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'The Lair's' David Moretti says goodbye to 'My Big Gay Italian Wedding'
David Moretti, who you may remember as the star of Here!TV's gay vampire soap opera, "The Lair," performs in his final night in the off-Broadway musical, "My Big Gay Italian Wedding," Saturday (Jan. 8). It was the TV and film actor's first time on stage and he almost turned it down from stage fright, but now he walks away feeling enriched by the experience.
"I feel like I can go back to L.A.," Moretti tells Zap2it. "And be a much more well-rounded actor and bring much more to the table. When you get on stage and you know you can't mess up, there's really nothing you can't do in film or TV."
Moretti will be ending his run as Andrew, who is Polish (though the actor is actually full Italian) and will do anything he can to prove his love for his Italian boyfriend among the crazy challenges of his beau's family.
Both Moretti's role and the play itself have gotten some notoriety from reality TV. "The A-List: New York's" Reichen Lehmkuhl previously played Andrew while the former star of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Dina Manzo, is an executive producer on the show.
"Half the time people come thinking Reichen's in it and the other half think Dina's in it," Moretti jokes. "It's funny, because all the mistakes in the show's press keep people coming, so I think that worked."
Just because he's leaving the show doesn't mean Moretti won't be busy. He just shot the pilot for "Here! at the Movies," a film review show for Here!TV. And he'll soon start shooting the film, "Finding Mr. Wright," a romantic comedy costarring the star of the "Eating Out" trilogy, comedienne and actress Rebekah Kochan.
"Theatre, TV and film. So, basically I have every gay base covered in the new year," Moretti jokes. "If there's something gay, call me."
Moretti came out at the beginning of his acting career despite knowing the challenges it would create for him. "I'm not going to sacrifice my personal sanity for the fact that I'm not going to be James Bond," he says. "Or not be Superman, or not be the Ryan Reynolds in a movie with Jennifer Aniston. There's so many fun, colorful roles where sexuality is not a factor."
That doesn't mean that Moretti doesn't have goals of reaching beyond productions aimed at just gay audiences.
"Gay films and series tend to be limited by budget and a smaller audience," he says. "The goal in the coming year for me is to be myself on a much larger context, so there's more people watching what I'm doing. And hopefully I can inspire younger kids to come out and not worry about sexuality and be more comfortable with who they are if they can see someone on TV who is comfortable."
But right now, he's facing one specific challenge: saying goodbye to a role he has come to love.
"I'm totally going to have an emotional meltdown," Moretti predicts. "I know I will. That's how I'm wired. I get really emotional about things I'm passionate about. I'll be a mess, but it will be a good performance, let's put it that way."
For more information on David Moretti, visit his website.
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Photo/Video credit: Here!TV; "My Big Gay Italian Wedding"
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Congrats to David.
He was great in the role.
Looking forward to "Finding Mr Wright."
We all should be inspiring/encouraging others to feel comfortable about who they are.
As gorgeous as he is...that is how nice he is!!!!! He was Amazing on stage and a Great addition to the Incredible Cast of My Big Gay Italian Wedding! He will be missed! I wish him the Best of everything!!!! Can't wait to see him on the Big screen!