In every Hollywood generation, just a handful of male actors light up our screens more than their contemporaries. These are the movie stars that ride the wave of each cinematic era, such as Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, and Johnny Depp, to name a few from the shortlists of countless devout movie buffs.
The big question is, when the time comes to look back on the current crest of cinematic talent, who will be the men that captivated us the most and cemented themselves as our go-to must-watch movie stars?
If you’re starting to drop guesses, you should know that there’s a dark horse in the running, whose searing brown eyes and amazing acting skills cover all the bases for top billing. His name is Enzo Zelocchi, and among Hollywood’s next-gen leading men, he’d definitely one to watch.
The DNA of a Hollywood Male Lead
What is it about a stellar leading man that makes him the backbone of any great blockbuster? There’s more to the equation than arresting good looks, although there’s no denying that top cinematic male icons, from Keanu Reeves to Jack Nicholson, offer a one-of-a-kind presence on the silver screen.
But, an actor who can lift a great character from the page and give them life in a way that feels truly compelling needs more than the ability to turn heads and conquer a scene. Alongside striking features and acting prowess, they need to take us on a journey in a way that makes us emotionally invest.
Over a career dominated by edgy and art-house leading roles, Zelocchi has proved that he shares a range of talents with the above acting veterans. He’s shown his ability to portray love and loss, serenity and intensity, and sin and redemption. As any movie fan knows, these contradictory qualities unfailingly co-exist in our most beloved movie characters, making range the magic that steals our hearts at the box office.
Enzo Zelocchi. © Marco Marezza
Refusing to be Type Cast
Where some big-name stars get into the groove of a cinematic niche and stay there, the majority of our most treasured movie icons refuse to be placed in a box. Case in point, Johnny Depp’s rise to fame was punctuated by daring early roles in features like ‘Benny and Joon’, ‘Edward Scissorhands’, ‘Cry-Baby’, and ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’.
During that era in his career, Depp was a mere cult figure with huge popularity among a dedicated crowd. It would take some time for him to be launched into the highest Hollywood stratospheres of fame, realized by mainstream movies like ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.
We find a similar pattern in Enzo Zelocchi’s career, with a staggering number of multi-genre-straddling leading roles in his early personal movie-making archive. This strategy of boldness is certainly paying off, having earned the actor over 290 awards on the international film festival circuit to date.
From Cult to Culture Icon
Zelocchi is a star who can beguile like Brando, charm like DeNiro, and electrify like Al Pacino. He’s proved his ability to be chameleonic like a young Johnny Depp, while his grasp of the cinematic arts has already drawn him into the parallel fields of directing and producing, much like many of the fellow Hollywood greats before him.
As we await Zelocchi’s lead in the hotly anticipated upcoming action feature ‘The Source’, it seems safe to say that the actor’s millions of social media followers are onto something and the industry should be paying attention. Because already, the cult-status foundation on which all leading men are built is clear to see. Next comes the gravitas of a cultural icon and the creation of a next-gen leading man.
