Although he has a plum role in the splashy new Netflix series “The Four Seasons,” Italian actor Marco Calvani wasn’t chasing the spotlight.
Calvani happily stopped acting over a decade ago, turning his attention to theater and a life as a writer and director. But in 2023, Calvani and his husband Marco Pigossi met actor Colman Domingo and his husband, Raúl Domgino. That eventual friendship led Calvani to audition for “The Four Seasons,” where he landed the key role of Claude. The role marks his U.S. acting debut.
Based on the 1981 film starring Alan Alda (who also wrote and directed the film), Carol Burnett, Sandy Dennis, and Rita Moreno, “The Four Seasons” follows six old friends – couples Kate (Tina Fey) and Jack (Will Forte), Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), and Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Calvani) – on spring, summer, fall and winter getaways. When one of the couples breaks up, it has a tremendous effect on the others, especially when a new partner joins in on future trips. The miniseries premieres on Netflix on May 1 and was created by Fey, Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield.
Before 2023, Calvani was best known for directing the short film “The View From Up Here” with Melissa Leo and appearing in several Italian television shows and films. Last year, he wrote and directed his first feature film, “High Tide,” which starred Pigossi as an undocumented gay man living in Provincetown trying to find himself. The film premiered at South by Southwest and was well received.
In his 25 years of being a storyteller, “High Tide” was the first time Calvani had put a gay character at the center of a project.
“It had never occurred to me to use my voice and my papers and pen to give stage to my peers, people like me,” he said.
He wrote “High Tide” for the pleasure of writing it, very fast and with a lot of heart. He met actor Pigossi during that period, and they became husbands.
“I didn’t know I was writing it for him,” Calvani said. “It was art imitating life and a dance of beautiful coincidences. It became my first feature film and I could not be prouder.”
Ironically, Calvani has not seen the original version of “The Four Seasons.” He was born the year before it came out, and the film did not have the same success in Italy that it did in the United States. He tried to watch it before filming, but couldn’t find it available on streaming (according to TV Guide, the movie is now available on FuboTV). So, Calvani had to create his own version of the character (originally named Claudia in the film and played by Rita Moreno).
Despite all that, joining the series was an easy decision.
“All I needed to know was that Tina was writing, and Steve Carell was in it, and Colman was playing my husband,” Calvani said. “I had to trust the script.”
Much about Claude feels familiar to Calvani, especially his love for taking care of people.
“When I decide to go out in the world and spend time with people, I am warm and positive,” he said. “If I feel otherwise, I stay home and stay indoors and by myself. I carry a lot of energy when I am out in the world and I am happy to share that. In that sense, I am like Claude.”
Yet, Calvani feels Claude is a little too much at times. While he sees himself as much more independent, Claude really depends on his relationship with Danny and Danny’s presence in his life.
“There is almost this feeling that if he loses Danny, he loses himself, his own identity,” Calvani said. “Danny is also going through a transformation of his own, and that heightens Claude’s anxiety.”
Danny and Claude also have a healthy dose of respect and passion for each other, which is something the other couples in the series lack. Knowing Domingo before filming began made things a little easier on set, although when Calvani first found himself sitting around a table with the A-list cast, he thought: “What in the f*ck am I doing?”
“Colman assured me that I had the right to be there and everyone else made me feel welcome,” he said. “We were a team.”
Calvani feels honored to be able to portray a positive gay character right now in politically uncertain times.
“I am ready for this challenge. I am an immigrant, openly gay, and there is a part of me that is scared, but I feel very privileged to work with such amazing people,” he said. “I hope by portraying the normalcy of a gay relationship, we can attract more humanity toward us. We need it more than ever. This show is for everybody. It does not discriminate.”
