by Hayden Mears
As one of the breakout stars of Bobby Farrelly’s Champions, Kevin Iannucci has been receiving quite a bit of attention for his portrayal of one of the film’s central characters.
Champions follows basketball coach Marcus Marakovich (Woody Harrelson), who, after a brush with the law, is ordered to coach a local basketball team with disabilities as community service. Iannucci portrays Johnny, one of the players Marakovich ends up coaching.
We recently caught up with Iannucci about Champions, acting, and his experience working with Kaitlin Olson and Harrelson…
STARBURST: Let’s start by talking a bit about the road to getting the role of Johnny in Champions…
Kevin Iannucci: I started acting at a young age. Acting comes naturally to me, so I did theatre, I did stage plays. What I actually wanted to do more was TV and movies, and I’ve actually auditioned. A lot. I’ve got a few small roles, and my biggest is Champions. That was a magical dream come true. It was unbelievable.
Do you have a favourite on-set memory?
The carpool karaoke I did with Kaitlin Olson and Woody Harrelson. I enjoyed that a lot. We had tents set up outside because it was freezing. In the tent, we were going over the lines we needed to do in the car. It was so much fun! Everyone had a great time.
How was it working with Woody Harrelson and Kaitlin Olson?
They are both supportive and very funny!
You mentioned earlier that acting has always come naturally to you and that you’ve always wanted to be on TV and in movies, and now you are in a movie! And it’s a big role, too. What other types of acting roles would you like to take next? Is there a genre you like most?
I’d love to do horror. I like the Scream movies. Romantic comedies, too. But the big one is Marvel. I’d love to be in one of those movies. I have the DVD collection and some Funko pops.
Which Marvel movie interests you most?
I like the Chrises! Between Thor and Captain America, Chris Evans is one of my favourites.
I want to switch gears slightly and talk specifically about your character in Champions. What can your character, Johnny, teach people in this movie? I think he’s a great character who has lots to teach people.
He teaches them to be confident and imagine what they can do because they are capable of doing so much more!
Champions is now available digitally and on DVD/Blu-ray.
