Woody Allen Stars In 'Fading Gigolo'; First Time Acting In A Film He Didn't Direct In 13 Years

by UInterviewSeptember 30, 2013, 12:00 am >

Woody Allen took a rare turn as co-star in a film he did not direct at TIFF with Fading Gigolo, a comedy written and directed by John Turturro.

Fading Gigolo follows Floravante (Turturro) and Murray (Allen), two friends who end up going into business together as gigolo and pimp. The film also stars Sofia Vergara, Sharon Stone and Vanessa Paradis as clients.

The role of Murray marks Allen’s first under a separate director in 13 years – he was last seen in Picking Up the Pieces (2000) directed by Alfonso Arau. Allen prefers to star in his own films, which he always writes and directs. In fact, he last appeared onscreen in his 2012 film To Rome with Love, which had been his first time in front of the camera in six years.

Though he isn’t credited as anything other than an actor in Fading Gigolo, Turturro says that Allen had a great deal of input and control over the script and the audition process, not that he minded.

“You tell [Allen] ideas and he sits there and goes ‘Funny.’ Then you say something else and he says, ‘Not funny’ or ‘Could be funnier.’ Then I would just rewrite and send it to him and he would write back with what he liked and didn’t like,” Turturro said in an interview with Collider.

Both Turturro and co-star Vergara agreed that the legendary comedic director had no problem staying an actor on set instead of bursting out as a sort of backseat director.

“I think he’s in a different position acting than he is directing… so I never felt [intimidated] while we were acting together. We spoke about music together and everything. It was lovely,” Vergara said.

The film premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, but Allen was nowhere in sight. Despite his absence, the U.S. distribution rights to the film were reportedly acquired by Millennium Entertainment. No release date has been set.