Spending most of his youth in ice rinks around Rhode Island working as a hockey player, Gianni Paolo soon made an unexpected life choice to take up acting. A spontaneous decision, he soon relocated to Los Angeles, California, plunging into the unknown. Fortunately, thanks to god-given talent and charisma, Paolo soon found success, with roles in the 2019 Horror movie Ma, as well as Brayden Weston in the hit Starz series Power, leading into Power Book II: Ghost.
A sensational story of taking a risk and winning, Paolo continues to find new and exciting ways to flex his creative muscles with the establishment of Twenty Two Entertrainment, alongside Michael Rainey Jr., in 2022. Now in 2025, he stars in the compelling new Thriller film Trust (in theaters on August 22, 2025) alongside Sophie Turner, Katey Sagal, and many more. A film directed by Carlson Young, Paolo reveled in the experience of taking bits of wisdom from everyone involved in the project and applying them to his own craft. Excited about it all, the upbeat performer sat down to chat about Trust, his road to acting, plus more.
Cryptic Rock – You have been on a pretty interesting ride thus far. You started as an athlete, working hard in Hockey, but then transitioned into a successful career in film and television. How would you describe the incredible trajectory of your journey?
Gianni Paolo – I would say I have just always followed what I wanted to do at that moment. Maybe that might not be the best thing to do, but I feel like it’s worked out this far.
There was a certain point where I just didn’t want to play hockey anymore. I thought I really wanted to be an actor. So, I didn’t have a backup plan. I wanted to be an actor. And that was really it.
I’ve just been following everything that I want to do at that moment, and it’s worked out. So here we are.
Cryptic Rock – That is pretty wild. Sometimes you have to follow your instinct. You played hockey for quite a long time. Was acting something that you always had in the back of your mind?
Gianni Paolo – Yeah, when I was really young, I would just be an entertainer in the locker room, and all the parents and older brothers would hear what I would say, and they would always be kind of taken aback by it.
I was around 11 or 12, and the kids wouldn’t understand what I was saying, but the coaches and the parents all would. So, they were just like, “You’re wild. Why don’t you be an entertainer? Why don’t you do comedy, this and that?” That was like the first inkling in my brain of, “Oh, that’s interesting. I didn’t even know that’s a thing.” Then you’re a young kid, watching Disney Channel. You’re watching The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and you’re like, “Oh my God, these guys are so cool. These guys are actors.” Then Disney will feature behind-the-scenes tidbits, such as “We’re on set with Cole and Dylan Sprouse.” That was always like, “Oh, that’s so cool. These guys do this for a living?”
Then Entourage had come out, and I was like, “Oh, my God. These guys moved to California, and they have fun.” I started to think, “Oh, you know you can be an entertainer,” and “Oh, people love actors.” Everything came into one, and that is how it all happened.
Cryptic Rock – That is pretty cool. You have done a mix of television and film. One of your most recognized roles is in the successful Starz series Power. Additionally, you have also worked in the Horror Genre. Do you like working in different genres?
Gianni Paolo – Yeah. I like everything, to be honest. Some days, I’m in a more comedic mood. Some days I’m in a more serious mood. I think it’s all just fun, especially like sometimes when you’re shooting for Ma (2019), for example. That felt like a Teen Drama for 75% of the shoot. And then the last week was when everyone was getting killed and things were blowing up, and that’s when it felt like a Horror.
Trust felt like a weird, gritty Drama, indie Drama as well, and not really a Crime Thriller until a certain point. Most movies feel like something different until they’re not.
Power was never a comedic show, but I was the comedic relief on the show. So, for me, it felt like a Comedy. You ask another character, and they’re like, “No, I was in the trenches every episode, and I had to do this stuff and kill this person.” I feel like it’s all different for every actor and every project. Sometimes every day is different.
Cryptic Rock – That makes sense. Everyone has a different experience based on the role they are playing in that particular project. Trust is your latest film. How did you become involved with it?
Gianni Paolo – When I was shooting season four of Power, the producer, Oren and Miles Koules, came to me with the script, and they’re like, “We really want to do this. We think it’d be great for the role of Marcus.” So I read it and I loved it. It was such a cool story.
Then the strike happened, so there were four or five months where I didn’t really hear anything. Then the strike ended, and the next day, they said, “Yeah, we’re in pre-production. We’re starting it.” I thought, “Wow, ok.” Sometimes people get sent a script, or they say, “We want to do this movie,” but it falls apart. But they said they were ready to do it, and I was excited.
Around eight weeks later, we were in Mexico City shooting it. It moved pretty quickly when the strike ended, and we had the time of our lives.
Cryptic Rock – That does seem like it moved along very quickly, considering the circumstances leading up to it. Trust indeed lies in the Horror realm. What were your thoughts on the screenplay and the underlying themes?
Gianni Paolo – I loved the screenplay. It’s a great story. Sometimes, as has happened to me in the past, when you read an episode or a movie and think, “Wow, this is really good,” it gets messed up when you film it. Sometimes, there’s a disconnect where the script is really good, but the director either didn’t follow through or didn’t have the right vision for it. However, I’ll say that Carlson Young (with a screenplay that was already great) made this movie amazing. Every shot is like a painting. Carlson told the story without words at all, and things that weren’t in the script. She told the story and gave exposition.
The script was amazing, but I think Carlson did an outstanding job of making it bigger and grander, and telling the story even better. I’d say the script is excellent and the movie is even better.
Cryptic Rock – Carlson did a fantastic job, for sure. She is traditionally an actress. How is that working with a director who has worked in your shoes as an actor?
Gianni Paolo – Even TV directors that we had on Power or younger directors that asked me about directing, I would say, “You should take an acting class, or at least try and act in something, so that you know what it feels like.” I always feel like directors who were actors are just so much better because they understand it. Carlson was on a TV show for years, so she gets it.
Carlson understands the audition process. She understands what it’s like to be in your light. There’s so much that goes into being an actor. As a director, if you also possess acting skills, it helps you and makes you a better director. Carlson was just so easy to talk to because she knew what she wanted and was also speaking actor language.
Cryptic Rock – That is a good dynamic. Let’s talk about your co-stars in Trust. You have Sophie Turner, who turned in an outstanding performance, but you also have veteran stars like Katey Sagal. What was it like working with everyone?
Gianni Paolo – It was so cool. With Katey Sagal, we were on the flight together, so we actually had the same car going to the hotel. I’m a huge Sons of Anarchy fan. I was trying not to fanboy, but I was just like asking her a little bit. Then she had FaceTimed Kurt Sutter (who is her husband, who created Sons of Anarchy). I was like, “Oh, my God. This is insane.” Katey was so cool. It was truly a dream come true, as I’m a huge Sons of Anarchy fan. Honestly, when I saw Sons of Anarchy, that’s when I made the move to LA. I was like, “I want to do this.” Weirdly, that was the show, even though it’s not really a comedic show. T
Then there was Rhys Coiro (who played Billy Walsh in Entourage), and that show was instrumental in my decision to move to LA, being just a kid from Rhode Island, seeing that it was possible to do this as a career. That is what Entourage showed you: that it was a real career and a real ecosystem in LA of being an actor. I had a bunch of cool conversations with Rhys.
Then there was Sophie Turner, a TV legend, obviously. She is out of the stratosphere of what type of celebrity she is, but still down-to-earth and cool. You learn something from every actor and director in every project that you do. I felt like this one was like different legends from different worlds and times that I pieced together, gaining so much knowledge every day.
I was extremely grateful for the cast that was brought on to this. Sometimes you don’t know. Sometimes you’re like, “Yeah, this is a shot in the dark. We’ll see.” Sometimes you don’t get along with people. But weirdly, in this movie, like even Peter Mensah and Billy Campbell (OGs that have been in crazy films back in the day), taught you something just from a conversation. I feel like every day was a blessing for me on Trust.
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