Alexander Furno

Alexander Furno was born near Turin (Italy) on the 28th of May 1980, in a little village called Volvera, from a Sicilian family. Having lost his parents at a very young age, he spent most of his childhood between orphanages and foster caring homes. At 14 years old he developed a passion for acting and cooking, cultivating a desire of becoming either a Chef or an Actor, but these ambitions did not find approval by the institutions as they preferred for him to take a professional course in electromechanics. Very determined not to let his ambitions slip away, Alexander managed to be enrolled on a hospitality institute, where he gained a degree in Professional Cookery in 1998. Soon after, at the age of 18, he got a job in the Michelin Star Restaurant, near Frankfurt in Germany. However, he soon had to move back to Italy for National Military Service and stayed there for 10 months. Focused on his own plan, and still determined in pursuing an acting career, Alexander moved back to Germany and spent there another 6 months, where he took the time to plan his next steps. Willing to learn English he moved to the Isle of Man, where he spent 2 years working in restaurants as a head-chef. At the age of 20, he was one of the first chefs taking charge of a kitchen at such a young age and his dedication got him two awards as "Best restaurant of the year" (2001;2002). Finally, with some money in his pockets and after six months of research, he followed his American dream and moved to Washington DC. There he worked in "Luigino's" for 6 months, working until the very last day before his Visa expired. Not being able to afford a renewal, he moved back to the Isle of Man. Finally confident with his English, he started researching upon starting an acting career and thought about working as an extra to get to know the industry. By pure chance, during a walk, Alexander got approached by someone asking him to work as an extra for a movie. Thinking that it was a candid camera, Alexander first laughed at his face, but finally he signed up with Nina's People extras agency, that got him signed for "Fade to Black" (2006). He continued as a jobbing actor, and while still working as a chef, he enrolled for different workshops and courses, in order to work on his craft and gain confidence and skills as an actor. Hemoved to London and attended the boot-camp with Brian Timony Actors Studio, which left a special mark on Alexander, who was incredibly inspired and grew on his dedication for the industry. However, for financial restrictions, he could not attend a long-term course and then trained with Alice Acting. After six months, he managed to perform in a showcase for The Royal Acadamy of Dramatic Arts, in London. Still eager to learn and willing to focus on screen acting, he enrolled at the Kingdom School of Arts for the full year course. Alexander also appeared in "B33f"(2014), Adam Jones(2015) and Now You See Me: The Second Act (2016). Between the year 2006 and today, he also gained various roles music videos and BBC programs, such as Sabotage Comedy. Alexander is an expert in martial arts and also has deep knowledge of stage combat and sword fighting, use of weapons and para-jumping (also due to his military service). Among other interests, he enjoys sports in general, such as swimming and scuba diving. He is a chef specialized in international fine dining and cuisine and is also fluent in English, Italian and Spanish. Having had the occasion to work with Alexander on and off set, I can say that he is the kind of professional who is able to turn obstacles into inspirations, which is an enrichment to our industry. (Written by Francesca May, actor and director)