
Hi Franco, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to the United States on my third birthday. I grew up in Illinois, Michigan, and of course, California. Venezuela’s political and social trajectory at the time was not the best and my parents made the courageous decision to move to the US. From a young age, I always loved performing and imagining a world beyond the mundane. It was easy to create new worlds then because I was surrounded by the magical stories from Disney, Harry Potter, and Star Wars.
My mother is the one who introduced me to the arts. She used to be a model in Venezuela. In fact, she was training to be a prospective Miss Venezuela under Osmel Sousa. However, life got in the way. When I was five years old and lived in Chicago, I auditioned for a modeling academy. I don’t remember, but this is how my mother swears the story goes: she instructed me to catwalk and then pose… Apparently that got me in, but we didn’t have the money to pay for the school, so that was that.
Afterwards, most of my career as an artist stuck to break dancing at school talent shows, singing from the top of my bunkbed (at least until I was 13), and acting in short student films at my high school. For most of my life, I strived to be a professional soccer player. That’s what my younger self proclaimed he wanted to be and that’s what I trained for. Long story short, I dedicated a long time to a career path that I loved, but I wasn’t a natural at. Although that dream hasn’t been achieved, I don’t regret all the time I spent playing because the sport taught me many values and disciplines that make me who I am.
I moved to California for college, getting a B.A. in Screenwriting with a minor in Sociology at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. People always ask me why I studied screenwriting and not acting. The honest answer is that I thought that I could become an actor by first working behind the scenes, making the connections, and then following my true passion. Once I graduated, I learned that this idea was way more difficult than I thought. I worked at a small boutique agency called Migrante Content, where I quickly became a Junior Creative Executive. I wrote, edited, recorded voice-overs and pitched while I was there for brands like Jeep, Fiat, and RAM.
2020 taught me that life is short. Finding myself drained from the work I was doing in advertising, I decided to take the leap and dedicate myself full-time to what I wanted to do—acting. And that’s where I am now, studying the craft, making my own short films, and building myself up to be the best actor I can be.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a professional actor can never be a smooth road—and I wouldn’t want to change that because that is what forms you as a person and a performer.
First and foremost, my biggest struggle was just being honest with myself. While following other jobs, I had to always ask myself, “is this what I want to do?” Lying and saying that it was, was what set me back from discovering what I loved for so many years. It’s important to always analyze what you love and tell yourself, “oh yeah. I can achieve that.”
What makes acting such a complicated profession is that it is different for everyone. The path is never the same for each individual. When starting out, I became obsessed with finding representation. I sent emails left and right, to no avail. It wasn’t until I talked with a good friend of mine at CAA and with the team at Inspire Entertainment that I learned that the right thing to do is just to focus on doing good work. Representation will come with good work. Now I can proudly say that I am currently represented by my wonderful Manager, Anthony Leones at Shushu Entertainment.
Since then, I have focused on creating content, practicing and developing skills, and showcasing myself through my art on smaller projects. All I can say is that I am absolutely humbled, grateful, and appreciative of each opportunity I have received over the last few years. It’s something special when someone trusts you with their character because they see YOU. It’s you bringing a character to life, not the other way around. Acting isn’t “acting” it’s being.
One last struggle that I think is important to be highlighted in the industry is about the content being made about our diverse communities. As a Hispanic actor, I find myself going in for many roles where Latinx people are stereotyped and “cartoonized.” This is discouraging because as a performer, it’s important to represent my community justly and in a light that demonstrates how rich our culture is. Not the opposite. With this being said, I do notice that Hollywood is changing for the better and more and more roles are being written for diverse communities. This shift is exciting because no longer are we seeing characters whose main trait is being a Person of Color or is LGTBQ+, but we are seeing heroic characters who happen to be from these communities.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Before anything else, I’m an actor. Always have been, always will be. Recently, I’ve been in a few short films that I am excited about. The first is “Thárros” a short film about the conflict in Cyprus and how three friends navigate their feelings during social tension. The second is a short titled “Magnus Rex” about a prodigy chef who must prove himself to his father in order to work in his kitchen. It’s always exciting to work on projects like these because you meet a lot of young talent and get to admire how much energy, time, and love they put into their work. I also had the opportunity to do the voice-over for the Fiat’s 500 birthday and that got me excited because it was a piece that I wrote, pitched, and ultimately sold.
As I continue to push myself as an actor, I am also directing a short film of my own titled “Ni Aquí Ni Allá” This horror film is inspired by events in my life and revolves around the life of Nacho, a little Hispanic-American boy who is a victim of racism and bullying. To cope and punish his bullies, his mind magically manifests his emotions into a dark and ancient monster known as El Malo. However, Nacho must decide if what he wants is vengeance or acceptance. I’m excited for this film because of the team we have: Alexa Cha as the Director of Photography, Santino Ferrese as the Creature Designer, Blake Hilton as the Production Designer, Juan Manuel Leguizamon as the Film Composer, Tania Ghaffari as a Producer, Johnny Guerra as an Associate Producer, and Lismeth Pesce, Natasha and Reza Ghaffari as Executive Producers. This film is close to my heart and others because it deals with a universal story that can apply to anyone. Without everyone who has supported the film, it would not be possible, so I’m grateful to all 90 backers from our successful crowdfunding campaign.
I am also currently developing a show with my colleague and friend, Alex Greenlee. Together at Chapman we wrote a short concept film titled “Cybolica” a dystopian story about Damien, a juvenile delinquent who is imprisoned in the most deadly penitentiary in the world and is just trying to get home. After making the film, we both knew that this story was bigger than a short.
I’m a storyteller. Without stories, we would have nothing. There’d be no magic. So when I work, I put everything I have into making sure that the stories we tell have meaning and that they continue to explore our imagination and the societies we live in. I want to continue to use my work ethic and ambition to learn and develop myself as an artist so that I can tell the stories that our younger generations will hear and go, “I want to be like that.”
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Who doesn’t deserve credit? Every single person I’ve built a relationship in my life has developed me into who I am.
Of course, I have to express gratitude to my parents. To my wonderful mother who just graduated from USC with her Masters, thank you for teaching me about the wonders of art and pushing me to be better every day. And of course to my father who currently works at the University of Michigan hospital, thank you for always supporting me no matter what.
Thank you to my friends and family (Abuelo Franco, Abuela Livia, Tía Liuska, Tío Alejandro and Michael) for always being there when I need you the most.
While at Chapman, I’m grateful for the faculty who taught me so much about storytelling and the power thereof.
Thank you to Kyle David Pierce and Frances Brennand Roper from AMAW for being the best acting coaches and forcing me to explore new corners of who I am and what I am capable of.
Thank you to Migrante Content for giving me the opportunity to work out of college.
A huge thank you to Director Dominic Petruzzi and DP Joey Bettencourt for helping me launch into acting by shooting the first professional short film I was a part of in 2020.
Most of all thank you to my audition partner and girlfriend, Tania Ghaffari, who I wouldn’t be able to get through all the self-tapes without—because of Tania, I was able to audition and get into PACE University’s MFA Acting Program at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City. She makes all of this possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.francoamp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francoamp/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8876977/
Image Credits:
Headshots by Lismeth Pesce Photography BTS: (in abandoned town) on set of “Thárros” directed Poppy Shaw, (in diner setting) “The Cherry on Top” directed by Johnny Guerra, (with the window) “Second Chances” Directed by Dominic Petruzzi.
