Before landing a lead role in Tina Fey’s new Netflix dramedy The Four Seasons, Italian actor, playwright and director Marco Calvani hadn’t acted in over a decade. But now, as LGBTQ+ rights face renewed challenges globally, Calvani says he’s proud to be portraying a queer, interracial couple on mainstream television.
Born in Prato, near Florence, Calvani trained as an actor as a teenager and appeared in several Italian and international projects, including Tom Fontana’s Borgia. Over time, though, he transitioned into writing and directing.
“By the time I wrote my fourth play, I started to direct and I was like, ‘I don’t want to act anymore,’” he told Variety. “It’s great, but everything I’ve learned as an actor, now I want to put it into writing and directing.”
After moving to New York, Calvani’s play The View From Up There was directed off-Broadway by Estelle Parsons in 2016. In 2024, his directorial debut feature High Tide—a queer romance set in Provincetown starring Marisa Tomei, James Bland, and Calvani’s husband, Brazilian actor Marco Pigossi—premiered at SXSW.
From Behind the Camera to Centre Stage
While working on his second feature, Calvani received a call from longtime friend Colman Domingo.
“He said, ‘Hey, are you still an actor?’ I spontaneously said, ‘No.’ And he replied, ‘Dammit, I really had a vision for you,’” Calvani recalled.
Domingo convinced him to audition, and two days after sending in a self-taped performance, Calvani was in a callback with Tina Fey and her team.
“It was a little scary… Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, Steve Carell—so I put myself on tape, went to the finals and got the job.”
Portraying Claude: A New Kind of Gay Character
Calvani plays Claude, the only non-American among the main cast, described as charming but anxious.
“I’ve been living in the U.S. for 12 years, and there’s always something about being an immigrant in a foreign space… it feels like you have to earn the space that you occupy,” he said.
“I didn’t want to play the usual Italian stereotype. And I didn’t want to play the usual flamboyant middle-aged gay man. How do you do that in a comedy written by Tina Fey? But the script has a perfect balance of laughs and emotional depth.”
Understanding Claude’s immigrant experience allowed Calvani to bring an authentic emotional layer to the role.
“I know his heart. I know where he’s coming from. I know what he fears. That anchored my performance.”
A Role with Political and Cultural Resonance
Asked whether his portrayal of one half of a queer interracial couple on American TV is a milestone, Calvani was reflective:
“I don’t know if it was Tina Fey’s intent to emphasise that, but it’s hard not to talk about this at a time like now, when LGBT rights are again at stake and in danger. When immigration is a hot-button topic, especially with political leaders like Trump.”
“I am proud of putting my face out there like this, in a show like this, at a moment like this,” he added.
“Because I don’t feel safe enough right now to go out in the street and protest. I’m honest—I’m here on a green card.”
“The fact that I can be a public gay person representing a successful interracial gay couple in a mainstream show—one likely to reach both red and blue states—makes me extremely proud.”
