Giuseppe Futia plays one of the film's primary love interests, Giovanni, in Netflix's La Dolce Villa, and fans want to know more about the streaming star.
The new streaming romantic comedy transports viewers to Italy. It spotlights Scott Foley's Eric, a father who follows his 20-something daughter after she commits to fixing up a villa in the Italian countryside.
Futia's Giovanni is a steamy, dreamy Italian chef who takes a liking for Eric's daughter, Olivia (played by Maia Reficco).
Biography & Filmography Details - Giuseppe Futia
Giuseppe Attended a Stella Adler Acting School
While Giuseppe Futia may be new to American audiences, he has been working for this moment for several years.
The Netflix star attended the Stella Adler Acting School to hone his craft, applying and getting accepted right out of high school. The Los Angeles institution has specialized in nurturing the acting community in LA since 1949, initially founded by the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler.
Since then, it has opened a second location in New York City, helping actors of all levels in both locations.
Talking about taking a leaping and enrolling in acting school, Futia admitted to Numero, "[I] had only really acted in school theater," pointing to how risky the move was to pursue it as a career:
"I was in LA for the first time in my life. I was fresh out of high school and had only really acted in school theater productions."
Futia joins notable alumni of the Stella Adler Acting School like Robert De Niro, Maya Hawke (who can next be seen in Stranger Things 5), Salma Hayek, and Benicio del Toro.
Giuseppe's First Found Success in Modeling
Giuseppe Futia's other trade is modeling. The La Dolce Villa actor has been a working model since he was a teenager, appearing in campaigns for major brands such as Nivea, GAP, Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, and more.
His modeling career has taken him worldwide, with most of his work done in the U.S. or Europe. Fans may have seen his face before he represented some of their favorite brands.
"I was studying acting at Stella Adler when my roommate... [introduced] me to a friend of his who had been running a couple of modeling agencies," Futia told Numero, recounting how he got started in the modeling world:
"I was studying acting at Stella Adler when my roommate and now dear friend decided to introduce me to a friend of his who had been running a couple of modeling agencies, and I signed with my Photogenics LA one week later. I got back home to Europe and after a very poor fashion season, I started working non-stop."
From there, he started working "non-stop." His first client abroad was Pull&Bear in Spain, which kicked off his career rather quickly, as he was flown all over the world for modeling jobs:
"Pull & Bear was my first ever client in Europe. Round ticket from Calabria to Coruña in Spain, it was so exciting. Then London, then Germany, then the States. Everything started happening pretty quickly."
Giuseppe's True Love Is Acting
While Giuseppe Futia has spent much of his working life as a professional model, acting is his first love.
"I’ve always been the theater kid," he said in his profile by Numero, positing that while "fashion happened so fast... acting is where I feel at home:"
"I’ve always been the theater kid in every school I’ve ever attended. Fashion happened so fast and before I could even realize it, but acting is where I feel at home. Theater school helped me deal with my teen anxiety and facilitated my spiritual growth, so I always revered the craft and dreamed of working full time as an actor."
This love of acting drove the Italian star to come to the United States in the first place. He said that he moved at 19 from his home country of Italy, coming to the States and pursuing acting as a career:
"At 19, it was pretty rough. Don’t get me wrong, I was very excited, but everything was also very new and so different from what I was used to growing up in a small town in southern Italy. I was definitely lucky I found a great group of friends that were like family and we still keep in touch."
Giuseppe Uses Physical Activity as Therapy
Everyone needs their form of escape, and Giuseppe Futia's is sports.
According to the actor, physical activity is what he uses as therapy, remarking that he has "never [taken his] body for granted," and getting out and moving is "one of the best ways I have to release frustration" (via Numero):
"Sport is my first form of therapy really. I never took my body for granted and I actually worked very hard to get it where it’s at today. Working out always has and keeps on being one of the best ways I have to release frustration and any problem I have. These days I’m mostly working out at the gym or practicing hot yoga at Fierce Grace Studio here in NYC."
La Dolce Villa Is Giuseppe's First Major Acting Credit
While Giuseppe Futia has appeared in several films, La Dolce Villa is his first major acting credit.
In the film, he plays Giovanni, Olivia's will-they-won't-they love interest. Giovanni is a renowned Italian chef who meets Olivia and her father when they arrive in Italy to help fix up the film's central villa.
The pair quickly engage in a romantic to-and-fro that parallels the love story between Scott Foley's Eric and Violante Placido's Francesca.
Before appearing in the hit Netflix movie, Futia had accumulated roles in several smaller Italian films, including U.S. Palmese, Still Out of My League, and Backstage: dietro le Quinte.
How To Follow Giuseppe Futia Online
Fans looking to keep up with Giuseppe Futia online can do so on Instagram and Facebook.
La Dolce Villa is streaming on Netflix.
Read more about Netflix's upcoming 2025 movie slate here.
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