IN BED WITH… ADAM-JON FIORENTINO
…Adam-Jon Fiorentino. From the disco floor to chimney tops, Aladdin’s cave or his latest gay role on Five Bedrooms, he’s irresistible!
From the disco floor to chimney tops, Aladdin’s cave or his latest gay role on Five Bedrooms, he’s our irresistible Straight Mate!
DNA: How do you find playing Pete the gay cop, on Five Bedrooms?
Adam-Jon Fiorentino: In a lot of ways Pete is no different to me except he happens to find people of the same sex attractive. When I’m playing scenes with Harry (Roy Joseph), I look on it as someone simply falling for another person and not necessarily about pushing agendas. It’s just a beautiful story about two human beings who make a connection.
The portrayal of gay characters in film and TV has come a long way.
Yes, and if we can get more gay stories told in the mainstream, people wouldn’t find it as confronting; they’ll start to see the humanity in it. I’d love this country to be a lot more forward thinking when it comes to gay rights. I feel like humanity needs to get over the sex taboo and realise it’s all about a connection between consenting adults. The last few gay roles I’ve had have been great.
You’ve played gay before…
I have! In Wolf Creek, Jason Chong and I played a couple. I was brutally murdered in that one! Chopped up into little pieces! It’s not a show for the faint-hearted. John Jarratt is a lovely man, but when he turns on the Wolf Creek thing it’s terrifying! Later in the year I’m doing Kiss Of The Spider Woman for the Melbourne Theatre Company, where I play Valentin, who’s thrown into jail and confronted by a gay cellmate. It will be fascinating exploring his journey.
Any others?
Yes, I’ve started rehearsals for Paper Champions, a new movie with Gary Sweet. It’s a comedy and I play Rico, a gay character who changes the office water bottles – with a thick Spanish accent and all.
There are some who are critical of straight actors playing gay roles. What are your thoughts on that?
The same can be said for someone of a certain ethnicity questioning why someone of another ethnicity is playing that role. I do get it, but at the same time I feel that as an art form, and as actors, it’s our job to explore the human condition. I feel that a person attracted to another of the same sex is a part of that human condition. I have zero problems with someone gay playing a straight role, so I’d hope to be
Humanity needs to get over the sex taboo and realise it’s all about a connection between consenting adults.
accepted the other way. It’s about equality. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of gay actors who don’t come out because they think it’s going to hurt their career. It’s sad that if someone comes out, they could be stereotyped into gay roles.
You’re still in damn good shape, and recently played a rent boy in Playing For Keeps. Was that bum we saw on screen yours?
Yes, there was no bum double for that! In fact, I was offended that some of the Aladdin cast assumed I had a bum double!
In your first DNA interview – 15 years ago! – you told us you prided yourself on your bum. Is that still the case?
Well, it takes more work these days. There’s definitely more than one squat happening at the gym! I trained like crazy for Playing For Keeps, and one of the best things about doing Aladdin was being paid to do cardio everyday! Throw in a few gym sessions for resistance training, and you’re good to go.
Has anyone ever come out to you?
When I was teaching acting in the US, I had a student who I could see, through his work, was coming up against certain barriers. So we had a chat in class in a safe and open environment, about the issues in his work, and the next week he told us he was gay. Some of us had suspected it but he needed to discover who he was in his own time. He was only about 19, and we were all there in class to throw an arm around him. It was a really nice thing.
In musical theatre, you’ve played Kassim in Aladdin, Tony in Saturday Night Fever and Bert in Mary Poppins. Has there been a standout moment for you?
Yes, being in Saturday Night Fever and stepping out as Tony every night! My heart would race because it was one of the most exciting things. I had some of the best dancers in Australia and we’d all dance and show-off to each other and it would excite and energise us. I was living in a dream. The other moment was the first time I came out of that chimney on the opening night of Mary Poppins on Broadway. Since I was a kid, I dreamed of being on Broadway and there I was, leading in a major Disney show on 42 Street!
You also had a role in 30 Rock, playing opposite Tina Fey. What was that like? Awesome! Tina is one of the hardest working people in show business. Every second that she wasn’t on set or wasn’t needed in front of the camera, she was on her laptop writing and she does not stop! She’s incredible.
Who is your music diva?
Barbra Streisand. In fact, I have Papa Can You Hear Me? running through my head right now, and it’s because I mentioned Ryan Reynolds. He has that Yentl joke in Deadpool 2 about how Do You Want To Build A Snowman from Frozen sounds like Papa Can You Hear Me?
Apart from your stage and TV triumphs… you also played the tradie in that classic Berocca TV ad. Do people recognise you from that? [Laughs] It’s okay now but at the time I’d get, “Hey, big night!” a lot. And, “Wrangle Violet” all the time! It would be so random, too. I’d meet someone for the first time and they’d say, “Oh, wrangle Violet!”
Who has had the most significant influence on your career?
Gene Kelly. I’ve seen Singing In The Rain and On The Town so many times. It was those old movie musicals that got me into this. If I wasn’t at dance competitions, I’d be hanging out with mum on a rainy Sunday afternoon watching musicals with Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I saw the Aladdin movie the other night and I’m so excited that the movie musical is coming back.
What’s the strangest wardrobe malfunction you’ve had?
That would be the full crotch rip, which has happened a lot! There were a few on The Boy From Oz. I had massive quads back then from all the ballet I’d done so I had a lot of wardrobe malfunctions. One time, during a publicity event, I was doing a booty-drop and I felt it rip… and I mean it ripped from the bottom of my zip right up to the top of my belt! Luckily, my undies were the same colour as the pants so no one noticed, but I felt a breeze!
That said, are you a briefs, boxers or freeballing man?
I sleep in boxers but day-to-day it’s briefs. I’m a big fan of subscription undies where I can get the cut I like and I stick with it.
What about wearing a dance belt?
The last time I wore a dance belt was playing Bert in Mary Poppins. They’re more for safety because you don’t want anything in the wrong spot when you’re jumping around!