Actor, model, singer, fashion icon, athlete (he was recently seen running in the Buenos Aires Marathon) and Graduate in Public Relations, Franco Masini He lives on airplanes, with a frenetic dynamic when carrying out his activities that contrasts with the calm, gentle speech, education and the slow, reflective, almost confident tone with which he lends himself to chatting with NEWS.
He was in Spain for the presentation of “Animal love”. From Ibiza he showed the world the first images of the series created by Sebastián Ortega in which Masini shares a cast with Valentina Zenere, Santiago Achaga, Toto Rovito, Olivia Nuss, Inés Estévez, Antonio Birabent and Juan Sorini, among others.
Just brand new “The return”a film in which Masini stands out in a mysterious role in this religious intrigue that is a cross between “Conclave” and “Man Looking at the Southeast.”
News: He was recently in Spain presenting Sebastián Ortega’s new series called “Animal Love”. How was that experience?
Franco Masini: Yes, we were presenting it there at a series event, we had to give several notes (smiles). I live here, but I also spend a lot of time in Madrid, it all started in 2022 after I starred in the series “All the times we fall in love” for Netflix Spain and that generated good consequences for me in the following years. From some co-production for a film to work with many European brands, campaigns, interviews. I would tell you that for three years I have been there for many months, it is nice to travel…
News: Always for work reasons or is there a couple there?
Masini: All work, I’m re single (laughs)
News: Do you feel that being called Franco predisposed you to handle life with truth and honesty?
Masini: Yes, I think it is a very powerful name in that sense. In life I try to be clear in all aspects, with what I want to do, with what I feel, I try all the time.
News: And in this nomadic life, how do you deal with languages? You have already acted in Spanish, English and Italian.
Masini: Spanish and English we handle. I learned Italian for “The Return”, I had a very good training for a couple of months, I don’t master the language, but I learned to pronounce it. I handle English with a different naturalness because I went to a bilingual school since I was little, I speak it like Spanish, it helped me a lot. In fact, in 2019 I had the opportunity to act in the series “Riviera” because I knew how to speak English, without that it would have been impossible. I feel that the school gave me very important training both in language and in art, it allowed me to study an instrument, the sax, and it was also my gateway to theater. The school has formed me in many ways and has also accompanied me a lot in my working life, because I have been working since I was 12 years old.
News: I read in an interview from 2017, when he was doing “Amar After Amar”, in which he said: “As an actor, I lack a lot.” Several years have passed, do you feel that you were acquiring those tools that you thought you were missing?
Masini: I believe that you can always continue learning, as the years go by you incorporate knowledge and I had the possibility of many doors opening for me in Argentina and abroad, I am very grateful for that because it gave me the opportunity to continue growing in every way. Today I see it like this, there are infinite tools and things to add, learning is a path that never ends.
News: In another interview he said that he was missing three finals to receive a degree in Public Relations. Could you give them?
Masini: Could! (laughs) I graduated in 2019, six years have passed, incredible. I wanted to finish my degree, it helped me a lot for everything that has to do with brands, campaigns and the more social part where you show an image that is not the acting one. The university degree was a search, as a child I worked 6 hours maximum…but when I turned 18 I continued working 6 hours a day and I felt like I had too much free time. So I said, what do I do? And I started studying.
News: You have been acting since you were a child, but today the topic of modeling is also very present in your life. Has the model been gaining space in your life?
Masini: I think that today I work equally as an actor and as a model, there was a balance, I grew in both places, which I am grateful for because it is good, one thing is a complement to the other. I had very nice opportunities as an actor and I took advantage of them, they made me grow a lot and I still feel that I have a lot ahead of me, but when I look back I see all the possibilities that opened up, the nice work groups I had and the interesting projects that arose. Some pushed me to leave here and face the experience of living in Mexico, London or Madrid… and then return and do a series in Uruguay like “Animal Love.” It is not always the case that one can make a living doing what one likes and luckily it happened to me.
News: When you have to pose for a campaign, does being an actor help or are they different instruments?
Masini: They are different instruments, but I really like everything related to fashion and since I made “All the Times We Fall in Love” an international world has opened up to me in terms of brands and image, I made a lot of editorials thanks to that. It is a place where I feel very comfortable although obviously my priority is acting, fashion is also a genuine interest, it is not forced and that shows in a production or on a cover, there is no character, there I am Franco.
News: Now you are an established actor, but at the beginning did the appearance only bring you benefits or also prejudices?
Masini: Look, I question things all the time, I think that asking yourself who you are, where you are going and listening to others is important, without that there is no possible growth. Regarding what you say, I tried to embrace all the places that the profession gave me and in parallel I decided to challenge myself, move, escape from pigeonholing. If you make novels for 10 years, it’s always the same and there will come a time when you won’t be able to stand it. Luckily it doesn’t happen to me, I have had various projects, I was a leading man or the protagonist of “A Clockwork Orange” and I enjoyed everything. I feel that there is my own impulse to generate new movements so as not to remain stagnant, I am very aware of that. So, for example, I wanted to do a work like “One day Nico left” in which pop music was sung and that led me to a great full-fledged musical like “Almost normal”.
News: We recently saw you in the Netherlands participating in a promotional action within the framework of Formula 1. Are you interested in racing and everything that surrounds F1?
Masini: Yes, it is a sport that I have liked since I was a child, my grandfather always made me watch the races with him. This year I was given the great opportunity to go to Monaco in May for a publicity campaign and I was able to take my dad, who is also a fan, it was an unforgettable trip. A little while ago I had the Netherlands and I was happy, the truth is that I love cars, yes, I never met my namesake Colapinto. I saw Leclerc, Verstappen and Lando Norris, but not Franco. I went twice and until now we never crossed paths!
News: You worked on “Esperanza mia” and you have a sister named Milagros. Was it inevitable that you would star in a film like “El Retorno”?
Masini: Oh yes! (Laughs) It is a very interesting film, it focuses on the story of a young man who doubts whether he suffers from a mystical delirium or if he is indeed Jesus. Is the kid crazy or is he a Christ of today? For me, it was a very big challenge to build the character, because of the arc he has and how he goes through this story between the delirium and the enlightenment that the film presents. It was a very large production, we filmed much of it in Italy, with Spanish, Chilean and Argentine actors as important as Luis Gnecco or Juanjo Puigcorbé. My character is the only one in the plot who is in a different tone because he flirts with madness and it was important to achieve credibility so that the question of whether he is an impostor or not arises.
News: Did you have to do casting?
Masini: Yes, and something special happened to me, in reality the role was intended for someone older, in fact I hardly even showed up. Then the director Marcela Luchetta, who is extraordinary, told me that she and her husband, José Luis Parise, with whom they wrote the script, saw me and thought “It’s him”, then they called and told me: “So voo” (laughs).
News: Does your favorite phrase “Love the theater within you and not yourself within the theater” still represent you?
Masini: Yes, that phrase was taught to me by Adriana, a colleague whom I respect a lot. When I was little, she grabbed me and recommended: “Remember this.” It is a way to keep the flame of what really generates this passion in you, which is acting. As the years go by, it is inevitable to get used to certain things, but you have to be careful that the job does not become mechanical, to love it with the dedication of when you started, with that desire of when you were 12 when there was nothing else around.
