Meet Cristiano Benfenati | Actor, Writer, and Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cristiano Benfenati and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cristiano, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I am originally from Reggio Emilia, Italy. I grew up there and completed high school there before moving to the US. I think there is a lo too be said about being from there. The warmth and sense of collective that comes from a European upbringing had a huge impact on the way I interact with people today, both in professional settings and personal ones. There is a welcoming and friendly energy stemming from home that I try to cherish and practice in my everyday life to this day. I bring it on set, on stage, and everywhere else I might find myself, always carrying with me a little bit of home and the people in it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think I bring a joyous energy to the work I do. I’ve been able to to do my best to make the professional environments I find myself in places of work while also being places of enjoyment and artistic creation. This is why the thing I’m the most excited about personally is the return of in person productions and human contact, those interactions are what I love about this career. Getting to here was not easy in my opinion. Leaving home is always something that takes a toll and it did on me. I spent quite a long time torn between two places, especially in the beginning when things were still new and fresh. The prospect of quitting and going back home crossed my mind a few times as melancholy would take over, but with time I learned to push through, take a breath, look around me, and realized that there are already enough obstacles along the way so if I fall because of one I put there myself everything was for nothing.
I think I’d want the world to know that I’m learning as everyone else, it’s okay to learn as you go, I did not act until late in my senior year of high school and I immediately went for a college degree and a career in it afterwards; we’re all learning, that’s the best part of the process.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I think I’d want to show her the Botanical Garden in the Bronx, we’d go to the High Line, walk along the Hudson Piers and sit in one of the many patches of grass along the river. Then I think we’d definitely go to see a Broadway show, probably a musical. and we’d go eat in one of the little restaurants that you find along West Broadway, or maybe we’d go to a brunch place in Dumbo after walking along the Brooklyn Bridge. As far as food is concerned everywhere in New York is going to leave you pleasantly surprised, though we’d probably also stay at home and make a meal at home, which would give her a chance to laugh at my cooking.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think the first time I concretely considered acting and the entertainment as a career was when my English teacher, Mr. Prater, showed us King Lear, I felt very drawn to the intrigue and drama and felt a desire to be on stage or in front of a camera. So I think Mr. Prater definitely deserves a shoutout. Of course, my family, Gabriele, Marina, and Sofia, also do for always keeping me grounded and for never making me feel like I did not have support. Finally, my friends back home, I always try to go back as much as I can and it’s fairly easy to expect things to break down once you’re far apart for a while, but they haven’t so far, and that is thanks to them.

Website: www.cristianobenfenati.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbrenfy/?hl=it

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristianobenfenati/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbrenfy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbrenfy/

Other: My IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9432754/ My Acting Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBHN5Sbmgw8

Image Credits
Joanna Bouknight Marzio Fulfaro Alessio Romano