Andy Garcia Talks About Starring In And Producing 'City Island'

Andy Garcia steps up to the challenge to star in and produce the new hit comedy film, City Island, playing a small town New York father to his actual daughter, Dominik Garcia. The character, Vincent Rizzo, gets caught lying and keeping secrets from his family, all while he attempts to reconnect with his son. This sets up a roller coaster of emotions for the unstable Rizzo Family from City Island. HS: Did you notice anything different in the scenes with your daughter? AG: I really tired to make it so that, on set, Steven feels he is my son just as much as Dominick is my daughter. Having my real daughter there… if it were another actress, I would draw upon the same emotion. Having her there, of course, it was an added bonus. But, we were colleagues, and I was a proud colleague.HS: What is it like being an actor and playing an actor (a bad actor at that)?AG: Well, I had to be the guy beneath the guy. It was something so profoundly painful in my body and I had to cater to that. I had to go back to when I was just starting to act, when acting took a back seat to sports. So, I did really have to dig deep, because it’s an intense dream that this character, Vincent, had his whole life, and he’s like a big baby because he feels inadequate and embarrassed. HS: Was there ever a point where you were afraid to be an actor?AG: Fear might be a quality that came up for me, but every actor goes through that stage. When you’re auditioning, there’s trepidation and embarrassment. You tell someone you’re an actor and they tease you “hey everyone look over here, we got an actor!” So, it’s better to keep it to yourself for a while, but it comes out of the closet when you’re in a play or something. HS: You had to audition as an actor within the movie. Did this bring back any bad memories?AG: Of course. I’m glad I don’t have to audition anymore, but… I can remember just hating going into a silent room with everyone watching you. It was of course very awkward. But you have to keep going until you hit your mark. It’s all about the impressions you make along the way. Your headshot comes into a casting office on a big stack and you want it to end up in the bin that they go to. Then you don’t have to audition anymore. They know who you are. HS: How did you like working opposite Julianna Marguiles?We’ve worked together before, so we were pretty comfortable. She was cast on Saturday and we started shooting that week. She showed up in a wig and I said, “You look just like my agent.” That broke the ice and we just worked great from there on out. I love her. I love working with her. HS: Having done an Italian family drama like The Godfather, and now doing a family comedy. Which was more of an educational/involving process for you. AG: Both equally involving. The Godfather is just a dream, and I’m waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and wake me up from that experience. When I saw Godfather Part I, that’s when I fell in love, and decided I wanted to peruse this profession. So I was at a completely different place, to the point where I can’t even compare the two projects.