Francis Capra [Interview]

Hello Folks! And a happy Friday to you all. Today we have a wonderful interview with an absolutely legendary actor who has been in the game for basically his entire life. It’s Francis Capra, Everyone! Growing up in the 90’s I was all too familiar with the work of this cat. Kazaam was one of my favorite films during this time, and if you ask me, it still holds up. I watching A Bronx Tale shortly after, and it’s still one of the greatest films of all time in my own opinion. I truly love what this cat did back then, and is currently doing. Now, with that being said, I need to get personal…..

I’m going to admit it, I did/do not watch Veronica Mars. Nothing against the show, it’s just one of the many that I haven’t managed to check out. I am sure it is wonderful. In fact, the reason for getting personal here is actually something that I have brought up here before. It’s my 14 year old daughter. She has made a few appearances on the site over the years, as I am consistently attempting to earn “cool Dad points” through this site. Well, I may have finally cracked something here. I’ve spoken with her favorite author who has been oh so kind to share her upcoming projects with us on a regular basis now, which is absolutely incredible. But, today we have the fucking Weevil himself! That’s right, my kid is OBSESSED with Veronica Mars. And when I told her that I had Weevil on the site, she lost her mind. I know it seems selfish, but that’s what I am getting the most out of this. Impressing my kids. And anyone who wants to blame me for doing this can just stop reading and depart immediately.

All of that being said, Francis is an extremely impressive performer who we are so excited to have on the site today. He’s so damn talented, and it is a true honor to digitally get to know him. So Folks, please enjoy some wonderful words from the brilliant Francis Capra!

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What inspired you to get into the world of performance? I understand you started pretty early in life? What drew you to this life?

Transformers! Haha, I’m only half kidding. As a young boy, I was a super fan of the cartoon and toy line Transformers. My favorite part of going on an audition was the guaranteed Transformer my Mom would surprise me with afterwards. I thought I had a slick racket figured out! Fortunately for me, my mother saw that I had a talent and put everything into managing my career. I had no real desire to be an actor until much later in life, the first 5 years or so of my career felt very much like a really long party with my Mom, who was my best friend. Good times!

What was your very first paid gig in the world of performance? And were there any sort of lessons learned from this experience that still affect your work today?

My very first paid performance was in A Bronx Tale, which is still my favorite and most cherished among all of the work I’ve done. If only I could hop in a time machine and eavesdrop on every word Bob (Mr. Deniro) said to me, with these 37 year old ears instead of a 7 year old’s! It was an honor to have been a part of such an incredible film.

One series that you worked extensively on happens to be my daughter’s favorite show, the beloved Veronica Mars. So it behooves me to ask how your experience was working on this fine series? Any fun antidotes from your time on set that you would like to share with our readers?

Oh Veronica Mars, the gift that never ceases to give! I became a man on the set of this show and it seems that I am now becoming an old man on it as well! I never realized how special and powerful this show would be until after we were cancelled, but sometimes it seems like if we never really stopped making Veronica Mars! I don’t think we ever will! It lives on in the hearts and minds of the fans, no matter what form it takes.

As far as anecdotes, the one where Kristen had wrote a fake love scene between Logan and Duncan the very night before a planned loved scene between her and Duncan, and sprung it on Teddy Dunn out of nowhere. It was classic, I always think of how funny that was when asked about anecdotes. We all grew up together and had a lot of fun during the original 3 seasons. I love the gang very much.

Cast of Vernoica Mars at the San Diego Comic Con w/ that legend Kevin Smith. Photo by Tommaso Boded/Getty Images for IMDb.com

Another incredible project you worked on when you were young is one of my favorite films from my childhood, the 90’s classic Kazaam. Again, I am curious to know how your experience was working on this now legendary film? Was it as much fun to work on as it was for me to watch endlessly during my childhood?

Haha, I am glad you enjoyed it! Working on Kazaam was like “working” at an amusement park for 4 or 5 months. Shaquille became very much like a big brother to me and as a boy who hadn’t had many male role models around, I became really attached to him. He’s a terrific guy. I think it’s hilarious how Kazaam has become such a nostalgic 90’s icon and I get asked about it nearly as much as I do about Veronica Mars. Particularly the whole “Mandela Effect” and kids saying how I was in a film with Sinbad, called Shazam. Crazy stuff!

If you were handed the opportunity to appear in the biopic of any legendary figure in American history, who would it be?

Oh gosh, there are too many. It’s not quite American and I’m far too old to play the role, but I am currently writing a screenplay of the young life of Vlad III called The Scholomance. It’s a lifelong passion project for me and like many of my favorite writers, I’ll no doubt portray a role as well.

What does the future hold for you? Anything you would like to plug to our readers?

The future is blindingly bright! As I mentioned above I have begun to enter the insane world of writing, I cannot wait to reveal the nature of my first project as it deals with a franchise/world I have dreamt of working with since I was a child. A literal dream come true. As for film, I recently appeared in an independent film titled Shadows with David Labrava of Sons of Anarchy/The Mayans. David & I had a lot of fun on that film and we are planning on working together again later this year. As for TV, I am currently working on something really exciting but am buried under so many NDA’s a few friends of mine would kill me if I said anything. As always, you can tune into my Twitter @franciscapra I almost always run my mouth on there as soon as I am able! 🥰

What was the last thing that made you smile?

My Wife, Nora.