A couple of summers ago, I noticed an actress in a Garage Sale Mysteries film who really impressed me–Chiara Zanni. I reached out to her then for an interview, and following that auspicious post, I continued to watch for her future projects. This past Christmas, she was featured in a Lifetime Christmas movie, and when I chatted with her again, she told me of the “dream role” she had landed in Valley of the Boom (which happens to premiere tonight). Today, it is my honor to share my second interview with this lovely lady!
RH: Chiara, it is so good to chat with you again. I know it’s been a while.
CZ: Yes, it has! I know I was reflecting on our last conversation, and I remember telling you about some of my struggles. But 2018 was an amazing year for me, and now 2019 is here! And I can reiterate by saying that I’m glad I didn’t quit.
I think we all can agree with that statement.
While it might sound cheesy, I know that I have found that whatever happens to be in your heart–whether a person or something you’re meant to love–I know that no matter what, it always seems to come back to you if it’s meant to be. And that’s how I feel about acting. It totally came back to me unexpectedly.
I think a lot of us can relate to that sentiment. That’s kind of how writing was for me, too.
photo credit: Kyle Cassie
You know, as we get older, we don’t want to look back on life and have regrets. I recently had a big milestone of a birthday, and I’ve become very reflective in what I’ve wanted to do in life and have. Sometimes fear holds me back, and I’m thinking it holds many people back. So in another ten years from now, when I turn fifty, and I look back on my forties, I hope I can say that I really went for it. Maybe I will see that I fell and didn’t do it exactly as gracefully as I should have, but hopefully, I won’t have any regrets. I can definitely look back on my twenties and say, “Oh, I should have done this.” And then in my thirties, I’m like, “Oh, why didn’t I do it like that?” It’s just about the worst when you have regrets.
I think we all understand that to a degree. Who hasn’t had regrets about something in their life?
So true. I think we all battle with that fear of getting over doubts and those voices that are telling you that you aren’t good enough.
I really hope that is something I will be able to pass on to my daughter. The confidence that she can do anything she wants no matter what people try to tell her that she can’t.
Well, since I am not in a position to be able to teach a child these principles, as much as I would love to, maybe I can help kids in another way. Somehow. I’m not sure yet. I’ve been brainstorming a lot. But I would love to teach women that we can do it all. I didn’t have confidence as a young kid. I was bullied and picked on. I hit puberty way too early, and boys went nasty with it. I wish I could tell some of these young girls, “Just wait till these boys are salivating and falling all over you later in life. You have no idea how beautiful you are!”
So we didn’t see you in a Hallmark Christmas movie this past season, but you were in Christmas Pen Pals which premiered on Lifetime.
Yes, I loved being a part of that movie. Sarah Drew is amazing, and it was a very sweet story. Hopefully, everyone who tuned in loved it.
My mom and I loved the movie. And I heard from a lot of the fans that they enjoyed it too.
That’s great, Ruth. There were other actors involved with that movie that I had never had the pleasure to work with as well that are always on Hallmark. I had never met Giles {Panton}, but I got to work with him. And he’s lovely. Very lovely! All the actors were just so amazing, but as I said, Sarah is the star, and she just blew everybody away. I really would be surprised if most didn’t like the sweet story.
With Sarah Drew and Michael Gross
I loved the cast as well. I mean, how great that Michael Gross was in it!
I always watched Family Ties as a kid, and I was really nervous about meeting him. But again, he was just lovely. The cast on this movie was fantastic. Lots of laughs, really supportive. I had never worked with Niall {Matter} before either. We just know each other because we’ve both been in the industry for so long. So it was just nice for all of us to hang out on set when there were those lulls. I played Sarah’s older sister in this one, so I felt blessed to have such a great connection with her. It was really easy for us to play sisters.
So what is the basic premise of the movie?
I don’t want to give away too much for those who haven’t seen it, but Sarah comes back to town and through this really lovely, sweet Christmas penpal activity that is going on in the city where people secretly find a penpal, she gets to write these amazing stories back and forth with her penpal. And it ends up being a gentleman that she is not expecting. It’s very sweet and old-fashioned. You know, that’s how I got to know my husband is through letters because we didn’t live in the same city, so he’d send emails back and forth. So we really got to know each other deeply. It wasn’t like these awkward first dates where you hold back. I felt like with my husband that I could just let it all out because I was safe. I was behind my computer. This is sort of the same tradition, but even better because you’re writing it. She finds common interests, and she ends up really liking this guy. Then it’s like, “Ooh, who is this?” Then it’s this secret of finding out who it is. As her older sister, I get to encourage her to let her boundaries down and enjoy this Christmastime. We don’t get to see each other very often, so I’m just happy to have her home. I felt so at ease with her. It was so easy being her sister. It was hard saying “goodbye” to her on the last day.
The director was also amazing. We had a female director, so that was refreshing. She was lovely. She just kind of let you loose. Of course, she comes in and says, “Chiara, I think you should play it this way.” But she’s not tied to just one way of doing it. I know of a lot of directors who are like, “This is how it’s gonna go; do it!” She was really cool with exploring. Her name is Siobhan Devine. I really would love to work with her again. I know she’s local, and I think her brother is a director too. So it’s in the family. And I have to say that when it comes to crew members, I would say that most of the time, ninety percent of the crew members are male. So it’s wicked when you get a woman in charge going, “Okay, let’s do this.”
I had the opportunity to chat with her, and I’m looking forward to posting my interview with her soon, so thanks for bringing her to my attention.
My pleasure. And going back to the movie, it’s sweet and old-fashioned. Falling for someone who you don’t necessarily have a face for yet, but there’s some gut feeling inside where you sense that this person is special. I feel a lot of people have fallen in love that way, myself included.
With Sarah Drew
It’s funny you talk about letter-writing with the way technology has changed things. But still, there’s nothing quite like getting that letter in the mail.
Yes, I’m obsessed. I always send thank-you cards and birthday cards. I just like having somebody know that there’s something in their hand that they could keep. You know, all those emails my husband and I exchanged, I never kept them. It was years ago, and I can’t go back that far in my account. So at least with something concrete, you can keep it. I love old-fashioned cards and letters.
Well, it was nice to see Christmas Pen Pals, but we want to know if there’s anything else upcoming that you can tell us about.
Yes, there’s something fabulous coming out this month which I’m insanely proud about. Around the beginning of 2018, I got what in my opinion would be considered a dream job. You know, as actors, we all take jobs that are fabulous, but we do it more because we need the job. But with this one, I was super blessed to be a part of a mini-series called Valley of the Boom. I think you’ve talked about that with other actors in your interviews. But let me tell you a little about my role on it.
First of all, I originally auditioned for a smaller role, and after the audition, I walked away going, “I don’t think I’m gonna get it.” Then my agent told me that I had an audition the next day. The sides were crazy odd because I didn’t have much background. I remember going to the audition, and there were no girls there, which was weird. Usually, when you go to an audition, there’s tons of girls there. So I remember leaving going, “That was weird. I was the only person there.” I said to my husband that I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
A week later, I was told that I booked a role on a show called Valley of the Boom. It’s a six-part mini-series on the National Geographic Channel. I didn’t even know that channel did scripted shows, but I guess they’re doing huge, scripted shows now. I was told that I was going to be in four of the episodes, and I didn’t know anything. I remember showing up at the table read, and the director/producer came and gave me a hug. And I was thinking, “Wow, he’s so nice.” But I still didn’t know anything because I was only given the first script. Steve Zahn is one of the lead actors, and he came and give me a big hug and said, “Chiara, we have so much fun stuff to do!” And I was looking at him, puzzled, going, “Okay!” I was thinking how I hadn’t read any scripts. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but of course, I couldn’t wait! But he was a really nice guy.
Finally, I went home and said that I needed to see some scripts because I had no idea what anyone was talking about. So I won’t give too much of it away, but I got to play Steve Zahn’s wife, and this is based on a true story. It’s based on the internet boom of the ’90s of how the internet came to be. And if you think about it, I’m sure you remember the first time you logged onto the internet. You were probably like me, going, “What is this?!” That weird sound that played out, and then you finally get on, and you’re like, “What do I do next?”
So one part of the story is how the internet came to be. But the other part of the story, which I think is super cool, it talks about Steve Zahn’s character. He plays Michael Fenne, and he ends up swindling this town in the Silicon Valley for millions of dollars because he says he is developing the newest internet browser. Maybe you remember Netscape. Well, his claim is that he is developing the next Netscape. All they have to do is give him such-and-such amount of money, and they’re in, and he can make them millions. He ends up getting caught and going to jail for many years because he took all this money from these poor people.
Photo Credit: Kyle Cassie
So I play his wife, and it was so much fun ’cause it takes place in the ’90s, so I was in ’90s get-up gear. My character was very “Vanna White.” All back-combed hair, big make-up. Tight dresses, which I’m not comfortable in! {laughs} Every day, I was like, “We need some Spanx, people! I am not used to tight clothes like this!” It is very tough to be a woman of my age wearing this kind of revealing clothing, but this is what Michael Fenne’s wife wore. She was very glammed. So I will say that it was a dream job because I got to play dress-up. I don’t wear make-up, and I don’t get fancy in my day-to-day. I hang out with my golden retriever in the pouring rain on a regular basis, which means I’m not all dressed up.
Steve is the classiest gentleman to work with. He’s loving, funny, respectful, kind…so in between takes, I usually had tears in my eyes of laughter. And you’ll see this–you must watch it! He’s in a fat suit because Michael Feinne in real life is very big. He had to put on a fat suit and wear a wig. I was always laughing at him and how hilarious he looked in this outfit. And then at the end of the day as we’re both going into the trailers and wiping off all our makeup, he takes his wig and fat suit off, and there’s Steve. This handsome, sweet, blonde guy, but he looks nothing like his character.
The director/producer is also a gem. A gem of a gentleman. Kind, sweet, encouraging to actors. Respectful. He’s huge in the States, Matthew Carnahan. He ran the show House of Lies for many years. I just loved him.
Valley of the Boom was the greatest experience. I was there filming for three months last year–March, April, May. I cried tears when it was done because I had made so many wonderful friends. And for me as an actress, it was really challenging. I had great scenes where it was fun and laughing, but there are other scenes where you’ll see I’m realizing that my husband is a fraud. He’s a con artist. And seeing that, tears were in my eyes. I’m having to witness what he’s done to me. He’s conned me. It was a fantastic role, and I’m really proud of it. I have been able to see quite a bit of it because the directors have sent me stuff. But I haven’t seen it all dazzled up yet. But I’m excited to see what people think of it. I didn’t really spend any time with the other actors except Steve because all of my scenes were mostly with him.
So that was in the spring, and then I spent the summer doing cartoons, which was a nice break from just working long hours. Voice work is very easy when I do a lot of kid’s shows. I can speak like a kid for a few hours and be done with my day, which is nice.
One other thing about Valley of the Boom, it actually premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Steve texted me–and he’s not one of those guys that’s fluffy and we don’t text back and forth like bosom buddies–he’s very professional, and that’s it. He texted me and said that my last scene with him in episode six…he said that I was unbelievable. He said I should be really proud of myself. Then, strangely enough, the next day, Matthew emails me and says, “Your last scene in episode six is my favorite scene in the whole six episodes.” For me, I was misty because it brings me back to remembering those feelings about quitting this profession because I didn’t think I was good enough. And these two people are saying that my scene is by far the best scene. And I know this is their opinion. It may not be anyone else’s favorite scene. It might not even be my favorite scene or your favorite scene, but the fact that they both took the time to say that I was incredible really meant a lot to me. I’m excited about it because it solidified why I’m doing this again. And all those heartbreaks and all those doubts and all those times I don’t get a job, it sucks. I’m not going to paint it all fancy. But when you do something that electrifies you like this show did for me, it made me want to not stop and to keep going. I feel very blessed.
Chiara, thank you so much for sharing from your heart today. I’m so excited to see you in this upcoming show, and thank you for taking the time today.
Ruth, my pleasure. Thank you always for reaching out and for all your support. I really hope everyone tunes in!
I simply adore the fact that Chiara is so candid and inspiring in all her conversations with me. I know that many people who are in the public eye want to continually appear like they have it all together and never experience struggles, and maybe that’s why we grapple to see those particular actors as genuine people to whom we can relate. However, Chiara has been amazingly frank about the obstacles she has faced and the emotional strife she has experienced. She refuses to sugarcoat these occurrences, and in so doing, her authenticity beams like a beacon of extraordinary light. Who has not almost thrown in the towel on their dreams? Furthermore, who has not wrestled with attempting to discover the courage to endeavor year after year for an ethereal dream that may seem unattainable? I daresay everyone has encountered that on some level, but very few of us want to detail those events lest we appear vulnerable or incompetent. Thankfully, Chiara has recognized that by sharing her difficulties in an authentic fashion, she makes herself so accessible that people rally to support and encourage her. I think she is the perfect example of that adage I often hear quoted by one of my role models (Barbara Niven): “Don’t give up five minutes before your miracle happens.”
I do hope that everyone got the opportunity to witness Chiara in Christmas Pen Pals this past Christmas, and I am hopeful that we all tuned in tonight (January 13th) to the National Geographic Channel for the premiere of the mini-series Valley of the Boom (two episodes showed tonight back-to-back). Moreover, I am expecting that people will continue to tune in for the duration of this mini-series and check out Chiara at all her links below. Additionally, if you feel so inclined, why not follow her on social media? After all, this is one woman whom I feel comprehends the struggles of women on a real level and is not afraid to speak forth the truth. I am ecstatic to witness her prowess in Valley of the Boom, and I can only hope that Hallmark (and other networks) will continue to utilize her multitudinous range of talents in a variety of genres and characters in the weeks, months, and years to come. She is such an incredible woman and an impeccable artist, and as far as I’m concerned, we viewers are the ones who are blessed by her talent and perspective!
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