12/26/2023 0 Comments Victor halston![]() ![]() It felt like a notable moment for the actor, who grew up in a Venezuelan-Italian family and moved to Los Angeles a decade ago. Rodriguez, who has previously only appeared in short films, was aware both of the big opportunity Halston presented an up-and-coming actor, but also the significance of being a Venezuelan actor getting to take on a Venezuelan role in Hollywood. I felt like this was a very good opportunity for me and I wanted to be able to use it as much as I could.” ![]() “So I wanted to be able to put it all out there. “Listen, this was my first time playing anything on TV and actually working on TV for the first time after years of preparation,” Rodriguez explains of his all-in approach. Rodriguez also embrace his former thick Venezuelan accent, which he has worked the past decade to lose (his current accent is very faint). He lost weight by doing two hours of cardio a day and cutting his calories to match Hugo’s slender physique and, of course, donned Hugo’s signature mustache. The actor also wanted to transform himself physically. Learning about Victor’s life and personality wasn’t quite enough for Rodriguez, though. He had a box of some of Victor’s stuff and I actually got to hold Victor’s Venezuelan passport, which was pretty cool because I also have a Venezuelan passport. He was at the hospital the day Victor died. He met Victor before Victor even knew Halston, so he saw him going through the whole process of meeting him and how much he changed through the years. I asked big, important questions and small questions, anything I could get from him. “I had so many questions for him-I was basically doing the job you’re doing right now. “I met with him and he was the most helpful part of the process,” the actor says. The best resource turned out to be a connection with one of Hugo’s close friends, who invited Rodriguez to his home. He read everything he could find, and also researched Halston and his life. To prepare to play Victor, Rodriguez did extensive research on Hugo’s life, watching documentaries and old video footage of Hugo that isn’t available to the public. So I didn’t get nervous when I heard the news.” (L to R) Gian Franco Rodriguez as Victor Hugo, Ewan McGregor as Halston, Rebecca Dayan as Elsa Peretti in Halston. How am I going to do it? It actually made me feel very confident. I’m a pretty positive person-I try to focus on the good parts-so I wasn’t thinking I need to get this right. “It was more stressful to not know, but once you get the ‘yes’ it’s easier. “I wanted to be able to put it all out there.” Despite the role being Rodriguez’s first major part and first time working on TV, he didn’t feel a sense of pressure to get it right. “A great, very dramatic character.” It took several months of callbacks and waiting, but Rodriguez eventually scored the role in February, after Halston had already begun production. “I got the breakdown of all the characters and I realized they were looking for a Venezuelan character and it sounded like a lot of fun,” Rodriguez notes. The New York-based actor was originally invited to audition for a different, smaller role at the end of November in 2019 (that role was eventually cut from the series), but asked if he could try for Victor instead. It’s a serious showcase for Rodriguez, who counts Halston as his first big project. The pair’s dynamic is memorable as Victor works his way from call boy-reportedly named for his large anatomy-to Halston’s partner and window dresser. In the five-episode series, now streaming, Hugo is played by newcomer Gian Franco Rodriguez, who embraced the tempestuous, dramatic character opposite Ewan McGregor’s Halston. But perhaps none is quite so compelling as Victor Hugo, Halston’s longtime lover who is often considered the iconic designer’s downfall. There are a lot of memorable characters in Netflix (NFLX)’s Halston, most of which are drawn from real-life personalities. Gian Franco Rodriguez stars as Victor Hugo in Halston. ![]()
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