Can you believe it’s been twenty years since the release of Titanic? To celebrate here’s an interview with Titanic star Danny Nucci on behalf of Empire Magazine from August 2010.
You’re probably more familiar with 41-year-old Danny Nucci than you realise, having appeared in ALIVE, CRIMSON TIDE, THE ROCK, ERASER and Oliver Stone’s WORLD TRADE CENTRE. Bizarrely he was also turned down for a lead role in STAND BY ME having made it to the final call backs. But it’s his turn as doomed Italian immigrant Fabrizio in TITANIC that he’ll best be remembered. I called him up and talked Titanic, James Cameron, Avatar and sounding like Sade! Here’s the full unedited phone interview direct from LA.
What have been your biggest projects since Titanic?
I’ve done three or four TV series, one where I was the star called Ten Eight. It only ran half a season but that was great. I starred in a movie recently where I got to play famed mobster Jon Gotti, called The Sinatra Club.
I’ve watched an interview with you on YouTube about the movie. How did it go?
Yeah it was terrific. I got to scream and threaten people for two hours, terrific.
That must have been quite cathartic?
Yeah it was great, I got to be mean and obsessed and get paid for it, terrific.
So how did you originally get the role of Fabrizio?
Well I actually just went in and read two scenes for James Cameron at Lightstorm Entertainment. One where we win the tickets at the beginning and a second scene which never ended up in the movie. A long scene where I try to get my Norwegian girlfriend to not depart with her family and come with me. So I got this jubilant scene and then I had this really intense and emotional scene. I finished my reading and Jimmy was behind the camera, he was actually filming! There’s usually someone filming and the director sits next to the casting director and watches but in fact he was filming the thing.
Was that intimidating?
No, it was kind of part of the deal. You know I’ve worked with some pretty big directors so I was used to it. He pulled the camera away from his eye and he goes, ‘Oh, you’re an actor.’
That must have been a good sign?
It was a great sign. I said thank you politely but inside I wanted to jump up and down.
What training or preparation did you make for the role?
Well a lot actually. The first thing I had to do was to learn to speak with an Italian accent and be an immigrant. And then I did a lot of research on what was going on in the world in 1912 and learned stuff about Titanic and the history, it was about trying to put myself in that time. That was where most of the work was, in the preparation, in the accent and the era.
What was he like as a director? Was he cool?
He’s nuts! Absolutely nuts.
Is he as much of a tyrant as people said he was?
You know it’s funny, I’ve worked with tyrants, who shall remain nameless. The thing I will say about Jimmy is he’s not a tyrant without purpose. He’s very clear on what he wants and you know he’s already got it figured out in his mind, so when it doesn’t go his way it’s so frustrating for him. But he’s not mean spirited.
And what about Kate and Leo, what were they like? Do you have any funny stories?
Well I fell in love with Kate, just as friends. But she would humour me and do an American accent all the time. I’d say Kate please do it and she would start talking in an American accent. She’d just go into this California girl accent, it was just the funniest most charming thing as normally she’s got such a proper accent English accent It was one of the funniest things. ‘Hi Danny how you doin? Well alright man I’m goin’ to make up.’ That was great. And Leo I’d known for a long time. Leo I met through Tobey Maguire, they were friends for a long time, and I knew Tobey for a while. So when I saw Leo for the first time, it was like “Hey, how you doing bro?” But actually I used to teach an improv class way back when and Tobey and Leo used to come to the class.
Wow, you used to teach them improve? Yep
Is it true that the first scene they shot was the sketching scene? I don’t know because I came into it quite late, so I’m not sure what was on the call sheet for the beginning of the shoot.
I heard a story that she flashed him just before they were about to start shooting to break the ice. I wouldn’t put it past her. I’ve been doing this a long time but I’ve never seen anybody work harder than Kate did on that film.
Did you have any scary moments on set, particularly working in the water?
Well let me put it to you this way. We did a scene where the front of the ship goes underneath the water on hydraulics. Now Jimmy’s shooting it from seven different cameras. He’s sitting at a monitor, with seven different monitors for each camera and there’s a wide shot. So what happens is the front of the ship goes down and you’ve got two hundred extras, swimming across and looking like it’s chaos and it was (laughs). You know and I have to cut this rope. It was so intense, no acting necessary. It was really swimming in the water and cutting rope, climbing, trying to avoid people and then take two, dry everybody off and do it again.
Did you ever reflect on it and think ‘Oh my God, this is genuinely terrifying?’
There’s one scene where I basically had to allow the water to drag me through a little window and there was a period of time I was going to be under the water. Simon the stunt coordinator was so careful, he gave me all the directions and just having him be so prudent about precaution made me feel should I worry? God you’re so insistent about so many things, should I worry? But you know through diligence it went great. But it wasn’t like I got to control it, I literally had to let the water drag me through this little hole and go underwater, and they had to come and give me a breathing tube whilst I was under water. You know it can be frightening but they know what they’re doing.
So did you have a favourite scene to film?
Well Leo and I had a lot of fun. One of the scenes, that wasn’t necessarily my favourite but definitely sticks in my memory is the scene where we’re on the bow of the ship. You know the king of the world?
Oh yes.
The way it was filmed is we were on a very tall but small piece of the front of the ship with a green backdrop and it was really a drag to get us up and down because it was very time consuming. So in between shots we were up there and the wind was howling. This is February! It was not cold by any stretch of the imagination but it was cold for that time there and the wind was howling and we hadn’t eaten and we needed the bathroom. We couldn’t just go over the side because the entire set would see us. I mean Leo and I would do the scene and be jubilant and happy about this amazing situation that we were in on this boat and it’s ‘I’m the king of the world’ and ‘there’s the Statue of Liberty’, and the minute they yell cut we would be miserable. We were hungry, we had to go to the bathroom and we looked at each other at one point and just said this is hideous. And then hey be jubilant again and ‘hey, oh my god look at the dolphin!’ That would be the acting part of it. That’s when we really acted.
Did you ever think the film would be as successful as it became?
No I actually thought it would be as good as it was. But for lack of a better word, doomed…
As I suppose everybody else did at the time?
Yeah we had people coming down saying when you gonna finish it? What’s going on? Blah blah blaaah. You know, I was like, oh boy!
What was it like when you saw it? Were you completely blown away?
Well when I saw it I thought how much I wasn’t in it! That’s all I saw. Jim sort of warned me but when you actually see it, it’s devastating. And then the second time I saw it I thought it was great, an amazing piece of filmmaking.
It must have been great because when the special edition came out a few years ago on DVD, it gave people the chance to see those scenes?
Yeah, they got a chance to see some of those scenes which was cool.
What did you think of Avatar?
I loved it. You’ve got to remember, I’ve got a thirteen year old daughter who was actually born during the making of Titanic. I actually had to leave set to go have my child. And I had them calling me going, ‘um are you going be coming back cos’ we’ve got to finish the dance scene?’ I put it in the contract because I knew I would have to leave as the due date was in the middle of filming. Getting back to your question, I went to see Avatar with her and to see it in 3D in one of the big movie houses here in Los Angeles with her, I kind of got to see it through her eyes and it was just terrific that way.
So is there any chance of Jim calling you up to offer you a role in the sequel?
Of Avatar?! You know Jimmy’s great in the sense of if I’m right I’m in, but if you look at Avatar there’s really nothing I could have done in that film.
I don’t know…
Yeah, nothing that wouldn’t have been a force. If there’s something Jim thinks I’m right for he’ll call me.
Is it true you narrowly missed out on a role in Stand By Me?
Yeah I was in the final call backs for that film. They were doing a mix and match, including all of the guys who got the roles and some of the people who didn’t get the roles like Sean Astin and myself. Yeah that’s true.
So what’s next for you? What plans have you got?
Well right now I’m actually starting to work on a record.
Really?
Yeah I’ve actually done music for a long time and because there’s a bit of a lull between now and September. I mean I think I’ll probably go back to work in September, I’ve got a couple of things in the works but for the next two months I’m hoping to finish the record. I’ve just finished eleven songs and I’m starting pre-production on it and you know, go in and knock it out.
What kind of music is it?
I mean I can’t describe it but somebody said that if Sade and Elvis Costello had a bastard child, it would be me.
Wow, that sounds interesting.
Yeah I don’t know how to put it but they said I sound vaguely English. Can’t think why? Bit of an anglophile.
Do you play as well?
Yeah I play guitar and stacks and bass, so I’ll play a lot on the record.
Are you hoping to tour?
Well it depends on how well the record does. I mean if there’s a necessity for it I’ll do it but it would probably be something limited just because I can’t commit to stuff like that because of work.
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