You know who Scott Baio is. Chances are, sometime while you grew up, his work made an imprint on you. For some it was the cute character Chachi on “Happy Days”, for others it was Charles on “Charles in Charge.” Didn’t every child of the ’80s at one point wish he was their house sitter? Ladies? Don’t lie.
Baio’s work has reached beyond the roles that made him famous. If you were a fan of TV shows such as “The Wayans Brothers” or “Unhappily Ever After,” guess what – Baio was the director. Recently, he has taken a go at the independent film scene in “The Bread, My Sweet”, showcasing his talent as a genuinely achieved actor. On top of that, he is currently working with Wes Craven in the upcoming thriller “Cursed.”
In a recent Hatchet interview Baio spoke about his work as the main character, Dominic, in “The Bread, My Sweet” and what it was like to work with Craven.
On getting his “balls busted”
Maybe it’s something about Italian culture, but that’s what we do. Break! Balls! I do it every day of my life. On the set (of “The Bread, My Sweet”), people would rag on me about stuff I just wasn’t capable of doing. But it was that sort of thing that made them kind of like my brothers, I would mess with them and they would mess with me. Stuff like that made me completely comfortable on every level of this movie.
The guy who played Massimo (John Seitz) in the movie would constantly yell at me. And I would just laugh at him because that’s what I would do anyway. He was such a blow heart, it was just like ‘Shut up! Shut up you fucking loud mouth, be quiet!’ So the real story of this movie is the actual making of this movie. That’s where it all came from, from all of us sitting around between takes, messing with each other, making fun of everybody and every part of their physique or emotional status.
Wes Craven is a gentle, gentle man
Wes Craven is the mellowest, most gentle man I’ve ever worked with. He never raises his voice, he’s very quiet and gives very precise short directions. He sits down, watches and says ‘OK, are you happy with that?’ I gotta tell you, I was blown away by this, I would tell him ‘Wes! You gotta get mad!’ And he would say ‘Why? What’s the point?’ It’s interesting, he’s got Hollywood Boulevard clothes, people flying all over to meet with him and all this shit going on and he’s just in the middle of it looking around, taking it all in. And the entire crew under him, they’re all just wonderful human beings. It’s honestly the most relaxed and easygoing set I’ve ever been on.
Recalling his sitcom past
I very rarely came across rude or disrespectful people. I don’t know how I slipped by all of them, but I honestly can’t think of one experience off the top of my head that was like that. I’m sure they’re there, but I’d have to think really hard to recall them.
