Today we’d like to introduce you to Luca Fontaine.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in a multi-cultural family with a french father and an Italian mother. My brother and I grew up with various languages, much music around, movies and books. The one thing that our parents taught us, which is the most valuable to me, is to always to be curious. I applied this vision to life by traveling and learning new languages like English and Spanish in addition to French and Italian. In some ways, this led me to acting. Going to the movies or the local dvd rental shop as a kid was always the most exciting event of the week. Sitting in the darkness of a theatre with strangers around you or strolling through the aisles full of DVDs to pick the right one are uncomparable feelings because they become events.
I always loved movies and specifically actors because as one of my favourite directors, Martin Scorsese said ”Movies touch our hearts, awaken our vision, and change the way we see things.”
I eventually started acting classes when my mom found me a class in the neighborhood. I started discovering plays and playwrights I didn’t know. Being really shy and unsecure as a kid, this was something special because I could use other people’s words to replace the ones I didn’t have. I started to love this more and this love became a passion. I decided to pursue it as a career. I started by going to drama school in Paris then Versailles before deciding to audition for Juilliard in NYC. My parents pushed me to go for it and audition. Like everything else they always supported us in our life choices, whatever they were, but always pushed us to be the bests at whatever we would do and reach for the best no matter what. I got close to get in the first time I auditioned by getting to the final callback, in the last 50 people out of thousands but it didn’t work out in the end. I then moved from France to London where I lived for about two years and a half.
I joined the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain with alumnus like Daniel Day Lewis, Helen Mirren or Daniel Craig. I got to do a play and a film in Budapest. My path took me back to audition for Juilliard in 2018 when I finally got in after many rounds of auditions. Four years later, in May of 2022 I graduated and was lucky to get a job right outside of school on Broadway at LaMama (off Broadway Theatre in NYC). My Italian grandmother used to say, “Be patient and opportunities will come.” I think she was right and I live by that today continuing to work every day in this path knowing that so many more opportunities are coming my way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Nothing was ever given to me. We didn’t know anyone in the industry that could have helped me get a job or anything. A lot of people don’t really understand what this path is and they try to discourage you. But luckily, my parents-brother and whole family always believed in me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their help and some loving souls on the road. The first time I auditioned for Juilliard and didn’t get in was really tough. I felt I had betrayed the trust that was put in me by everyone who supported me. Coming from a little town on the other side of the world and getting so close to this dream place was something crazy for me. Following that, I moved to London where I didn’t have a place to live yet. I stayed on a friend’s couch for a few weeks before finding something. I had a job but not a bank account yet to get paid…
All that to say that adjusting to a new country with a different language and a different culture was not easy. London is one of those major cities where you feel surrounded but alone at the same time. That first year was really tough and quite lonely but so beneficial in the end. You grow and learn so much about yourself when confronted to loneliness. I started writing poems and songs and found solace in that. Then over time, my mentality changed and instead of looking in front to what I didn’t have yet or missed, I started to look around to opportunities that were there but couldn’t see before. When I changed that mindset, everything changed. I started meeting wonderful like-minded people and got to do a play, a film, more workshops, etc.
I realized, like acting, that you have to be in the moment and say yes to opportunities. Going out, meeting people and saying yes to project was key. I think there is a difference between solitude, which we all need from time to time to focus and be creative, and loneliness, which is more longing for something you don’t have. To be happy and get over struggles, you have to be ok with yourself and enjoy your own company. All that to say that I always saw struggles as necessary to learn from them and succeed.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an actor, writer and producer. I would also love to direct my own work someday. What I love about this path is that you always have to be curious and can never stop asking questions or listening. It is like that quote that says “we always strive for perfection knowing that perfection is unachievable but it’s that constant pursuit of it which is what keeps us going and where the magic is.”
First of all, I am really but really proud of my family, parents for always pushing me and helping me and my brother for following his path of musician and creative. I am also really proud of my path because I got here on my own (with my family) with no one’s help. I am happy to have kept my open mindnessness and love for various cultures and languages. My continuous curiousness always pushed me to learn more about the world and its people. I now speak fluently four languages (English, French, Italian and Spanish) and I got to travel a lot on my own and with loved ones.
I trained for stage and also TV/Films in different languages. Seeing how people from different places approach work and how various languages hit you in a various ways is something really special to witness and live.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the opportunities here. The fact that you never know who you could meet or talk too is lovely. You can meet at any moment someone that would change your life and you could change someone else’s life too. Even if it’s a really large city, it feels concentrated with always something going. I like to be busy and this place keeps me busy and pushes me to look forward and always bigger. I also love the nature here. I love a city where you can walk and actually make encounters on your way somewhere. Having to take your car for anything can be good at times but also isolating. I grew up in the countryside and moved to human sizes cities growing up in Europe so I guess that’s where it comes from.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lucafontaine.com/
- Instagram: lucafontaine
- Other: https://www.juilliard.edu/drama/4yr/group-51/luca-fontaine
Image Credits
Donatella Basso T Charles Erikson Thomas Brunot
