Celebrity Interview | Entertainment & Film Industry - Shakespeare with a Soundtrack - Reviewing Juliet and Romeo and A Conversation with Alex Grech

Greg Staffa 0:00

You're listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is rising actor and stuntman Alex Breck, who can be seen in the upcoming independent musical feature film Juliet and Romeo, alongside talented actors and actresses like Rebel Wilson, Jason Isaacs, Rupert Everett and more. Alex, thanks for joining us today.

Alex Grech 0:32

Yeah, great. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, I'm very, very excited for the upcoming Juliet and Romeo film. It's such an honor to be on the show. Thanks very much.

Greg Staffa 0:42

So Romeo and Juliet? We've seen several incarnations before. Casual viewers might say, oh, why do we need another one? Why do we need another Romeo and Juliet, and what sets this one apart?

Alex Grech 0:54

Yeah, so from the very onset, right out the gate, there's a classic, there's like an inversion on the classic title with Juliet and Romeo, which is kind of alluding towards how this world, uh, you know, in my, in my opinion, is built out and filled with characters in a way that we haven't really seen traditionally done in the past.

Alex Grech 1:17

So this upcoming music, uh, musical feature is based more in the realm of the epic poem that Shakespeare wrote his play or, like, inspired his play. So I think that that is probably the key difference. There's also the element that first really attracted me to the project which the writer-director, tim Bogart, talks about, which is this idea of kind of bringing the poetry of Shakespeare's time, in terms of iambic pentameter, to a modern audience in a way that is more easily absorbable and will resonate more with contemporary audiences, which is kind of the pop music aspect of it, as he says, like the poetry of our time, which I just think is fantastic, and that was something that really drew me to the project in its early days and the title is Juliet and Romeo, not to be confused with Romeo and Juliet.

Greg Staffa 2:15

So that is for you to point out. You started acting at a young age, age of six. What got you interested in acting?

From Child Actor to World Explorer

Alex Grech 2:24

Yeah, I mean, funnily enough, uh, at that age I have an older brother and, as with anyone who has a sibling, uh, he started acting at the victorian youth theater where we lived in melbourne, australia. I was like, oh fantastic, this is something that I need to go and do as well. And then years went on and I just kind of fell in love with it and kept doing it over the course of my life, never really thinking until I went to university, at NYU, until I made that kind of leap. It was never something that I really thought would become, you know, a career, but I'm, I'm so, so fortunate.

Greg Staffa 3:12

Now, it was a career that you're so fortunate about, but yet in 2019, you embarked on a journey I I did a journey myself. I did a 48 state road trip, but I did that journey myself. I did a 48-state road trip, but I did that by car. You decided to go backpacking for 11 months, visiting places like India, Switzerland, Prague, Budapest. Backpacking makes my driving around the 48 states seem like kind of a sissy thing to do. What made you take on that endeavor?

Alex Grech 3:49

seem like a kind of a sissy thing to do. What made you take on that endeavor? Yeah, uh, honestly, it was a culmination of things. Primarily, I have always, I've always kind of thought that, uh, you know, your knowledge is more or less like limited to the experiences that you're willing to go and, you know, expose yourself to. And as soon as I finished high school like kind of realized, you know, I had the university on the doorstep.

Alex Grech 4:14

That was kind of the next big stage, the next big chapter to approach, and I thought that I needed to go out and experience a bit of a bit of life, a bit of the world, and, you know, figure out a few things and try and answer a bit of a bit of life, a bit of the world, and you know, figure out a few things and try and answer a few hard questions.

Alex Grech 4:29

And during that process, I spent two months in New York where I auditioned at NYU's Tisch Performing Arts School for their acting program, not really thinking that I would get in, just like you know, assuming that it would be an incredible audition process where I would learn a lot and hopefully be able to go back to Australia and take that experience to a few other performing arts schools in Australia and I ended up getting in and I found out that I got in before I ever made it back to Australia and you know it was like, okay, well, I guess this decides what that next chapter is going to look like. So, yeah, it was an incredible, incredible experience that I'm remarkably grateful for, because it kind of set me on the path that I'm on now, which I absolutely love.

Greg Staffa 5:16

I think we all need. I wish more people would rather be backpacking or driving, taking long trips. I think it makes you a better human. I mean, like here in the US, so many American families get on a plane and fly to Orlando to visit Disney World and they make like a 20-minute drive to Disney World, spend there for a week and then drive back to the airport and fly home. And they say I went to Florida for a week and then drive back to the airport and fly home and they say I went to Florida for a week. It's like well, no, you went to like 1% of Florida and you stayed in a resort.

Greg Staffa 5:51

I think being able to travel, whether it be car or by backpacking, you start to see the rest of the country and the rest of the world in a way that isn't so microscopic to the way that you might live, and I think it's a great way to learn more about yourself and more about the country here in the U S, having done a 48 state road trip, anytime there's something in the news, you know a big event. I can remember being in that area because I did. You know so much traveling. I think that makes us a better kind of a world citizen, or even just a better citizen of where we're from, to be able to get that knowledge and to get that you know that culture and to be able to see that. And so when these news stories hit, they're not foreign anymore, they're on your mind because you met the people there and you know what those are like.

Greg Staffa 6:41

So I just can't imagine backpacking. It's a little bit beyond me. So you got invited to new york. You got in, you said and that was 2020, which, yes, most people, that's covid year. So you make this big move to the us and covid hit. I don't know if you were there before covid or after covid, but that was a year that was very different for many. Was that almost a regret that it happened, or timing?

Moving to NYC During COVID

Alex Grech 7:09

How did that work? Yeah, I mean obviously a regret that COVID was happening, but in terms of moving, no, not at all. I very much kind of arrived in the thick of it in the fall of 2020 and things were, you know, seeming to start like that. There was a little bit of, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, but it was really, it was really really hard, but that was keeping us down for like the first uh, first like six, seven months that I was there, and then things slowly but surely began to gain momentum again.

Greg Staffa 7:51

Did the isolation allow you to focus more on studying rather than being? I mean, if I'm going to move to another country, I would be just overwhelmed. Did the fact that COVID was going on kind of force you to settle down and focus on what was important to you for being in New York?

Alex Grech 8:09

Yeah, definitely I mean the space. When I first moved there I was living in a tiny little shoebox room and I had this balcony and I would use that to do physical warm-ups and all the sort of movement curriculum that I had. But yeah, the isolation was definitely difficult, mostly because I'm someone who really thrives on, you know, being out in the world and exercising and going on hikes and being able to kind of declutter my mind. So being trapped in a small, in like a New York small space was really hard. But I pretty quickly moved out of that apartment and found like slightly, you know, a little bit more run down loft but had more space. You couldn't stand up in the loft where the bed was, but I was happy for that sacrifice in order to have floor space to like lay mats out and actually dig into, dig into the craft a bit.

Greg Staffa 9:14

So then you got cast as romeo's younger cousin. You went to italy for six months where you trained with the stunt team. Now, is that, was that something that was? Were you hired as a stunt person first? Were you cast first? How did that

Double Duty: Acting and Stunt Work

Greg Staffa 9:29

process go? And then, how did you get involved in the stunt team, which kind of came, which was first the chicken or the egg?

Alex Grech 9:35

Yeah, uh, I, I actually I auditioned for micuccio originally and, uh, writer director tim was like I have this, I have this original character, tomaso, and I think you would be perfect.

Alex Grech 9:51

He's like very physical, very warlike, and I had a bit of a background in stunts. I've always been a very, very physical performer and I I was like I will immediately jump at this opportunity. And that was kind of where it all began during over the course of the pre-production rehearsal period working with the stunt teams. So Jamie injured his ankle during the pre-production rehearsal process with the stunt team and I got a tap on the shoulder to ask me if I would be interested in working as Jamie's stunt double, as the Romeo stunt double, because the production team were very, very focused on trying to keep a level of continuity, with actors performing as much of the stunts as was, you know, reasonably safe, and that felt amazing. So I was just really grateful for the opportunity and this led to me having a lot of time on set working in principal cast and doing my primary job as an actor but also filling in for stunt double roles as the double Romeo.

Greg Staffa 10:57

It was just more of the general, because I mean you're athletic, you're not a trained, trained professional stuntman Was it a lot of the the gen, because I mean you're not, you're athletic, you're not a trained, trained professional stuntman was a lot of the horse work. Was this fighting? I mean, I've seen the trailer. There's some heavy, long jumps in there from high up places. Is that you what? Where was your comfort and all that?

Alex Grech 11:16

yeah, uh. So I did like a few climbs and a few falls, but not the incredibly high, not the incredibly high bridge jump. That was, you know, one of our, one of our trained high fallers. I would love to do more of that work and kind of plan on ticking a lot of those boxes over the next few years. But I do have kind of foundational training, particularly through my acting career and my acting training with NYU, and I've trained with a lot of their stunt performers, which was an amazing experience. But that's where a lot of my fight background comes from as well. As you know, when I was much younger uh, a bit of jiu-jitsu and Krav Maga.

Greg Staffa 11:56

So now you have a role in this, but you're also a stuntman in this. Do you see yourself as an actor who does his own stunts? Do you see yourself as an up and coming stuntman that also acts? Where do you see yourself being?

Alex Grech 12:10

kind of labeled as that's. You know, as we discussed earlier, I began acting when I was about six, so it's certainly the thing that's closest to my heart. I just appreciate the fact that, you know, while I'm still young and physically capable, I'd like to be doing as much of my own stunt work as is possible, because to me the physicality of your character is an extension of that character. So you know, to to to kind of cap your ability to represent that and embody that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I do understand that sometimes there's uh insurance and things that get in the way of that, but I would absolutely consider myself an actor who does his own stunts.

Greg Staffa 13:00

Now you jokingly say that while you're still young. I would like to remind you that tom cruise uh still doing stunts in his latest mission impossible movie.

Greg Staffa 13:09

So uh, that is absolutely the dream, that is absolutely the dream, but uh definitely attributed to the success of his career Young has little to do with it, but I always like his attitude is you know, people can tell. People can tell when you're in a fight and then someone falls, but the guy's hair looks completely different and you know. You're like, well, I wasn't you know that actor. And so I think there's something that's very reputable of not doing too dangerous. I mean, his stunts are a little bit crazy, but I think it's reputable that actors are willing to push themselves a little bit into doing things that other actors might not do. As far as what you're doing, so I mean this film I saw the trailer Again Juliet and Romeo Looks amazing, looks visually, just, you know, well done. What was it like on being? I mean, this is kind of your big debut as an actor, as a stuntman. What was it like filming it? I mean?

Behind the Scenes in Italy

Alex Grech 14:12

the sets were incredible. It was all shot on, you know, various locations in Northern Italy, most of which were period-accurate castles, and one of my favourite sets was the Verona Town Square. It's like during the introductory kind of scene where we're meeting all the characters and there's this street festival going on and we had hundreds of extras. There were fire spitters and jugglers and flag throwers and people on stilts and the kind of arts department was led by Dante Ferretti production design by Dante Ferretti and, you know, absolute icon, and his sets were just these amazingly colourful and vibrant pieces of art and it just it made it so easy as an actor to step into that reality and live in it.

Greg Staffa 15:11

Now, as a fan I guess, I always envisioned a film production as kind of like high school at least high school in the US where you have your different little groups of people the jocks, the nerds, you know, and that kind of stuff.

Greg Staffa 15:27

I always envisioned that the actors and actresses have grouped together and they're on their own little thing, where the production people kind of are their own little group. But you were training to do stunts, you were training to do your role Also. Did you get time to enjoy yourself as you were training to do your role also? Did you get time to enjoy yourself as an actor and mingle with the other actors? Or is there so much kind of the stunt work stuff that you kind of kind of got lost in the shuffle there of? I mean, because this is your first big role too, did you have time to enjoy that as an actor and appreciate, you know, the actor kind of lifestyle, the actor kind of being an actor on set, or was it cut? Now I have to go train for this fight that I'm going to do to kind of fully appreciate that enjoyment.

Alex Grech 16:12

So great question. But, as you kind of alluded to earlier, we were there for, you know, six, six odd months, um, working on the project and while the pre-production rehearsal schedule was pretty jam-packed with like hours of horse training in the mornings and then little breaks and moving on to stunts, we were all together for essentially that whole period, you know, staying, staying in the same hotels and getting dinner every night and eating meals together. So it really became, particularly because, uh, the majority of the film is shot overnight, so it's all. It was all essentially night shoots, or at least the whole time that I was on set, which and in the middle of a like north italian winter, so it was like cold and dark, and the kind of tight-knit community energy of the cast and and film crew was really the thing that, like kept the engine going and kept you excited to to be on set now, this is your first kind of big us role.

Greg Staffa 17:19

Yeah, I mean, you've been acting since the age of six, but was there anyone on set? Now this is your first kind of big US role. Yeah, I mean, you've been acting since the age of six, but was there anyone on set that was kind of instrumental in kind of guiding you or giving you some advice? That was really helpful, because this is still, I mean, even though you've been doing it for a long time. I would imagine being on a real production like this was a little bit different.

Alex Grech 17:47

Was there anyone that was real instrumental and kind of taking you under their wing, any guidance, that kind of thing? Uh, honestly, the, the entire, like montague clan uh, was something that I developed a very close bond with, with those guys. Obviously, this, this kind of group, was led by Jason Isaacs as the father figure, who is such an incredible human being, an incredible actor, but also an incredibly kind of gentle and honest individual, and he was amazing, amazing to work with and someone who I've grown up seeing in so many different, so many different you know classics over my years. It. It kind of boggled my mind a little bit, uh, when I when I first got to work with him in some of those initial scenes, but I'd certainly have to mention, you know, our leading man, jamie ward, nicholas padani, who plays micuccio. They were, you know, so instrumental in creating this, this kind of tight-knit brotherhood that was, you know, very easy to rely on one thing you just mentioned that kind of made me think of the movie saving private ryan.

Greg Staffa 18:54

in that movie the director set aside matt damon played private ryan, and when they were getting ready to film it the director separated him from the other actors because they wanted some resentment, and so they were pushed to train really hard while he was giving it a little bit easier, just because it created that resentment that they hope to capture on film. Romeo and Juliet has two very different families that are often at odds with each other. Was there anything to do to separate the two groups, to kind of create that, that resentment or that unknowing of each other, to kind of separate it so that you didn't feel like you guys were all buddies? Or was there anything done like that?

Alex Grech 19:41

uh, not, not particularly. I don't, at least not to my knowledge, was there anything sort of uh set in place by the director to manufacture that, that tension. You know it's. You're talking about a story that is rooted in so much theatrical history. They're really diving into the source material, diving into the script, both, you know, the classical and the modern one that we are working on in this world. That really provided all the information necessary to kind of do the part as an actor to bring that to camera.

Greg Staffa 20:18

Sure, now is there anything, without giving any spoilers or anything like that, but is there a particular scene that you're as excited for your friends, family, fans of yours to to see that you filmed?

Alex Grech 20:33

Sorry, I just have to consider that answer for a moment.

Alex Grech 20:36

Yeah, I don't want to get spoilers, but honestly there's just quite a bit that could be, that could be like. All of it is my honest answer, but that's not particularly helpful. So I think something that I'm really excited to see people's responses to is all of the music, because in my opinion and I'm not someone who has, you know, a kind of background in a lot of musical theory training so to me it's purely about the kind of leaves me a little bit shocked every time I see it and every time I hear those songs. It kind of all very much comes rushing back. So I'm really excited to see audiences' responses to all the music.

Greg Staffa 21:41

Sure Now. This

Mental Health Advocacy and Future Plans

Greg Staffa 21:43

was released May 9th, followed by UK released on June 11th and I read that it's presented as part of a musical trilogy. What? What does that mean?

Alex Grech 21:55

Your guess at this point is as good as mine. I don't like live in the writer director's head. However, I wish I, I wish, I, I wish I, you know, did know more and could say more about it, but no, it's just something that I'm incredibly, incredibly excited for, the potential for?

Greg Staffa 22:17

Yeah, so it's a musical trilogy, but it could be a whole new story as part two, so it could be interpreting three different classics. Is what you're saying? You simply don't know.

Alex Grech 22:30

Yeah, I just don't, I just don't know. Unfortunately, I'm not privy to that sort of information. It would be nice Sure.

Greg Staffa 22:38

So not only are you a talented actor, you're a stuntman, you enjoy hiking and stuff like that, but you're also passionate about the medical field.

Alex Grech 22:47

tell us a little bit about that yeah, uh, I have a real passion for promoting kind of mental health awareness and neurological health awareness, um, and they're just things that I think are fields that sort of lie on the extremities of common knowledge, as we spoke about earlier.

Alex Grech 23:09

There's a lot of perception that kind of extends only as far as the experiences you've had, and I've had my own personal kind of battles with mental health through my adolescence and probably will do throughout my life, and I, you know, continue to keep up these disciplines and practices and engage in things like hiking and exploring and, you know, keep up my acting work and my stunt work, because they're things that fulfill me and, uh, I just kind of want to generate awareness for the fact that these things that can lie on the extremities anything to do with the brain is, you know uh, riddled with complexity that our understanding is at the very you know uh forefront of. But we still have so much more to go in terms of gaining understanding and I hope to kind of generate awareness so that people don't ever feel that they're limited by those things that there sometimes aren't answers to.

Greg Staffa 24:17

Now the term Hollywood actor kind of seems to be weighing away. We're seeing a lot more international stuff Right now you're in the UK. Way, we're seeing a lot more international stuff. Right now you're in the UK. What do you see kind of next for you? You see going back to New York as a home base. What are your hopes for you next?

Alex Grech 24:35

Yeah, so the plan at the moment is to head back to the US pretty soon and continue in building a home base in New York. I absolutely love that city and while I don't know if I'll be there my whole life, I do think that, particularly at this stage of my life, it's the right place for me. So, building a bit more of a base there. I've got a few projects that I'm very excited to pick up once I get back both my own and more independent work. But yeah, building a base in the US and hopefully expanding. You know, the dream is always to have the ability to go back to Australia or, you know, live down on the coast one day.

Greg Staffa 25:23

What advice would you give? I mean, you've been very lucky in what you've done. What advice would you give to a young Alex, age six, just getting started in acting? What was kind of your keys to success, or what kind of what was your driving force?

Alex Grech 25:41

Honestly, acting has always been something that has fulfilled me in a way that nothing else really has. You know, I worked as a paralegal for a while in Australia, worked as a laborer and a bartender, and while all those jobs fulfilled different aspects of my life, there's nothing I've ever done like performing and creating art in this, in this medium theater or film that has provided me with the same level of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Greg Staffa 26:19

Well said. Well, alex, thank you for coming on. Juliet and Romeo, like I said, comes out May 9th, followed by a UK release on June 11th. The trailer looks amazing. I'm typically not a musical guy, but this is interesting enough to me. I love the big sets of it. Even the sounds are a little bit catchy during the trailer, so I'm eager to check it out. Visually it looks stunning. Um, there was no expense cut on creating the universe that they're creating and, uh, I look forward to checking it out. I appreciate your time and I look forward to seeing you for the next several years, um, both as an actor and maybe a stuntman, or maybe an acting stuntman. So thank you for coming on.

Alex Grech 27:07

Thank you very much for having me, greg. I really really appreciate the chat. It's been fantastic.