Giancarlo Esposito brought his water-smooth voice to the Marriott Atrium Ballroom on Friday evening at 5:30PM, and as a man who often wields it to turn the most mundane words into a cutting threat, he showed that he also loves using it for good; a positive, affirming man ready and willing to inspire and empower whoever needs it.
Sitting beside moderator Sammi Doneff, and looking dapper in all black, Esposito started by addressing the audience: “How are you guys? Having fun yet? You look great! Give yourself a hand!”
Esposito, an Emmy-nominated and oft-praised actor that has elevated numerous characters into art, gave even more love back to Atlanta, where he’s worked many times, starting with the film School Daze in 1988 and most recently on Megalopolis. He talked about how it’s become more eclectic, a path that mirrors his own career from a “song and dance man” on Broadway who leapt to the screen in a series of wide-ranging characters.
He noted that while he has played different ethnicities, due to his physical traits, he’s actually half Italian—a natural born communicator and storyteller. But he learned to speak Spanish for roles, among other things, going where work took him until actors like John Leguizamo came on the scene and brought their heritage to roles.
Esposito stressed that versatility is important in both acting and life because it helps you pursue your interests, expand your consciousness, and find inspiration, and when you are inspired, “you become driven.”
Esposito doesn’t feel like he’s typecast “at all” as villains given his varied work, which includes shows like Kaleidoscope, and he even sees significant differences between the “bad guys” he’s played.
“Yes, I became iconic from playing a couple of characters that were very intense and maybe were villainous,” he said. He cited “good guy” roles in films like Unpregnant Road Trip, Maxine, and Stargirl, where he played a paleontologist. “But,” he continued, “you know that I’ve been exceptional… in playing Gustavo Fring, Stan Edgar, who I think is very different than Gustavo, Moff Gideon.”
Esposito then demonstrated how these characters differ in their speaking patterns, which is indicative of their emotional state, and treated the audience to his Gideon from The Mandalorian and Edgar from The Boys. He clearly relished in this.
“So, in my mind, I’m not typecast. I’ve made a decision to play certain heavy characters because they’re fun,” he said. “Wait ‘til you see Captain America four!”
Esposito talked about how he “play[s] in between the words” to flesh out characters, learning and fine-tuning their behaviors. “I complicate characters and layer them so they can become interesting to you,” he said. “It’s more than just showing up and saying the words. Equally so, every character I play has a different physicality.”
Ultimately, it’s important to understand how a character communicates both with his words, his body, and even his silences, which is when he decides to not show an audience anything of what his character feels. “You’re gonna have to figure it out, which is awkward and uncomfortable for us as human beings. That’s how I become menacing and scary,” he explained before saying, “that’s my job, too. To scare the sh*t outta you.”
As an actor who’s racked up both experience and accolades, he now benefits from his reputation, meaning he doesn’t have to audition much anymore, which is a blessing and curse. Auditioning is practice and also a chance to find right-fit work. “There’s something I tell people that we forget,” he said, “there’s an equal exchange that goes on when you go for an audition or job interview.” He continued that its important to ask questions in these situations but often “we don’t honor it because we want the job so badly.” But, asking questions, he stressed, is a path towards empowerment and that has allowed him to grow and create his own opportunities. Then he asked the audience, “How fulfilling could that be for you?”
Esposito was emphatic in talking about motion capture acting for video games, including his experience on Far Cry 6, during which he learned “more than [he] ever imagined [he’d] learn.” He spoke about how acting in a green room bedecked in technology while wearing sensors and equipment made him super aware of the importance of his focus.
“Having focus when everything is trying to take your focus away from what it should be,” he told the audience, “because there are so many things to focus on… at a certain period in your life you’re gonna wanna do something that’s gonna require every ounce of your attention.”
“Far Cry 6 to me was not only fun,” he said, “it was difficult.”
He spoke about his process in doing scenes, his daily breathing exercises for centering, and asking for what he wants to do his best work, encouraging the audience to think similarly in their lives.
He has a few favorite roles but called out his place in the Star Wars Universe. “Moff Gideon,” he started to shouts, “allowed me to remember to be a child again. To remember to have fun. To remember to be in wonder, enchantment, joy. And to play,” he said. “When Jon Favreau called me, and said he wrote a role for me, he said ‘do you have any requests?’, I said I want a cape, and he said ‘done’”.
“I’ve been blessed to play more than I work,” he said. “When your work becomes play, it changes your life.” And, as he pointed out, change is good.
In keeping with his inspirational talk, Esposito detailed the importance of inviting and manifesting opportunity by believing it will happen. For him, that meant working with Guy Ritchie—who he loves. Twenty-four hours after he first started meditating on “When will I work with him?” he got a call to join The Gentlemen for “only” three episodes. Instead of focusing on the negative connotation of “only,” he focused on the positive of just being on the show. It turned into six episodes, and now he’s been asked back for season two.
“Continually invite the best,” he said. “Invite it, it will come.”
Esposito shows no desire to slow down. He wants to do a Stephen King movie, tell unknown historical stories, and be in a romcom. And we’ll be watching. Whether he’s a menace or man of inspiration, Giancarlo Esposito will always be invited into our homes and lives.
