Enrico Mutti : Santa Barbara's hunky priest
By Janet Di Lauro, Soap Opera Weekly, 1992	Home   Cette page en Français

Character : Santa Barbara's Giovanni, a seminarian studying to become a priest; Micah's (Thaao Penghlis) illegitimate son and Aurora's (Christina Brascia) half-brother.

Birthday : November 18

Hometown : "I was born in Northern Italy in a small town called Loano, that's right by the ocean. It's about an hour from Monte Carlo."

Star search : "Santa Barbara held a contest in eight cities across Italy. I (participated) in Milan and made it to the final audition in Perugia."

Coming to America : "This is the third time I've been to America but the first time I'm living and working here. I like America. I love Los Angeles. Life is practical here. It's very, very easy once you have a car and a house. It's always been my dream to live here."

An American in Milan : "I was born a little bit American, at least my friends always say that. They tell me that the way I lived in Italy was kind of American. I've always eaten very big breakfasts, as Americans do. Italians only have a small cup of coffee. They don't understand that the body is like a car, it needs gas in the morning for energy. I go to the gym a lot, too, like Americans. Even my clothes are very American. I like to wear baseball jackets and caps. I also like to be free to do whatever I want any time of day - I don't like schedules. Europeans are very conservative. They do things at certain times. Things are different here."

His big break : "I got into acting by coincidence. When I was 26, I met this guy who's one of the most famous talk-show hosts in Italy - Gianfranco Funari. He's like Johnny Carson. He lived in the same town as I did, Milan. He gave me a great opportunity. He brought me on his television show and taught me what to do. It was really difficult for me, because I'd never been on TV before. From there, I started studying acting."

Past endeavors : "In Italy I worked on TV game and talk shows for about three years. I was a co-host and a reporter, interviewing contestants. One of the shows I did was about Italian cuisine. Two housewives would play games, talk about how to bake the best cake, and answer questions. It was very funny. I've also done theater and was in the TV movie Secrets."

Enrico vs. Giovanni : “It's easy for me to play Giovanni. The way I am as a person, my feelings, are very close to him. I'm not aggressive. I'm quiet and rational, like he is. But he wants to be a priest. I remember the first time I dressed up as a priest on the show and looked into the mirror, I thought, "Oh my goodness !" Giovanni's a real interesting character, but it's too bad he'll never share any love stories with anyone on the show. That's really a shame, because there are so many beautiful women on Santa Barbara."

Family bonding : "I like working with Thaao a lot. He's one of the first people I met here. He welcomed me very warmly. The chemistry between us is good."

Future goals : "I'd like to be on another soap - maybe Days of our Lives. There are so many soap operas out here. Acting is No.1 in my life right now. I'd really like to stay in America for a while. It seems every time I come to this country, it's only for one month or two months. I never get a chance to get involved with what goes on in Los Angeles. Just when I start to enjoy staying, I have to leave."