Actor Aaron Dalla Villa stops by on Close-Up Culture to talk about his role in All Those Small Things.
The film follows a long time British game show host, Jonathan Robbins, as he finds himself questioning his mortality and legacy after the recent death of a close friend. When he comes across an unexpected letter from a young fan, he heads into the backwoods of America in search of deeper meaning for his life.
Hi Aaron, welcome to Close-Up Culture. Can you tell us how you became involved in All Those Small Things and what interested you in the character of Tiny Hammer?
Happy to be here! I auditioned for the role of Tiny Hammer in All Those Small Things and was fortunate enough to get cast off the self-tape. You never know where these tapes end up going, so it was nice to get the offer. I’ve always wanted to play a rapper, and this one allowed me to show my comedic abilities.
Can you tell us more about your experience playing Tiny and how you approached the role?
It’s one of those dream roles. Things just lined up so synchronistically. At the time, I was workshopping my alter ego character, Tucci Badaducci, and there are tons of similarities between the two. Basically, Tiny Hammer is Tucci Badaducci, but after he makes it as a musician. There were so many weird coincidences in the script that related to my life, such as the artwork I ended up providing for the film.
I approached the role with a lot of care. I didn’t want him to come off arrogant or desperately obnoxious. I found that the way to make him funny and endearing was by crafting a lovable idiot. He means well. He’s just very unaware of how he comes off. To get into the mindset of the character, I wrote and recorded his music, which led to me recording music that would end up in the film. This is a new frontier for me and very exciting. The first of those two songs, Mother Goose, drops/dropped on June 30th. The second one will be dropping in the near future.
What will be your biggest takeaway from this project?
To be more aware of others. Tiny Hammer and I have a lot of similarities, and we both can get into tunnel vision. Learning self-awareness is crucial in order to become a more kind and respectful human being. Even if you’re energized and ready to go at 7 am, others might not be.
You’ve been extremely busy, with lots of exciting projects coming out. Can you talk about some of the other projects you’ve been working on?
Sure! I’m grateful for the work. It’s been a blessing to be this busy because you never know when it’ll dry up. You have to enjoy every moment. I have an upcoming commercial for a tech company that I shot in Israel, and that character is very much like Dwight Schrute. I recently played the adult version of Si Robertson in the upcoming feature The Blind. I can’t disclose much about the project, but it’s based on a well-known family from a reality tv show.
I just wrapped production on Becky 2: The Wrath of Becky, the sequel to the popular horror feature of the same name, and it stars Lulu Wilson and Sean William Scott. Again, I can’t disclose much about the project, but I’m thrilled for everyone to see the work. I have a documentary about my life ready to go in my back pocket, just wrapped production on a fast-paced, financial short film, have another horror feature, Hayride to Hell, that stars Bill Moseley and Kane Hodder in post-production, and am part of another secret project in post-production. Also, if you liked to check out some of my other work besides All Those Small Things, I’d watch Pledge and Alpha Rift.
What type of projects would you love to take on in the future?
I have a few roles I’d love to take on: a supervillain or antihero in the superhero genre, a musician for a biopic, the hero of a breakneck action film, and my directorial debut, which I would also star in.
What are your plans and ambitions for the future?
I want to be an A-list actor. I will continue honing my craft and pushing the boundaries of my abilities, and continue to ask myself, “how can I be better?”
Official links:
IMDB – imdb.me/aarondallavilla
Website – http://aarondallavilla.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/aarondallavilla/?hl=en
Twitter – https://twitter.com/aarondallavilla?lang=en
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/aarondallavilla/