Hollywood meets Zuoz

Gian Franco Tordi is an Actor/Comedian, Writer and Director born in St. Moritz Switzerland who now resides in Hollywood. He graduated from the Lyceum Alpinum in 1991.At the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, what did you learn for life?What I learned at Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz has been of most importance in my life. The philosophy and the way of approaching life that I’ve learned in Zuoz, accompanied me throughout my journey, and are still with me. The way I walk through life and the way I do business with a “cosmopolitan mind-set”, able to communicate and collaborate with people of all sectors and all social classes, able to interact in an intelligent and practical way and always with “Fair Play” and “Mens Sana in Corpore Sano” in mind with one goal, success for every party involved.Why are you coming back to Zuoz for the summer?I have a lot of respect for Zuoz. If all schools were like Lyceum Alpinum, we would be living in a “much” better world. Zuoz taught me how to be a global citizen and how to approach life and see the world beyond politics and religions and to actually recognize the potential in ourselves and with hard work, bring real, concrete value and good to the world. Because of that I want to give back/contribute to the Zuoz world and education. What motivates you to be part of our Summer Camp programme with a film acting workshop?I’m excited to be back in Zuoz and the fresh Zuoz energy. With the same Zuoz Spirit I’m looking forward to offer an exclusive, unique and creative program. The complexity of this programme will help students understand creative as well as technical aspects of the creative world, acting in particular, while at the same time develop their own personality, expression and emotions that will be helpful in their future personal and business life.What can the participants expect?The participants can expect an exciting, interesting and healthy acting class specifically designed for film and TV. As well as personal development structure in various entertaining exercises that will benefit the mind and the body. Different areas will be taught, ranging from emotional balance and control to technical understanding and camera acting know-how, including timing, marks, eye-lines, performance and projection. The programme is taught with Hollywood standards and techniques.How did you make it to Hollywood?I have to be honest, I was very unhappy with the choices I had in Switzerland growing up in terms of acting and expression. When I decided to go to Hollywood, I simply got on a plane and went, without thinking too much, but driven by my dream and passion. Maybe not the best approach, but that has been my way. Once I arrived I realized that a passion and a dream of course was not enough – so I had to work very very hard for many years and learn not only the skills, the craft and the environment and rules, but also the importance of hard work and dedication, as well as the values that I’ve learned in Zuoz, that I described above. The Zuoz Philosophy helped me very much. Combined with my courage and a lot of patience and persistence, step by step, eventually I was able to become a working actor in Hollywood.What are your future projects?I have several productions lined up. I also do stand-up comedy and theatre a lot. Those are ongoing projects that I have in LA and around the US often. In terms of film and TV projects, as of now for this year I have two US movies that are in the works, one is an action movie and the other is a comedy and one Swiss movie that is also in the works for 2017: A romantic comedy. Honestly that is my favourite genre. Productions and castings in Hollywood are ongoing, so it can change every week. This is also the exciting part of being an actor – you never know what’s next.At the acting school, what did you learn for life?In acting school or in acting in general, one learns a lot that reflects to life. One learns a combination of very important skills and sensibilities, such as communication, feel and character understanding. An actor has to be open, humble, hardworking, working in a team environment and most of the time working for “the other actor”. That creates a very humble situation and place and team work. Understanding emotions and situations of course is always very helpful in life, in private life and in the business world. Actors are very sensitive, aware and open and often understand situations faster, and if solutions are applied appropriately situations and problems can be solved faster.