As the first season showed us right up until the end, there’s a lot more (or less, hair-wise) than meets the eye when it comes to Giorgio (Josh Segarra) on The Big Door Award.
The Apple TV+ drama follows the people of a small town after the Morpho machine mysteriously appears, promising to reveal everyone’s true potential. Season 1 ended with a message on the machine asking them if they were “ready for the next stage”. What exactly is this? Here, Segarra reflects on that, looks back on Giorgio’s journey so far and shares his hopes for Season 2.
What stands out to you about Giorgio’s journey in the first season?
Josh Segarra: I’m very lucky in these characters that I get to play. Giorgio, to me, is a former New York Ranger. I’m a Rangers fan. He is a former athlete; I always wanted to play an athlete on screen. And then open an Italian restaurant/sports center? I worked at Olive Garden. I have tons of legendary OG tips if you need any for Olive Garden. And a sports center? I like arcades. I am a product of Orlando, Florida. Many restaurants I have been to have been themed restaurants.
I just love Giorgio. He is very loyal. He loves very much. Sometimes it’s love misplaced. Sometimes he talks a little at an inappropriate volume. Sometimes he is what we call the opposite of humble. But you come to realize it’s just because he’s coming from a slightly insecure place. He tries to remain a superstar like he once was, and sometimes expresses it inappropriately. But you learn why as you peel back those layers with Giorgio, those figurative and literal layers.
Apple TV+
And we start to see the real him by the end of the season.
Exact. See what’s inside. And you realize that they might be making a little of their own insecurities, as we all are. We all just want to be told we’re doing well. We want to be told that people are proud of us, and he’s looking for that. So by the end, you realize when he starts to feel that from certain characters, you get to see the real him.
And it looks like they might forget about Cass (Gabrielle Dennis) a bit with Nat (Mary Holland) in the finale.
She comes into his life and has a very good effect on our boy Giorgio.
The finale ended with Morpho Machine asking if they are ready for the next stage. Do you think Giorgio is, at that moment, ready for whatever?
I think Giorgio is ready for anything at any time. So when it comes to the next stage, I’m sure it is, especially where you see where it goes and you see that twinkle in Nat’s eye. So I’m sure he’s ready for the next stage. I think one of the best things about Giorgio’s performance is that he’s all in. He is a very all-in character. He dives headfirst and does it with all his strength and all his being, and his actions are very clear and concise.
What do you think is the next stage?
I feel like this first stage tells everyone their potential. And the show discusses this idea of potential versus destiny. Destiny is something that must happen, and potential is something that could happen, can happen. And one thing I’m fascinated by the show is the idea of saying “seeing is believing”, but I’ve heard the saying should be “believing is seeing”, right? Where if you believe something hard enough, that’s what you’ll end up seeing instead.
So if this first season forces people to change their view—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse—you’ll see that it makes people happy. They are chasing these dreams that they could have always had. And the next stage is maybe they realize that what they had would have made them just as happy, or if they put that much love and energy into what they had, who knows where they would be now? So I think the next stage is deepening this idea of what you have versus what you had and what you will have.
What else are you hoping to explore in Season 2?
I just want to see where Giorgio ends up. Once he finds some love in his life, it could be a lot of fun to watch it play out. I would like to see him franchise more restaurants, maybe open a Giorgio’s 2, maybe a Giorgio’s pop-up, maybe a Giorgio’s fast food. Or maybe he becomes a co-owner of the local hockey team; we see him training a bit. Giorgio could do a lot.
The Big Door AwardSeason 2, TBA, Apple TV+