Some roles feel destined, and for Andy Dispensa, Luca in 1923 was exactly that. Originally auditioning for a different part, Dispensa found himself cast as Luca within just 24 hours—a whirlwind moment that felt less like luck and more like fate. With a deep-rooted connection to Italian culture, having studied the language since middle school and even lived in Florence and Rome, stepping into Luca’s world came instinctively. “It’s on the rarer side when a role comes to you like that,” he reflects. What followed was an intense two weeks of preparation—locked in his room, fine-tuning the dialect, physicality, and emotional depth of a character that felt like an extension of himself.
SD – Landing the Role of Luca in 1923
You originally auditioned for another role, but casting pivoted and secured you as Luca within 24 hours. What was that moment like for you, and how did you prepare so quickly to step into the role?
AD – When I received the audition sides for Luca, honestly felt it was a role I had been preparing my whole life to play. I knew the character intimately in a very short amount of time. It’s on the rarer side when it comes to you like that. As an actor sometimes you get an audition and you’re like “Man, this is awesome, I really want to do this! I hope I book it.” This was more “Oh.This is meant for me.” I started studying Italian in middle school, through high school, and in college, where I was president of the Italian Club. I studied abroad in Florence and taught English in Rome after graduating. I’ve always felt small and sensitive, which the character emanates, brilliantly written by Taylor Sheridan.So the foundation was really there for me to step into Luca. When my agent and manager called me to let me know I had booked the role I was at a family barbecue and I was very, very happy. We celebrated, but I was still pretty locked in on the tough work I knew I’d be in for because of the quick turnaround to filming.
Basically over the two weeks leading up to the shoot I just tried to cram, cram, cram, and soak up all my work like a sponge. I’m quite an obsessive person when it comes to preparation. When I get a role it allows me to block out whatever else is going on in my life which I enjoy. It’s like being on a work vacation, it both relaxes and energizes me. I locked myself in my room and started working on the scenes, physicality, and dialect only leaving to reallyexercise or have the occasional meal. My parents can call me sometimes when working on a role and be like “Hey did you-” and I usually knee-jerk back- “No! Whatever it is, I did not!”. I become a bit of a hermit, but it allows me to focus. It’s kind of the only way I know how to do certain parts, especially something as layered as this one.
SD – Bringing Authenticity to 1923
You worked closely with a dialect coach to master an authentic Italian accent. What was that process like, and how important was it for you to bring historical and cultural accuracy to Luca?
AD – My ancestry is from Palermo, where Luca is from, so I knew I had to get it right for my ancestor’s sake. I also feel like I had them along for the ride to help me out on this one too. I thought about my grandmothers a lot throughout the process and the relatives who made this very voyage over from Sicily to America (New York in our case) to provide a better life for our family shortly after the First World War. It’s rare to have the chance to honor your family and heritage like that as an actor. It felt like stepping into their shoes. Fairly surreal!
The Italian accent is one of the hardest accents to do accurately in my opinion, even for an American who speaks the language like me. I’ve seen it consistently butchered in film and TV and Italians are always complaining to me about Hollywood getting it wrong. I knew it would make or break the character so it was my number one priority. I borrowed my dad’s Italian teacher, an incredible person and actor Annasole Podesta, who helped me a great deal.Me and her worked for several sessions to fine tune the accent, every line, every syllable. I started talking in the accent out in public to lock it in. I did sessions on Italian hand gestures with her and where to put them in the script that would feel right for certain moments. Italians can speak almost exclusively with their hands so I couldn’t leave that stone unturned! My college mentor Samuele Pardini even introduced me to a real Sicilian who helped me translate the Italian lines in the script into Sicilian. Sicilian is quite a different language/dialect from mainland Italian. Director Ben Richardson and production even OK’d my decision to improvise several Italian/Sicilian lines I had prepared for a few moments, which was really cool. To have that kind of agency as an actor, where they trust you as the expert in the room. That’s the ideal relationship you want to have with any production.
Reading and YouTube always help me immensely. I picked up a book calledMussolini’s Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship, 1915-1945. It gave me great insight into what life was like for Italians and Sicilians under Mussolini, precisely during the time the show takes place. When engaging with a period piece you really have to do your homework. I feel like the more research I do, the more I can settle into the world and character. I immersed myself in Italian media, watching Italian films, and listening to my Italian 80’s playlist on Spotify.
SD – Working on a Western Epic
1923 is an ambitious series with a legendary cast, including Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. What was it like stepping into this world, and did you learn anything from your time on set?
AD – It was a damn dream come true! The sets are so finely crafted. Production design is bonkers. We filmed on this massive sound stage in Austin, Texas, and then on location in Galveston. It was like being in the year 1923. My first day on set we did the coal room scenes in episode one, and it really felt like stepping into the bowels of a ship’s engine room. The entire team was so solution-oriented and helped me every step of the way. I’m super grateful for my time on set with everyone. Ben Richardson gave me fantastic notes between takes to elevate my performance and really helped me find Luca. He also gave me the room to work things out and make it through to the more lucid takes. I owe him a lot. The cast is a total powerhouse. You’re telling a story with some of the greats of all time to ever do it. Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Timothy Dalton, and the up and coming talent on the show are all knockouts. I actually went to drama school with Aminah Nieves who plays Teonna Rainwater, very serendipitously! It doesn’t get much better being in a show like this. Working with Brandon Sklenar was awesome. That guy speaks my language big time. He’s a special actor and I feel like I learned a lot from being in scenes with him in regards to his subtlety and how he trusts himself. He has this quiet commanding presence and responsiveness that made my job easier. I felt a strong brotherly connection to him in the work and I really enjoy watching our dynamic together. I think my big takeaway from working on 1923, and that I’m going to take with me onto my next job, is that when you’re working with a team at the height of its powers, all you have to do is your work. That’s enough. Show up and the rest is taken care of for you. Actors are generally neurotic, and I oscillate between confident and unnerved in regards to the process but this experience has calmed my nerves about how I’d like things to turn out on a big job.
SD – The Challenges of Season 2
This season of 1923 brings a cruel winter and new threats to the Dutton legacy.Without giving too much away, what can you tease about how Luca fits into this evolving story?
AD – I’m a huge anti-spoiler person! No spoilers! It’s my biggest pet peeve! So even though season two is out right now I’d rather people go watch the show. It’s storytelling at the highest level, that’s all you really need to know. But I will tease the best I can. The thing that makes this show so compelling is the characters. I feel like Luca is the closest thing Spencer has to a friend in the entire series. Sure, Spencer has Alex the love of his life, but it’s rarer you see a man to man friendship in this brutal world, and in drama these days in general. The friendship that’s painted as complexly as it is here between these two characters is very beautiful to me. Even though the circumstances surrounding their friendship are horrific, they’re both people who have experienced trauma, there are moments of tenderness and we see colours from Spencer that we haven’t seen yet in the show. To be able to help Spencer on his journey is very meaningful to Luca! All friends help us learn and change us in some way on our journey and I think that’s what’s happening here, for both characters.
SD – Your Italian-American Heritage and Storytelling.
Your deep connection to your Italian roots has influenced your artistic journey. How does that heritage shape the characters you play and the stories you tell as a writer and filmmaker?
AD – It really depends. I see myself as an actor, writer, and storyteller first before any markers of heritage or appearance I was born with. That means being able to service whatever roles or stories come to me. So I would say not much from that perspective. Every character you play is different and comes from a different place. Accents and voices are my favorite. I can do most accents with training and I want to explore what roles I can service, like Cate Blanchette, or Daniel Day Lewis do. Yes, I’m passionate, and I have Italian history running through my veins which means a certain thing creatively. Everything feels big and larger than life. Moonstruck is my family’s favorite movie! My heritage and look helps me play Italian roles or tell Italian American stories for sure, whichI’m proud of, but the stories I write generally deal with themes at their core. Transformation, loneliness, dreams, farce, dealing with and accepting difficult people, or running away. I write a lot about my connection with acting but camouflaged in various stories. I write about politics and my search for truth from all angles. I have no interest in teaching people the right way to be politically or morally. Things are so complex now. I’d like to inspire, and you can teach people with a great story but the second you try to jam an idea down their throat you’ve lost. The audience is always smarter than you think. My inspiration comes from everywhere, a conversation on the street, new technology, personal struggle. I also definitely, desperately want to make people laugh and will try to do just that any chance I get.
SD – Transitioning from Theatre to Film & TV
You’ve performed at venues like the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Brooklyn Academy of Music. How has your experience in theatre influenced your approach to acting in television and film?
AD – Theater paved the way for all I do now. It is the best way for any creative person to learn story, character, how to act, how to work with a director. It’s such a collaborative process and it’s long weeks of work, sometimes months. I did theatre for 7 years pretty intensely in New York and abroad. Performing for a live audience anything can happen. I remember at drama school we had worked for weeks on a play and my scene partner had appendicitis on opening night. We threw in another actor who vaguely knew the track and who did a great job, but in our scenes, we certainly had to adlib on parts she forgot, and understandably so. The audience didn’t know a thing. Those experiences really prepare you for stepping onto a film set. You’re ready to react and roll with whatever is thrown your way. Yes, you have to get smaller for the camera instead of attempting to reach the last seat in the theatre vocally, but if you can do it on the stage, without movie magic behind you, you can do it anywhere. I think my diction is super strong from all my theatre experience and training. Sometimes I’m in a cab and the driver will thinkI’m from England which makes me laugh. It’ happened multiple times which I don’t understand, but maybe because I speak crisply from my training? I don’t know. Also, some of the best writing out there comes from the theatre and the more you work on great dialogue, things just get easier.
SD – Balancing Acting, Writing, and Filmmaking.
Beyond acting, you’re also a screenwriter and filmmaker. How do these different creative roles inform one another, and do you see yourself directing your own feature film in the future?
AD – They are all parts of the holy trinity! Writing, acting, and directing. John Patrick Shanley, one of my favorite writers, said that “writing, is acting, is directing, is living your life.” I think that nails it. I come from a sports background and playing any sport you need the coach, the players, and the plays, without one the others fall apart. As a director you need to have a firm vision of the images in your head you’re trying to convey and you need to be able to communicate well enough to your entire team on what you’re going for. It’s the most difficult job on any set, but the most crucial. The eye and ear of the director is invaluable. Acting, you do your solitary work, come to set ready to play, I think it’s the easiest of the three, though it’s not easy at all. Writing, well though I do write and enjoy it, I love being around people more, and only when really inspired do I churn out anything worthy. Writing is a gift, and if you can do it, and spend the time alone, bless ya! I am always amazed at how Steven King can pump out 10 books faster than I can write a screenplay. I still am drawn to do it despite its laborious nature.
It is my ultimate goal to direct my own feature film. Has been since I started as a film major at University. I just love acting, writing, and directing too much to set aside one and only focus on the others. But it is my drive to act and play characters that drives my writing and directing. I write for myself mostly, to have characters ready that I want to play. Also, it gives you a contentment to work on your own material that is separate from working on someone else’s. I have ideas I want to explore and things I need to show people that I can’t do with acting alone. Acting on your own material, while directing it, is a total monster. It’s a different type of stress, like trying to make a sandwich in a bathtub while being electrocuted. Frying! But once it’s done, it’s so satisfying. I have a few scripts I’d like to direct and act in, just waiting for a few small miracles to fall into place to make them happen.
SD – Success with The Funny Thing
Your short film The Funny Thing won Best Comedy Short and Best Acting Ensemble at the Independent Shorts Awards. What was the inspiration behind the film, and how did it feel to receive that recognition?
AD – Alright, so this is gonna sound weird because it is. The Funny Thing was inspired by a series of dates I went on in NY circa 2015. I would go out with a girl and at the start, I would feel some sort of attraction to them, or in the other direction I wouldn’t, and then as the date would proceed, I would see them change, in appearance. I think it had something to do with nerves or my feelings about them and how the date was going. Literally, change before my eyes! I know it’s strange. I’ve had many people who have watched the film not know that the girl is played by 3 different actresses by the end. It’s confusing, which I feel like modern dating can be at times. It’s also inspired by my great abhorrence for smartphones and what they’ve done to us. I see people so addicted to their phones they can’t even have an important conversation with someone they need to, like at the post office or doctor’s office. I’m not immune. There’s a dry humor in the film via the characters, these Instagram model types who care desperately about their problems, but are out of touch with what’s causing them.
It felt great to win a few awards for it! I think it’s a very interesting piece and I’m really proud of how well my actors showed up for it. My first AD Zachariah Dalton, a true legend, is the reason The Funny Thing came together, and as well as it did.
SD – Lessons from The Chosen and NCIS:Hawai
You’ve had roles in The Chosen and NCIS: Hawai’i, both very different in tone. What did you take away from those experiences, and how did they prepare you for 1923?
AD – Any chance to get on set helps me refine my process. Season 3 of The Chosen was my first TV credit. We filmed two weeks in a field in Texas summer heat including a few scenes with 5,000 extras. Pretty incredible stuff. I learn a great deal from every set I’m on, about myself, about the craft. A film set is the best place in the world to be. I feel at home. NCIS Hawaii we filmed on a real Navy Destroyer in Pearl Harbour, with active duty officers as extras. You really learn on the job when you’re working on big-budget material. There’s so much going on, and you have to focus and do your work. This stuff is all muscle memory, so those experiences were invaluable for me and my work on 1923.Every experience I have as an actor builds to the next. It’s a different world, a different costume, a different tone or character each time, but it all goes back to being present I guess, attempting to experience each moment without thinking too much, which is easier said than done.
SD – What’s Next for Andy Dispensa?
With 1923 premiering and your screenwriting projects gaining traction,what’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects or dream roles you’re hoping to tackle?
AD – Right now I have a few things I’ve written I’m trying to get off the ground. The first is my second full-length stage play “Tweet Tweet”, a psychological comedy about what we can control and what we don’t know we can’t. It’s one of the best things I’ve written and very current. I’m close to raising all the funding for it and I’m going to do it at the beautiful Hudson Theater on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. The second is a 20-page short film called The Rosewood Interview. It’s a drama about this 30-year-old, down on his luck, who gets the chance to interview at a tech company helmed by an old high school friend. The tagline is: What will get in the way of your future? The third, and most ambitious, is Jazz n’Mo, the first feature length screenplay I’ve written with an independent budget in mind. From a story and acting perspective it’s the project I’m most excited about at the moment. It’s a dark comedy about two dating con artists who are trying to pull one last job to retire. It’s also about two people who have been scraping by most of their lives, what that does to a person, and how your job becomes you whether you identify with it or not. It’s set in Jacksonville, Florida and I’m going to be reaching out to investors there soon to see if I can utilize some local incentives to make it happen. On the acting side there’s a feature this summer I’m slated to play the lead in but I’m waiting for the pieces to fall into place funding-wise. An amazing story by a very talented screenwriter from Iowa about prohibition. Another period piece! Sign me up!
