For Lorenza Izzo, the tough part about working on AMC's summer drama, Feed the Beast, was the food,
"Since the show is about a restaurant, there was a fully functioning kitchen behind the on-camera kitchen, with food advisors who were constantly coming out with plates of boeuf bourguignon and other dishes for us to try," says the Santiago, Chile, native. "This literally happened every day. I was worried I wouldn't be able to fit into my wardrobe by episode eight!"
Izzo plays Pilar Herrera, a quirky romantic who manages an upscale restaurant that two best friends (played by David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess) are trying to get off the ground — in, of all places, the Bronx. Throw in Mafia connections, love, loss and plenty of mouth-watering shots of food and wine, and Feed the Beast checks a lot of viewing boxes.
"What initially drew me to the show was that there was so much going on," says Izzo, a former model who has been married to actor-director-producer Eli Roth since 2014. "This was my first time doing a TV series and the first time in a while I hadn't worked with my husband," adds the actress, whose credits include the 2015 horror flick Knock Knock, alongside Keanu Reeves, as well as numerous films shot in Chile and the upcoming Holidays.
Getting hired on a series was a blessing and a challenge.
"Each episode has a different director," she says, "and unlike films, where you know how the story ends, on a series it was different from week to week. I kept going into the writers' room to make sure they weren't going to kill me off — I was having such a good time and learning so much."
While the fate of Beast's second season was unknown at press time, for Izzo, the TV feast goes on. In Hulu's new sci-fi anthology series, 404, she'll portray a competitive video gamer. No high-priced wines here — her character gets her edge from a mysterious energy drink that can slowdown time.
Cheers!
This article was originally published in emmy magazine, Issue No. 7, 2016