Anthem Magazine

Photography by Matthew Cylinder
Styling by Oretta Corbelli
Grooming by Timur Sadyq

Let’s face it: And Just Like That…, HBO’s Sex and the City spinoff, didn’t quite stick the landing when it arrived in 2021. Viewers and critics alike didn’t take to it too kindly. Yet, that only seemed to feed into its mammoth appeal. As one viewer wryly shared on X: “And Just Like That… is so wild because I watch every episode through my fingers like a horror movie and when it’s over I wish it was five hours longer.” The first season notched HBO Max’s most-streamed series ever.

Then with its second season, And Just Like That… managed to do the unthinkable: It found its own groove. More lavish and unreasonably ridiculous than what came before, it would appear that showrunner Michael Patrick King plunged head-first into unfettered bonkerness. And the show was all the better for it. It now felt more content in being its own thing—a fun, frothy farce about women in their 50s navigating life with even more clumsiness than when they were in their 30s.

And just like that, things get more confident still. Among its highlights, let’s consider the return of the revival’s true bright spots: Mario Cantone’s scene-stealing hijinks and the always-welcome presence of Anthony’s better half—Sebastiano Pigazzi’s Giuseppe aka the “well-hung Disney prince.” After joining the series last season, the latter Italian-American actor is now a series regular with a meatier arc, featuring Patti Lupone as his onscreen mother and Anthony’s nemesis.

Anthem joined Pigazzi in Tribeca for a photoshoot, and reconvened for an in-depth conversation.

And Just Like That… season three is rolling out new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max.

Hi, Sebastiano. How are you doing, sir?

Good, good!

You’re back in Los Angeles?

Yeah, I’m back in LA for the first time in like seven months.

Is that where you’re living nowadays?

Mostly LA. Then my mom lives in Rome so I go there a good amount. I’ve been working there a good amount, too. I go wherever they want me.

How often do you end up going back to Italy?

I mean, it all depends. I mostly try to go for work. But usually, I’ll go at least twice a year.

Are fans of And Just Like That… surprised to learn that you’re actually from Boston?

Yeah, yeah. They are, I think. Last season, I remember one of the comments was like, “Wait, he’s American?” I mean, hopefully, they’re surprised. If not, I haven’t done a good job with my accent. So I think it’s good. Honestly, even Italians are like, “You’re Italian?” It goes both ways.

That’s what happens sometimes. We watch actors on screen and make assumptions. I think our photographer was expecting to meet someone super Italian—literally Giuseppe.

[laughs] Fresh off the boat!

Tell me about your look from the night of our shoot. Does it speak to your sense of style?

I’m not sure what my style is. There were a bunch of different options at the Dolce & Gabbana showroom in Milan. That was the first one I picked out ‘cause it was a little bit different. If I had to define my style, I would probably say it’s a slight twist on the classics—not too classic, but not way, way out there. Classic with an eccentric touch is probably what I would go for. The outfit I chose seemed to fit that bill. Plus, I’d never worn a full green suit like that before.

I noticed that you get asked about fashion from time to time, even before And Just Like That… came along, which has fashion baked into it. There’s good reason for that, right?

Well, there was a period in my life where I’d found a new way to squander my money. [laughs] And that was designing clothes. I think that’s why I got asked a lot about fashion. I was designing mostly coats and pants and stuff. At one point, I had three tailors going full-time. But nothing really ever came of it. I had a website and everything. I just never had the courage to launch it properly. But I had fun doing it. It was fun experimenting with different materials.

Is that side of you gone for good, or is it something to resuscitate later?

I think it’s something I’ll revive. I’m kind of sporadic. I will get fixated on things and then leave them for a while. But I’ll probably go back to that one because it always felt more personal to me. It took me a while to understand that how you dress is how people view you. That’s why I’ve always been reluctant to only dress in one way. If you only ever dress elegantly, they only see you as the composed, elegant guy. It’s limiting. It’s fun to have more control over that. And I care less about looking good—I care more about looking like myself and how I feel that day. 

About it feeling personal, that’s the impression I got because you named the brand Sepu.

You’re right. You’ve done your research!

I understand that was a nickname given to you by your family. What does it mean?

Nothing. [laughs] I tried asking. No one knows. I also have a scar right here. No one knows where it’s from. So my favorite things about myself, I don’t know where they come from. I always thought “Sepu” had to do with Luis Sepúlveda, the Chilean writer, but apparently not.

You have another nickname: “Pariolino.” Luca [Guadagnino] gave that one to you.

Yeah, yeah. See, that’s when the whole thing with clothing started. I would basically just wear whatever my mother or grandmother got me for the longest time. They got me the preppy stuff. So he thought I was a preppy kid from Parioli, which is, I guess, like the Upper East Side of Rome. I actually grew up on the Upper East Side. I didn’t grow up in Parioli. I made sure to tell him that. So that’s when I was like, I’m tired of this—I’ll try to be more of who I am.

So you were born in Boston. Then at two years old, you moved to New York City?

Wow. Everyone always messes that up. But you know better than I do.

I’m literally parroting what you’ve said in the past.

Well, no one else listens then! [laughs]

At nine, you moved to Los Angeles. You uprooted a lot. What was the impetus behind that?

We just followed dad’s work.

He’s a surgeon?

Yeah.

So it was like being an army brat. Was that tough on you?

I mean, it’s hard to move from New York to LA. When you’re a kid, New York is the best place on earth. Everything’s fun. You have all your friends living right by you. Everything’s in walking distance. And the snow. LA is way more structured. It’s harder for a kid to be that organized.

While all of this is going on, in that impressionable chapter, you discovered acting. We all test the waters and hopefully land on something we’re passionate about. But for you, there were also colossal figures in your lineage. Your grandfather, Bud Spencer, is legendary. Your great-grandfather [Giuseppe Amato] produced, among other things, La Dolce Vita. They were titans at the height of Italian Cinema. Were these things working in concert?

Honestly, I don’t think my grandfather and great-grandfather played roles in it. If anything, my family probably played a role in doing the opposite because I would never want to do something just because someone in my family did it. Mainly, I’d gotten to the point where I tried to do anything else and didn’t like it as much. I struggled in high school. I didn’t like going to school. But one class where I actually got good grades and did well was in acting. The teacher even told my parents that I was decent. I think if you have enough people telling you that you’re okay at something, and if you really wanna do it anyway, you’ll be convinced to end up doing it and make a career out of it. So it was mainly that. The family thing I sort of appreciated later. I wish I’d asked my grandfather more things while he was still alive. I just didn’t have the chance to. 

Were your parents supportive from the beginning, or do they simply come around to it?

They’re still coming around to it! [laughs] But I don’t think any parent should be taking it lightly. I had a teacher who always said, “If I can convince you not to become an actor, then you don’t want it badly enough.” I think it’s one of those things where you really have to have the bug, and once you do, there’s no stopping it. I had everyone telling me not to do it. And I think that makes sense. It is such an irrational choice. But it’s the card I’ve been dealt, I guess.

Michael Patrick King said something really nice about your involvement in And Just Like That… He talked about how they will write these prototype characters and, with Giuseppe, they were going in the direction of a character that was “a little bit more porn.” That seemed to go out the window with your audition. They saw in you a Prince Charming.

That’s very nice of him to say. I remember reading the character description. I was like, “I’m not gonna get this.” They were looking for an adonis with an eight-pack. That’s not me. I mean, I’d never auditioned with one self-tape and gotten a job until then. So I guess it was meant to be.

How much of the new season have you watched?

I’ve only watched the first two episodes. We had a screening of the first two with the cast and crew. I wanna watch the rest with everyone else. How about you? How many have you seen?

They unlocked the first six. I know there’s more to come in your arc that I’m not privy to.

Yeah, yeah. My stuff is mostly after the first six episodes. I’ve forgotten some of the stuff that happens. This was a year ago. We started filming on May 10th of last year. It’s been a long time.

Can you tease it?

Well, there’s a big change coming for Giuseppe and Anthony. A big change…

I’ve seen those interviews with you and Mario Cantone together. It’s clear to me that you enjoy each other’s company, genuinely. It seems loose and easy between the two of you.

We got lucky. We’ve spent a lot of time together because we have to, and we ended up spending more time ‘cause we want to. He’s been great. He’s a great actor. We hit it off from day one. He’s a lot of fun to work with. We make each other laugh. It’s been the best having him by my side. 

I know that on at least one occasion, he called you the older brother.

He called me the older brother? How dare he!

Well, does it feel like that sometimes?

Yeah, I guess so. I mean, he’s very mature. Certainly more than I am. But he has his moments.

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I read something super interesting in your Vanity Fair Italia profile: When you were going up for We Are Who We Are, you had this chance encounter with Luca at the airport.

So what happened was, my agent asked me to make an intro tape for We Are Who We Are, saying who I am and what my interests are. Two days later, I’m flying out of Newark Airport, headed for Rome. And I’m like, “oh my god, that’s Luca…” He’s in line at a coffee shop. He’s going to Greece of all places. Anyway, I built up the courage to talk to him. We ended up talking for 20, 30 minutes about movies. Then I was like, “Can I send you my intro tape?” Because I wanted to send it to him personally so I would know that he got it. He gave me his email. Then we went our separate ways. I ended up re-taping what I had sent originally because I was so scared that I didn’t do a good job. Then Luca asked me to do a self-tape, which led to us doing a camera test for six hours. I went to Milan for a callback. Then he called me a few months later and gave me the role.

That’s pretty wild, don’t you think?

It was, it was. That was a crazy encounter.

When you find yourself in a situation like that, do you believe in fate more?

It’s a good question. I try not to think about it ‘cause then I’m like, “What about all the times that I didn’t get the job?” [laughs] I think it was just a coincidence. If you put yourself out there, and travel and experience enough, you’ll run into people. But I also run into a lot of people where nothing happens. There has to be a soul connection. It has to be personal on some level.

I love your airport story because I find parallel in it. I sat down with Tilda Swinton many years ago while she was promoting I Am Love and she talked about how, in 1993, Luca, an unknown 22-year-old student, approached her outside of a theater in Rome, pleading with her to appear in a short film he had written with her in mind. Do you know about this?

Wow. No, I don’t know about this.

Well, we know how that story ends. And while we can’t know for sure without asking Luca, when you approached him, isn’t it possible that you reminded him of his younger self?

That’s interesting! I certainly hope so… I mean, hopefully, I would’ve had the same result, you know? That would be nice. But you definitely need a bit of luck in this business, that’s for sure.

You took your shot. It’s that classic thing, right? You will never know if you never ask.

When I was young, my dad always said this: “The answer to every unasked question is always no.” It really doesn’t hurt to ask. Had I not spoken to Luca and left the airport? That regret… What’s the worst that could happen if I ask? He says, “screw you, don’t talk to me!”? [laughs]

In another instance, you said working with Luca was a lifetime achievement. So you set the bar incredibly high on that first job. Did it feel like you were being shot out of a canon?

Not really… I mean, yes, but I had the arrogance that actors have to have: “I totally deserve to be here. I can totally hang with these guys.” Maybe it wasn’t true, but when you’re in the trenches, you have to believe that you can do anything. It’s only the morning after or whatever that I’m a little bit scared. I have to admit, that whole prep period was really hard. I had to lose a bunch of weight, and I was worried about that. I had to learn a different accent. I had to work with big actors. So it was an all-encompassing experience. It was definitely a challenge, for sure. 

A steep learning curve.

And every set has a learning curve. I’ve been on a lot of sets at this point. Even on the small ones when you’re younger, or any short film that’s unpaid with ten pages of dialogue a day, it all helps you for when you’re on other sets. You just hope to have learned to be a better actor.

Continuing with that canon analogy, where do you want to end up in all of this? I don’t know if you want to call it legacy—some people are allergic to that term.

I think the only goal for me is to try on a lot of different films and different roles. That’s the biggest thing for me: experiment with new things and push my limits. I want to see how many different sort of characters I can embody convincingly. All of the other stuff is out of my control. 

There was a time when you were asked what you might want to purchase if money was no object, and your love of cinema really shined through. The first thing you said was to buy a movie theater. Your very own Cinema Paradiso… I wonder what you might call yours.

That’s a good question… Maybe I’ll call it Relic—Relic Cinema. I basically just want somewhere to watch movies with my friends. That would be a nice place to do it. It also hints at something that’s slowly dying and withering away. It’d be nice to have a one last stand for good cinema.