(re)Search my Trash

<body> <div align="left"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="800" cellpadding="0" height="100%"> <tr> <td width="100" rowspan="3" background="../stylepix/square.gif" valign="top">  </td> <td width="4" rowspan="3"></td> <td width="592" height="1%" valign="top"> <p align="center"> <a href="../research/resultactorlinks.shtml?Michael Segal">Films starring <b>Michael Segal</b> on (re)Search my Trash</a> <p align="center">   </td> <td width="4" rowspan="3"></td> <td width="100" rowspan="3" background="../stylepix/squareright.gif" valign="top">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="592" valign="top" height="99%">  <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="225" align="left"> <tr> <td width="100%"><img border="0" src="../stills/michaelsegal-2.jpg" width="220" height="314"></td> </tr> </table> <p><b>Your upcoming movie <i><a href="../movies/lion(2017).shtml">Lion</a></i> - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your character in it?</b> <p>  <p><b><a href="../movies/lion(2017).shtml">Lion</a></b> is a brutal movie with a great message in it, it is not just about violence, but also about love. My character, Jeff, is a jerk, drunk, violent and ugly, not exactly what you think at when you are thinking about a family guy.<p> <p><b>What did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Michael Segal can we find in Jeff, actually?</b><p> <p>I was very confused when Davide told me about Jeff, because usually I play good guys or bad guys but with a great heart and Jeff is such an asshole... Hahaha, there is nothing of Michael Segal in him, but there is nothing of me in none of the characters I played in the past. Acting allows you to live another life and I don't agree with actors that need to put their own feelings or story into their characters.<p> <p><b>How did you get involved with the movie in the first place?</b><p> <p>Well... I watched Davide's old shorts and was very attracted to this Italian guy who works in Spain, so I wrote to him to let him know that I was an actor and... one day he asked me to be Jeff.<p> <p><b>What can you tell us about your director Davide Melini <i>[<a href="davidemelini(12-14).shtml">Davide Melini interview - click here</a>]</i>, and what was your collaboration like?</b><p> </p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="205" align="right"> <tr> <td width="100%"> <p align="right"><img border="0" src="../stills/lion-poster.jpg" width="200" height="286"></td> </tr> </table> <p>Davide is unbelivable. He is always kind and polite, never anxious, never angry. He walks through the set like he was there to watch what they are doing, but when we're ready to shoot he changes his mood and becomes a machine. I felt at home on his set. Really. It was a very positive experience.<p> <p><b>What can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?</b><p> <p>The set was very well-organized. I counted about 25 guys exept for the actors. Everybody was a master in his own field, and that turned out to be very comfortable, because everybody was just relaxed and concentrated on their job. No rush, just the time it takes to do it in the best way.<p> <p><b>Any future projects you'd like to share?</b><p> <p>Future projects? I actually have 30 movies to do, but in this field everything can be born and die in less than a day, so I really don't like to mention things that I am not sure of.<p> <p><b>What got you into acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?</b><p> <p>Jerry Lewis. When I was a child I watched a movie with him. I was 6 and decided that I wanted to make people laugh. Then I grew up in a very different way, and comedies are not so easy to find in the independent movie industry. Of course I received a training in acting. 5 years in Italy and the USA, and I am specializing in other stuff right now, on and on... stunt, horse riding, sword fight, martial arts and so on... Never stop learning! It's unbelivable that there are actors that never studied... Everybody wants to be an actor, but not everybody is so lucky to be chosen for a movie with no particular talents, and not everybody is so smart to think that if you want to be a professional, you must study.<p> </p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="385" align="left"> <tr> <td width="100%"><img border="0" src="../stills/michaelsegal-3.jpg" width="380" height="253"></td> </tr> </table> <p><b>What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to <i><a href="../movies/lion(2017).shtml">Lion</a></i>?</b><p> <p>I worked for many Italian directors and <b>Lion</b> is my 42<sup>nd</sup> or 43<sup>rd </sup>set... I am used to act in English language productions, and the movies I am in are mainly distributed arouznd the world.<p> <p><b>Over the years, you've worked with cult horror director Ivan Zuccon <i>[<a href="ivanzuccon(8-12).shtml">Ivan Zuccon interview - click here</a>]</i> quite a few times - so what is it like working with him, and how did you two first meet even?</b><p> <p>Ivan is one of the best director I ever worked with and we are good friends. He's like a brother to me, so working with him is like to be in family and there is great respect first of all. We first met many years ago, while I was doing an acting school and as a final exam we did a short movie, and Ivan was called to shoot it.<p> <p><b>Going through your filmography, one can't help but notice that quite a few of your films are of the horror variety - is that a genre you're at all fond of, and why (not)?</b><p> <p>I love every genre of movie. The most important thing is that a movie can make you feel emotions... love, hate, fear, bravery, fun... you ought to feel alive after watching a movie. The horror is the most frequent in independent industry, because there is more business around it. I really would like to do a comedy after all that horror or action... or even a romance.<p> <p><b>I've read somewhere that you're also a trained bodyguard - does this influence your acting in any way, actually?</b><p> </p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="455" align="right"> <tr> <td width="100%"> <p align="right"><img border="0" src="../stills/michaelsegal-1.jpg" width="450" height="300"></td> </tr> </table> <p>Yes definately. I always trained in close quarter combat, weapon handling, martial arts, fast driving and a lot of action sports like sky diving, skiing, scuba diving... I am an action actor and I don't need a double or a stuntman doing the dangerous stuff.<p> <p><b>How would you describe yourself as an actor, and some of your techniques to bring your characters to life?</b><p> <p>I am a very sensible man despite my appearance. I can be really passionate and don't like to use my personal feelings to make my characters live as many do. I usually study the character and become him, recreating him from scratch, giving him birth like he is a real man, and when I act if the character for example has to cry in a scene, he is the one who really suffers and not me. This technique preserves me from being hurt by their story.<p> <p><b>Actors (and indeed actresses) who inspire you?</b><p> <p>Matthew McConag... Meconaghwa... McConerw... Robert De Niro hahahaha.<p> <p><b>Your favourite movies?</b><p>   <p>Too many to name just one, but if you aimed a gun at my head I'd say <b>Ghostbusters</b>.<p> <p><b>... and of course, films you really deplore?</b><p> <p>Too many to name just one... a lot of sequels or remakes actually... some ideas are simply great and they already did the perfect movie in the 80s and there is no need to do something different now.<p> <p><b>Your website, Facebook, whatever else?</b><p> <p>Yes I have a website, <b><a href="http://www.michaelsegal.altervista.org" target="_blank">http://www.michaelsegal.altervista.org</a></b>, and a fan page too on Facebook, <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Michael-Segal-Actor-writer-stunt-man-34974181921/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/michael-segal-actor-writer-stunt-man-34974181921/</a></b> <p> </p> <p><b>Thanks for the interview!</b><p>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="592" valign="top" height="1%">  <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> currentyear = "2010"; </SCRIPT> <SCRIPT language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/endcreditsart.js"></SCRIPT> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> dosworsdonn(); </SCRIPT> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </body>