Interview with Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli)

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You started your career as a swimmer, even participated in two Olympic Games. What are your best memories from those years?

Those are definitely the best times of my life. Sport was really important to me and I was lucky to achieve great results. I always say that the results in sport are really yours because there are no excuses: if you win is your victory, if you lose it is your loss. It could be a small game or the Olympic Games. Sport is a great lesson in life.

Why did you stop with sports? Was it because you thought that someone younger will come and overtake you or because of your ascending movie career?

In a sport career, especially in individual sports, there is always a specific moment in which somebody else, usually younger, starts being too close to your records. That is a good time to start thinking about retirement. Money was not involved in my time as we did not get paid to swim. Nowadays everything is different.

Why did you choose to be an actor although you did not feel any talent for it?

I did not choose it. It only happened by luck when Giuseppe Colizzi, a great director, wanted me in his film at all costs due to my physical characteristics. I never thought I would be an actor but that film was a great success and my career started there.

Is it true that you met Terence Hill (Mario Girotti) during the filming of a scene? How was that exactly?

In that same film „Dio perdona... io no!”, Terence was chosen at the last minute to substitute another actor who had a domestic accident. Terence and I met directly on set, very briefly and very superficially but we had a good human relationship right away.

In your films you have been fighting with your opponents but unlike many of today’s films it has never been about violence and bloodshed. Was it important for you when you accepted a role or wrote a screenplay?

Of course, it was fundamental. Our films were a clear message against violence and weapons. Terence and I only fought against the bad guys, those who like to impose their supremacy with violence.

Your last film with Terence Hill was the “Troublemakers” (”Botte di Natale”). Do you celebrate Christmas so lively in your life, too?

We celebrate it in a more traditional way but of course the family is always united and it is a good occasion to be together.

The movie “Troublemakers” (”Botte di Natale”) was filmed in the US near Area 51. Have you encountered anything unusual while filming there?

Not really, we had a great time and especially being directed by Terence was really pleasant. I only have good memories about that last film together.

In 2010 you and Terence both received the David di Donatello Lifetime Achievement Award. How did you feel about getting such a recognition?

That happened after I worked with Ermanno Olmi and I think Ermanno had something to do with that recognition. For some reasons we have always been snubbed by Italian critics. I understand that our films may look a little superficial but if they are still so successful after many decades, it means the public around the world see more in them than the critics. And that is the best award for us.

You appeared in many films. Which roles have been your favourites?

I really enjoyed the pilot role in „All the Way, Boys” We filmed it in Colombia, directed again by Giuseppe Colizzi who started my career and again with Terence. I think that film is one of the best we did and that is where I got the passion for becoming a pilot. 

Which movie shooting was the most memorable for you and why?

The western films were really funny and enjoyable. Imagine a normal person who leaves home to go to work in the morning and get dressed like a cowboy and start playing with guns. It sounds like a joke and it was but then it became something serious.

What was the funniest, most incredible event that happened during shooting a filming or in your life?

We were in a public square during the filming of a scene of “Flatfoot” at night in a very hot summer and every few minutes somebody would open a window to breath fresh air and the director was going crazy because he didn’t want to see anybody around. We spent most of the night trying to explain to the people what we were doing.

There are a lot of ranking lists on the internet about your films. What do you think which is your best and which is your worst film?

The two „Trinity” films and „All the Way Boys” could be the best although I still enjoy many others. The worst one that is a tough one to answer. I did a film in Mexico about the Conquistadores, I cannot recall the title. That is probably the worst but I was not the principal actor.

During filming how much of a scene is scripted and how much comes on the spot (for example: jokes)?

Many, many jokes we invented on the spot and also a lot of gags in the action scenes. Especially in the first movies where we still did not know what the public liked of us.

The script of the movie “Banana Joe” was written by you. How was it? Was it a challenge? Have you written others since then?

I participated in the writing of many of my movies but unofficially. “Banana Joe” was really my idea and I had a great director Steno who I worked with in all the „Flatfoot” movies and we knew each other very well. He was also one of the best directors of the Italian comedies so he had a lot of experience.

You consider titles to be important. How did you come up with the titles? Is there a secret?

Titles are very important like in a book or in a song but there is no secret. They come up all of a sudden from the most unexpected person and they become an icon. E.B. Clucher was great at finding interesting titles.

In many countries you sat in theatres to hear the audiences’ reactions to your own films. What were you expecting of this method?

I used to do that at the beginning of my career because I really did not know what to do. I was not a professional actor and I never studied to become one so I had to understand what I was doing and what the public liked me to do.

You made movies in ­the US, you had to learn English scripts. Have you thought about really learning English?

I could speak a basic English and I practiced it with a dialogue coach to learn the lines in the movies but I never really studied it in normal life. The other languages I speak were learned living in the countries of origin so it was easier.

You have been to many countries. Was there a culture that has influenced your view of life?

I enjoyed Brasil a lot. I was there when I was very young but I have great memories and I loved the music and food. I think Brasilian philosophy of life is very similar to the Neapolitan and to mine.

You have tried many things in your life (swimming, water polo, law, flying, acting, producing, politics, etc.). Have you tried these areas out of curiosity or because after some time a certain role/position did not give you any motivation?

Only because of curiosity. I always like to entertain in new things and not because I am bored of the previous ones. Only because I like to know more. This is probably a limit that doesn’t allow me to go deep in one specific thing.

You like to write songs and also to sing. What is your source of inspiration? Where did this love for music come from?

Yes, music is my great passion but I am sorry I never really studied it. So everything I did came out of inspiration. The inspiration comes out of your experiences in life and luckily I had a good life. Music is great because it is the only language that doesn’t have any cultural barriers and it is a free expression anyway.

You have published autobiographies and a philosophical cookery book. What are you working on currently? 

I just published my fourth book in Germany and in autumn it will come out in other countries but I am already thinking about a new one. I have some ideas but they are not organized yet in a complete concept.

Do you like to cook? And if so, do you have a speciality?

I like to cook but I don’t do it very often. There are so many specialties that I enjoy but a good simple „spaghetti al pomodoro e basilico” is still my favourite and I cook them for Terence as well whenever he comes to Rome.

What do you do since you stopped making films?

I now dedicate my time to writing books and composing songs. You can do that at any age and in any place.

You say that you are an inventor. Which type are you: one who invents new things, or one who improves an already existing invention ("innovate")? How many patents do you have and which one are you the most proud of?

I don’t say I am an inventor because I don’t do that profession. I did some inventions in the far past. The one I am most proud of was a car moved by batteries. But at that time it was too heavy to drive around more than a few minutes. I am happy to see that electric cars are becoming a reality.

You have founded the Spencer Scholarship Fund. Whom do you help and how?

No, this is not true. Where did you get that information? Anyway it is in my plans to do something of the sort but I still did not get it organized.

At the age of 45 you have been diagnosed with a malignant tumour. What was your first thought after hearing the bad news? How did you react to it? Did you write up some kind of a „bucket list” or you didn’t “give a damn" and were confident that this is not the end?

Sincerely I didn’t make a tragedy out of it and I didn’t tell my family at that time. I was shooting a film in Colombia and the producer sent me right away to a hospital in New York where I got operated and a few days later I was back at work. I must have been very lucky because it never came back and I am still here. Evidently it was not at a very dangerous level.

Do you believe in fate?

Of course I believe in fate. Look at my life. I lived a happy life and it was all built around fortunate coincidences. Yes, of course I did something to achieve it but really I have been very fortunate.

What helped you finding yourself?

Being outside of comforts, away from the family that solves all your problems, far from friends that are always there for you. That is how I understood if I was strong or weak and if I could take care of myself. I was young and I needed that proof.

You have a close relationship with your fans. What do they mean to you?

My fans have always demonstrated a great affection to me and nowadays with the new technologies and internet it has multiplied. The great thing is that most of them are young and they were not even born when I started my career. This is great, it keeps me young.

In Hungary “The National Bud Spencer and Terence Hill Fan Festival” is organized yearly (this year it will be the 10th). Have you ever hear about it? Would you go to visit it?

Yes, I know about it as I am always in contact with my Hungarian fans. I have not been able to go yet but I hope one day I will be able to attend.

Have you ever thought of moving back to Napoli?

Not really. I like Naples a lot and I went back there to film a lot of my movies but I am comfortable in Rome now and there is no need to change.

If you could go back in time, which phase of your life would you live again?

Definitely my sport times. I was young and strong and my team manager said that if I trained more and didn’t smoke I could have been world champion. It is good to fantasize but we will never know.

Who are you more: Bud Spencer or Carlo Pedersoli?

Both at the same time now. They are not very different from one another anyway. Probably Bud Spencer will live longer.

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