A man of many partsTrailblazing into the third act of his career.
An exclusive interview for Relentless magazine.
Venetian-born Christian Vit sprang to public attention following a brief appearance in Game of Thrones, although he was already a fixture on the acting scene in his native Italy. Having moved to the heart of the Italian movie industry in Rome, Vit quickly made a name for himself, completing a hit movie and starring in numerous tv roles. Already bilingual in English and Italian, the actor is also fluent in Spanish and French.
Following success in Rome, Vit became a familiar face on UK television when he played the character of Dr Matteo Rossini on BBC1’s ‘Holby City’ for more than 40 episodes. This led on to other international and British productions including ‘The Job Lot’ and ‘First Team’ by the creators of ‘The Inbetweeners’. He has also starred in productions as diverse as the multi award-winning comedy ‘I won’t say I love you’, the British comedy movie ‘I’m not in love’ and the smash hit three-part TV movie ‘Gabriel’s Rapture’ directed by Tosca Musk and based on the bestselling Twilight fan fiction novels by Canadian author Sylvain Reynard.
How do you find London living compared to Rome? Can you live with the coffee?
London is a very dynamic city where everything happens quickly, you need to be always ready to seize the moment and not to miss out on the incredible opportunities that it can offer. When I moved to London I immediately sensed the difference to Rome which is much more laid back, but on the other hand London has a very similar mind set to Milan, where I lived for 6 years prior to Rome while I was accomplishing my studies at the University. Therefore it was pretty easy for me to adapt. From the coffee point of view, well let’s say that I had to adapt to that too. I start my day with an Americano now….. but the espresso served in town is getting better and better.
If Hollywood called – would you be tempted?
You can find Hollywood almost everywhere in the world, especially in London where there are plenty of American productions filming so it’s not hard to find your work that will be broadcasted on the other side of the pond. Therefore, you don’t need to live in Hollywood to take advantage of the best opportunities.
However, at some point in someone‘s acting career, I think it’s good to travel to the “film mecca” and see how it feels. I visit LA about a couple of times a year, especially when the weather in London doesn’t give its best. I would definitely like to spend more time in the USA to explore the industry if the right opportunity knocks the door.
Has your busy career so far created opportunities to meet any of your acting heroes? Who inspired you to follow this path? Was it a particular film?
My inspiration came when I was a kid. I accidentally bumped into a movie set while I was visiting a city near Venice with my parents. There was a duel going on in a scene in a period movie. It was that moment that ignited the “acting flame” within me.
Very recently I had the chance to be on the same set with Kevork Malikyan, an actor whose career has spanned over 50 years. We have become good friends; he is always such a generous artist and human being and never hesitates to share his experiences with me. That’s what I find very inspirational: having someone like Kevork, an acting “legend” right in front of me, in the flash, who is so real and down to earth, and takes the time to explain to me how I can keep making my dream more and more solid and consistent.
People might be surprised to learn that you are a trained sommelier. What inspired this passion for fine wine – is it your Italian heritage? Were you considering the restaurant business as a career?
My grandfather used to make wine from a little vineyard and when I was a kid I witnessed and helped him many times. Of course I was too young to appreciate and even to drink wine but when I grew older I started to understand all the work he was putting into it. So, when I was in Rome I decided to attend the sommelier school, mostly for my own enjoyment, but also to celebrate and give a sense to all those years I spent with my “nonno” in the vineyard. I’ve also had a brief experience in the restaurant business with a bunch of friends, enough to understand it was definitely not for me.
How was it working on the Gabriel trilogy, which has been compared to the Fifty Shades of Grey genre? Do you consider yourself a sex symbol? Was it fun being directed by Elon Musk’s sister?
My character is a baddy and has been introduced in the second chapter of the trilogy, named “Gabriel’s Rapture”. I immediately loved the project and most of my scenes were filmed in Florence, at the Uffizi Gallery, a very unique experience as the museum was opened just for the crew. I’m filming the third movie as I’m answering these questions for this article, so I’m back to Florence again.
I’m very focused on doing my best in every project I get involved with, of course it’s nice to receive compliments but I much prefer them to be about my acting performance other than my looks.
Tosca Musk is a brilliant woman and director, she knows exactly what she wants from the actors and how to get the best from them. It’s a real pleasure working with her.
When you worked on the British sitcoms ‘The First Team’ and ‘The Job Lot’, did you find much difference between the British and Italian sense of humour? Do you enjoy working in comedy?
There are definitely some differences between the British and Italian sense of humour but regardless, comedy has always been one of my favorite genres to play. I had a lot of fun filming “The Job Lot” and “The first Team” and I hope I’ll have the chance to work in more funny and brilliant projects in the future.
We understand you have just completed filming in Ireland for a Netflix show – of course there is an NDA but can you tell us anything?
Yes, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Ireland filming a very exciting project recently. The only thing I can say at the moment is that the role I played was very physical, that I absolutely enjoyed playing it and that it will be aired sometime towards the end of 2023.
Do you think your classical ‘leading man’ good looks have narrowed or increased your options as an actor? Do you secretly prefer dragon shows to romance?
What I can say is that sometimes the look doesn’t help at all, actually it makes things more complicated in fitting you in the project’s mix. I like to be a versatile actor and I love to cross over different genres. I think a good career is made by the right amount of dragon shows together with romance and others.
Talking of romance, your name has been linked to Italian actor Georgia Viero who you have referred to her as your ‘darling’….is there any news in the offing that might devastate your legions of female fans?
Indeed, Georgia is the great woman I’ve been blessed to cross paths with, and since we met, nearly two years ago, we‘ve been inseparable. We make a good team and have exciting plans for the future, both on the personal and professional level. All in good time of course.
You have been a passionate supporter of good causes, in particular a charity supporting wounded servicemen based in London known as Back on Track, founded by the Harley Street Skin Clinic. Do you have family in the military?
I don’t have family in the military but soon after I moved to London, I became aware of the work of the Back on Track charity through some mutual friends of the founders, Lesley Reynolds and Dr Aamer Khan. I was very impressed and moved by their extraordinary and remarkable work repairing and rehabilitating physically and psychologically wounded former servicemen.
What was it about the pioneering work of Back on Track which prompted you to support them?
I had simply never met anyone doing such pioneering work as performed by Dr Aamer Khan. In fact he has won awards for his work in the field of scar tissue repair. Since lending support to the charity, I’ve had the chance to meet and speak with some of the servicemen whose lives have been dramatically improved by Back on Track, including those who suffer from PTSD or need other forms of support. It is a small but laudable charity. I’m always up to support their karting events, annual gala balls or Christmas concerts.
Finally, you have a new project coming up in December, which is a horror-based mystery. We hear it is absolutely terrifying, what can you tell us about it and when can we see it on our screens?
I was talking about being a good team with Georgia here, and she happened to write the subject for a horror mystery movie. This idea has been developed with screenwriter Dan Sporson and it’s now a screenplay with the working title: “Behave.” The movie will be produced by Thespian films and directed by Francesco Gabriele, a London based award winning Italian director and teacher at the St Mary’s University. Georgia and I will be the executive producers and act in the movie along with Stacy Tunes (Killing Eve, Spides, What People Do All Day) and some talented young actors who have recently accomplished their drama degrees at St Mary’s.
For more information about Christian Vit go to: christianvit.com
