First, there was McDreamy; then, McSteamy, and now, there isMcDork? Well, if you ask Grey’s Anatomy newcomer Giacomo Gianniotti, who joinedthe cast at the end of season 11, that is what he would call himself. “Mycharacter’s a dork,” he tells HELLO! about Dr. Andrew DeLuca. “He’s not like abumbling idiot; he has confidence, but he is just trying to figure it out.”
Similar to his character, who is a new intern at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the 26-year-old is fresh meat, so to speak in the city of dreams. Growingup in Rome until the age of 8, then moving to a small town three hours north ofToronto with his mom where “everyone had their doors unlocked,” Giacomo didn’treally begin to pursue acting until he moved in with his dad in Toronto. “Heleft everything he had in Italy to come be a father to me in Canada because hedidn’t have a dad,” he explains. “He’s kind of my rock so I moved to Torontoand went to arts school where I started to take acting more seriously.”
For two years after high school, he returned to Rome andthen had more thorough training at an acting conservatory in Toronto beforepaying a visit to ShondaLand. The audition for the Grey’s role took place atthe end of 2014, and in February 2015, he decided to move to Los Angeles to givethe pilot season a try. He, along with two friends, packed up his Honda and a 5x 8 trailer that they named "Trailer Swift and Two Chains" and set out on the2,500 mile adventure from his hometown.
Somewhere in Missouri (about 15 hours into their drive andfour months after the initial audition), the single actor received a call fromhis manager telling him the role for Grey’s was down to him and another actor,and that Shonda Rhimes wanted to meet him as soon as he got there. In between jam sessions (he is also amusician), some fun with a GoPro and almost losing his packed trailer on thehighway due to poorly attached chains, Giacomo prepped for his audition for theremainder of their three-day journey.
After nailing the audition for the role, which at first was onlysupposed to be a couple episodes, it was announced in January that he waspromoted to a series regular alongside the cast including Ellen Pompeo, JustinChambers, Chandra Wilson and Kevin McKidd. In fact, Kevin directed his firstepisode. “I had a great first day, basically busting out of an ambulance, tonsof medical jargon and Kevin,” he says. “It’s nice to be directed by an actor.”
In addition to keeping busy in his scrubs, the humble actorwill be starring in the upcoming movieRace about Jesse Owens competing in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Keep reading below for more Grey’s set secrets like Ellen’sfavorite rapper and what Giacomo did in Berlin that broke the rules!
HELLO!: When you were cast as a series regular, did Shondacome out with big balloons or something very Oprah-esque?Giacomo Gianniotti: No, it was very discreet. Debbie Allen, one of ourexecutive producers just came up to me and told me they were picking up myoption and welcome to Grey’s Anatomy.She gave me a big hug.
H!: Grey’s is now in its 12th season, beingthe new kid on the block, did the cast have any welcome rituals for you?GG: I didn’t get any hazing of sorts, but Justin Chambersis a really great guy. He just gave me the lay of the land of how things workedand opened up to me a lot about just acting and how to deal with being an actoron this show. I was very grateful for the wisdom he showed me.
H!: What’s it like working with Ellen Pompeo? She seemsto always have a smile on her face.GG: She is so much fun. She is just in a state of aconstant good time and is making sure everyone else is having a great time.She’s always pumping the latest Drake song when she walks by, dancing to it.
H!: You joked that your nickname is McDork, but do yousee yourself as the new heartthrob of the show?GG: That’s just not my job. My job is to go on and, youknow, prepare my lines and connect with people. If people want to call me aheartthrob, that’s fine. I’m not oblivious to, you know, parts of why a guy ishired at a certain time, but obviously they’ve given me much more. They’vegiven me some really nice stuff to play.
H!: Now that you are on a medical show, do you findyourself self-diagnosing or friends?GG: No, no, none of that. I am waiting to be in asituation like on an airplane or restaurant when somebody yells out, “Is therea doctor in the building?” I know a little part of me, just a small part, isgoing to start to get up. Then, I’ll immediately check myself and sit down.
H!: Has your family become Grey’s Anatomy fans with your being on the show?GG: Grey’s ismassive in Italy so my Italian family is so proud, and I have so many friendsback in Rome that are following me religiously so it’s great to feel that love.My immediate family is in Toronto, and they also follow it.
H!: Any splurges since being cast on the show?GG: I’ve always not really let my lifestyle change toomuch. I think it’s more about eating out a little bit more or being able to flya friend or family in. Those little pleasures are the bigger rewards for me –being able to include other people in my job and success.
H!: Any great advice you’ve been given since becoming anAngeleno?GG: When I first got here, a guy I met told me if youshow up on time with your lines down and sober, you are already ahead of like80 percent of the actors in this city. For me, it’s a no brainer, that’s whatis expected. I’m very lucky, I was raised very well with a good head on myshoulders, and I know why I came here. I’m very focused. I want to contributeto the next generation of great actors in this world, so it’s just great tosort of hear you’re doing everything right.
H!: When did you know you wanted to be an actor?GG: I was 10. I never really wanted to be an actor untilI got this job in an Italian film called La Bomba (The Bomb). I had this smallpart as a street kid, and I fell in love with the idea of all these peopleworking together toward this one goal. Everyone had their own role but everyoneis equally important; it’s very collaborative.
H!: Whose career do you aspire to have?GG: I have a lot of heroes. Because I speak Italian, andit’s my first language, I dream of a career that I can work in both theEuropean market and have American success. I see people like Javier Bardem, whoworks a lot in Spanish films then he [stars] in the ultra-American blockbusterfilm. To go back to your roots working with these incredible independentfilmmakers, speaking your native tongue in your native land – that for me issort of the dream.
GG: Probably Julianne Moore. I don’t think there is asingle actress I have more respect for than her. She’s the real deal.
H!: Grey’s isback and you also have the movie Racecoming out on February 19. What was it like being a part of this cast that alsostars Jason Sudeikis and Stephen James.GG: It’s a really great independent film. It’s a biopicstory of Jesse Owens, who traveled with his American team to represent thecountry during Hitler’s Nazi regime. We all trained together. I play a Jewishrunner Sam Stoller. At the last minute Jesse and another African Americansprinter Ralph Metcalfe replaced them because of Hitler [not allowing anyJewish participants.]
H!: Was it fun to shoot in Berlin?GG: I loved the city. The stadium is still there. Funnystory, on my lunch break one day when we were shooting at the actual stadium, Iwanted to go in, but it was locked. I hopped the fence and got on the track,and I decided in that moment to run a lap for my character who didn’t get to. Idid the 400 meter relay for him as fast as I could.
H!: Going back toGrey’s, what did you do when you found out you were going to be a seriesregular?GG: It was just happiness. It was sort of like aconfirmation of all the choices that I’ve made. Everything in the universetelling me that I’m exactly where I need to be.
Grey's Anatomy returns February 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.