Simone Sassudelli

Simone was born and raised in Italy and grew up acting in a small theatre company in his hometown. After graduating High School he moved to Milan to study musical theatre and started working in several productions. He then decided it was time to take a risk and leave his country to pursue his career. Simone is now about to graduate from AMDA Los Angeles and he’s working hard every day to make his dreams come true.

I am (use a max. of 3 words to describe yourself)… Ambitious, passionate and goofy

Acting is... truth. It might sound contradictory but I believe acting is even truer than some moments in life. We might think it’s faking, because you’re portraying someone outside of you, but being someone else requires you to be believable and experience true moments. Life is sometimes so filtered by everything that surrounds us. Acting just means being sincere, frank and straightforward.

My last performing gig taught me... talent is not enough. Determination, consistent discipline and hard work are what really makes the difference.

Proudest performance moment… I played Snowboy (one of the Jets) in West Side Story and an important member of the audience who works in the industry stopped me after the show saying that I was living each moment on stage and he kept looking at me, even if I probably had 10 lines in the entire play.

Most embarrassing audition… There are many... but I would say when I only had one night to learn two songs for a callback and at the audition I sang the first verse and then I started singing “la la la” till the end of the song. I couldn’t remember a word… Very embarrassing!

Most challenging part... Probably playing Romeo back in High School. It’s a role that can be played only once Love really comes into your life and I hadn’t found it yet. I’d love to play it now!

The moment I knew I wanted to be an actor / singer... When I was sobbing my heart out watching Mary Poppins flying over my head. It was also the first musical I had ever seen in my life.

Dying to work with... Eddie Redmayne and Kenneth Branagh

Was born to play... Bert in Mary Poppins and Glinda in Wicked, of course

Learn music by... listening to it over and over… and over. Before I go to bed and as soon as I wake up. They say it’s the best way to memorize things.

Get into character by... studying every aspect of it in the beginning (back story, behaviors, physicality, voice) so that I’m ready for the rehearsal process. At that point all I do is listen to the characters I’m talking to. I noticed how accurately you can define your character just by naturally reacting to the others’ lines.

Special skill I wouldn't put on my resume… I blink my eyes really really fast

Musical I can’t stop talking about... At the moment it’s definitely Dear Evan Hansen. ("the moment" has been going on for over a year. I am a little bit obsessed.)

Top three Netflix / Amazon shows in my queue… Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why and I’m looking forward to the next season of The OA

Currently reading… Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim

Car karaoke tune… All These Things That I’ve Done by The Killers!

If I weren't an actor / singer, I'd be... a cartoon dubber or a designer

Rent character that best represents me… Angel.

If they made a musical about my life, I’d be played by… myself or my future son. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of and hopefully one day it'll come true.

Actor / singer crush… There are many but probably the biggest ones would be John Mayer, Natalie Portman and Emma Watson.

Sign… Capricorn and my moon sign is Cancer.

If I were a color, I'd be… Green Green Green!

Hotel alias… Monét Green 

LA spot that inspires or relaxes me… OUE Skyspace Downtown. It’s California’s Tallest Open Air Observatory. I like to spend the whole day there when I go. Seeing that beauty all around makes me really happy and gives me a sense of freedom that I hardly find elsewhere.

The best advice I ever got… “Don’t try to be anything but yourself. Technique is great but if you’re only focused on being perfect then 99% of the time you’re gonna feel like a failure because you’re not perfect. You don’t wanna be perfect, you just wanna be real, you wanna be Simone having authentic moments of life.” my voice teacher J.

You can find me at… 

www.iamsimone.net

@simounpoulain on instagram