From the disco floor to chimney tops and Aladdin’s cave, it doesn’t take much for Adam-Jon Fiorentino to bust a dance move. But his latest move involves Five Bedrooms!
How do you find playing Pete the gay cop, on Five Bedrooms?
Adam-Jon Fiorentino: The last few gay roles I’ve had have been great, because the writers, directors and producers have not just portrayed a gay character for the sake of portraying a gay character. Pete, in a lot of ways, is no different to myself, except that he just happens to find people of the same sex attractive. The biggest thing for me, such as playing scenes with Harry (Roy Joseph), is that I look on it as someone simply falling for another person, and not necessarily about pushing agendas. It’s just a beautiful story about two human beings who make a connection.
The portrayal of gay characters has certainly come a long way
Yes, and if we can get more such gay stories told in mainstream, hetrosexual people wouldn’t find it as confronting, because they’ll start to see the humanity in it. I would love this country to be a lot more forward thinking when it comes to gay rights, and that includes the whole community including asexual and bisexual people. I feel like humanity needs to get over the taboo of sex and realise it’s all about a connection between consenting adults.
So you’ve played gay before?
I have! In Wolf Creek, Jason Chong and I played a couple. I got brutally murdered in that one! Like, chopped up into little pieces! It’s not a show for the light-hearted. John Jarratt is a lovely man, but when he turns on the Wolf Creek thing it’s terrifying! Later in the year I’m also doing Kiss of the Spider Woman for the Melbourne Theatre Company where I play Valentin, who’s thrown into jail and confronted by a gay cellmate. It will be fascinating exploring his journey.
Any others?
Yes, I’ve actually started rehearsals for Paper Champions, a new Aussie movie with Gary Sweet. It’s a comedy and I play Rico, a gay character who changes the office water bottles, with a thick Spanish accent and all.
Adam-Jon Fiorentino (Pete Portelli) and Doris Younane (Heather) in a scene from Five Bedrooms
That’s a great track record! In fact, there are some who are critical of straight actors playing gay roles. What are your thoughts on that?
I can completely understand it. I guess the same can be said for someone of a certain ethnicity questioning why someone of another ethnicity is playing a role. So I do get it, but at the same time I feel that as an art form and as actors, it’s our job to explore the human condition. I feel that a person attracted to another of the same sex is a part of that human condition. I have zero problems with someone gay playing a straight role, so I’d hope to be accepted the other way. It’s about equality in general. Unfortunately there are still a lot of gay actors who don’t come out because they think it’s going to hurt their career. I think it’s a sad issue that if someone comes out they could be stereotyped into gay roles.
“There was no bum double in Playing For Keeps!”
You’re still in damn good shape, and recently played a rent boy in Playing for Keeps. Surely that butt we saw was yours?
Yes, there was no bum double for that one! In fact I was offended that some of the Aladdin cast were like “So you got a bum double for that one?”
In your DNA interview fifteen years ago, you told us you prided yourself on your bum. Is that still the case?
Well it takes more work these days. There’s definitely more than one squat happening at the gym! I trained like crazy for the Playing For Keeps role, and one of the best things about doing Aladdin was being paid to do cardio everyday! Throw in a few gym sessions for resistance training, and you’re good to go.
Has anyone ever come out to you?
When I was teaching acting in the US, I had a student who I could see, through his work, was coming up against certain barriers. So we had a chat in class in a safe and open environment, about the issues in his work, and the next week he told us he was gay. Some of us had suspected it, but he needed to discover who he was in his own time. He was only about nineteen, and we were all there in class to throw an arm around him. It was a really nice thing.
If you were gay, who would be the one for you?
Ryan Reynolds. I find him hysterical. I think he’d be a decent person and he looks alright too. The same with Keanu Reeves. I haven’t met him, but from everything I’ve read, he seems like one of the nicest human beings on the planet.
“I would love this country to be a lot more forward thinking on gay rights”.
In musical theatre you’ve played Kassim in Aladdin, Tony in Saturday Night Fever and Bert in Mary Poppins. Has there been a standout moment for you?
Yes, being in Saturday Night Fever and stepping out as Tony with that iconic pose, not just opening night, but every night! My heart would race because it was one of the most exciting things. I had some of the best dancers in Australia and we would all dance and show off to each other, and it would excite and energise us. I was living in a dream! The other moment was the first time I came out of that chimney on the opening night of Mary Poppins on Broadway. Ever since I was a little kid I dreamed to be on Broadway, and here I was leading in a major Disney show on 42 Street!
You also had a role in 30 Rock, playing opposite Tina Fey. What was that experience like?
Awesome! Tina is one of the hardest working people in show business. Every second that she wasn’t on set or wasn’t needed in front of the camera, she was on her laptop writing and she does not stop! She’s incredible.
Who is your music diva?
Barbara Streisand. In fact I have Papa Can You Hear Me? running through my head right now, and it’s because I mentioned Ryan Reynolds. He has that Yentl joke in Deadpool 2 about how Do You Want To Build a Snowman from Frozen sounds like Papa Can You Hear Me?”
Adam-Jon Fiorentino (Pete Portelli) and Roy Joseph (Harry) in a scene from Five Bedrooms
One of your most recognizable roles was playing the blue-collar tradie in that classic Berocca commercial. Do people still recognise you?
It’s okay now, but at the time I’d get “Hey, big night!” and especially “Wrangle Violet” all the time! People obviously found that part quite funny. It would be so random, or a friend would introduce me and they’d be “Oh wrangle Violet!” But it was a great commercial and a lot of fun to film.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career?
Gene Kelly. I’ve seen those Singing In The Rain and On The Town movies so many times. It was all those old movie musical guys that got me into this in the first place. If I wasn’t at dance competitions, I’d be hanging out with mum on a rainy Sunday afternoon watching musicals with Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I saw the Aladdin movie the other night, and I’m so excited that the movie musical is coming back. They always have a special element that warms my heart.
What’s the strangest wardrobe malfunction you’ve had?
That would be the full crotch rip, which has happened a few times! I remember a few on The Boy From Oz. I had massive quads back then from all the ballet I had done, so back in the day I had a lot of wardrobe malfunctions! One time during a publicity event, I was doing a booty-drop during a dance and I felt it rip, and I mean ripped from the bottom of my zip right under to the top of my belt! Luckily my undies were the same colour as the pants, so no one noticed, but I felt a breeze!
That said, are you a briefs, boxers or free-balling man?
I sleep in boxers and day-to-day it’s briefs. I love my undies and I’m a big fan of subscription undies where I can get the cut I like, and I stick with it.
What about wearing a dance belt?
The last time I wore a dance belt was playing Bert in Mary Poppins. They’re more for safety, because you don’t want anything in the wrong spot when you’re jumping around!
Five Rooms screens 8.45pm, Wednesday’s on Channel Ten
Interviewing Adam-Jon at Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne
