It was early September 2023 when Margherita Tercon posted a casting call for a film production looking for an autistic actor with a stage age between 30 and 40. Applicants had to send her an audition tape, which she would then forward to the production team.
To my surprise, I was contacted right away. They sent me a script to perform in another audition tape, and shortly after I received a phone call: they wanted me in Rome the very next day, at the Tiburtina studios, for a live audition for La Vita Grandi (available on Netflix). They covered my public transport ticket, picked me up at the station, and once at the studios I met the director herself, Greta Scarano. I had no idea who she was. You know about “special interests”? Well, the same thing happened later when I worked with Lorenzo Flaherty in Le Ali Invisibili (available on Rai Play): I didn’t know him before working together. The upside was that I felt no pressure.
During the audition, Greta had me repeat the scene from the tape and try two more. That’s when I learned that the film was based on the story of Margherita and her brother Damiano. They scheduled another audition two days later, on the very same day I was in Rome to attend the Aut Art Festival, a major event that gives autistic artists a platform to share autism through art.
To my great surprise, another actor performing at the festival was already known by the production. I found out that evening they would be at the festival’s theater to watch his show. At first, I thought it was just a friendly visit, but after seeing Yuri Tuci’s performance, I couldn’t help but wonder why the production was still wasting time on me when they already knew such a talented autistic actor. In fact, far more talented than me. To this day, I affectionately call him “maestro.”
And yet, they called me back for two more auditions. In the meantime, I started becoming friends with Yuri and discovered he was also auditioning for La Vita da Grandi. By then it was obvious he was the favorite — and I’ll say it again, he’s more talented than I am. When the role went to him, I was happy, because Yuri was the right choice.
But that experience gave me such a surge of energy that, shortly after those auditions, I managed to land my own lead role in Le Ali Invisibili. For the first time, I realized I wasn’t terrible at acting. The problem wasn’t me, but the way the film industry perceived autistic actors. At auditions, casting staff often misinterpreted my autistic traits: introversion and difficulty communicating with strangers were mistaken for lack of professionalism. So I ended up doing excessive masking, playing two roles: the one I had been assigned, and on top of that, a neurotypical actor doing an audition — just to hide the fact that I’m autistic.
Only later did I realize there’s a cultural barrier in the film industry — an invisible one. But the most beautiful thing is that, in Le Ali Invisibili, I had the chance to tell that very story.
Lately, I’ve also returned to the stage. At the same Aut Art Festival venue, I performed in a comedy show alongside Niccolò Centioni (famous for playing Rudi Cesaroni), titled The Diagnosis. In a sort of “upside-down world,” he plays a normo-psychiatrist for children who specializes in so-called “normal kids,” while I play an autistic father, distraught by the news of a diagnosis of normality for my son. That night, the theater was filled with roaring laughter. I truly hope these two films will raise awareness in the entertainment industry and finally open doors for us autistic actors. Because we can be very good at what we do. After all, cinema greats like Anthony Hopkins and Dan Aykroyd have already proven it overseas.
