Posted in: Exclusive, Horror, Interview, Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: Giani Paolo, Republic Pictures, trust, twisted pictures

Trust Star Gianni Paolo on Survival Thriller, Young, Adapting & More

Gianni Paolo (Power Book II: Ghost) spoke to Bleeding Cool about Republic Pictures (Paramount) survival thriller Trust, Carlson Young & more.

Gianni Paolo always gives what's needed for the scene, particularly in his dramatic work. Since making his debut in Arlo: The Burping Pig (2016), the actor's been making the most of his opportunities, whether it's comedy or drama with appearances on Hulu's Chance, Fox's The Mick, Freeform's The Fosters, and Blumhouse/Universal's Ma (2019), the actor landed his first signature role as Brayden on the Starz drama Power and its spinoff series Power Book II: Ghost. Paolo spoke to Bleeding Cool about his latest Republic Pictures' (Paramount) survival horror Trust, what stood out to him about the story, working with director Carlson Young and her versatility, and playing into his role as Marcus. The film follows a Hollywood starlet (Sophie Turner) who retreats to a remote cabin to escape the backlash of a scandal she finds herself in—but she's not alone. Betrayed by the man she trusted most, she's trapped in a brutal game of survival. She can hide, but she can't run.

Trust Star Gianni Paolo on Embracing Director Carlson Young's Vision and Versatility

What intrigued you about 'Trust' and how'd you get involved?

I had known the producers for a little bit. When they reached out to me and asked if I'd like to play Marcus and I was like, "Yes, of course!" After reading the script, it was amazing. I wanted to do something different than what I was doing for so long, and I felt like this was very different than my character in 'Power.' It came at the perfect time, and sometimes, like these projects, like maybe in two years, I'd have been like, "Eh, I don't know," but at that very moment, I was so excited. When I watched the movie, I was like, "Thank God I did this," because it came out so great, and I'm excited for people to see it.

What did you like about Gigi's script, and how do you feel about the film's themes on celebrity?

I feel like I don't know if there's been a movie on hacked…obviously, 'The Fappening' (2015) was something that had happened in Hollywood, and there have been a bunch of different things that have happened like that. I don't know if they made a movie about it ever, correct me if I'm wrong, but when I read that at the beginning, I was like, "Oh, that's such a cool concept!" Then there are twists, turns, and it turns into like a crazy crime thriller. It had so much in it, and then Carlson made the movie so much better, just her being a part of it. I think all around, like from the writing, directing, even the producing… everything was amazing about this project. I'm grateful to be a part of it, and for people to see it.

How did you feel about how Carlson ran her set, and how she is as a creative?

She's great. She was also an actor on a television show for years, so I felt like working with actor-directors was so much easier as an actor myself. She's obviously done so well. Her movie before this was 'Upgraded' (2024), which I'd seen, and it was so different than this film. Her film before ['Upgraded' in 'The Blazing World' (2021)], she did like a Sundance movie. Carlson is so versatile in what she can do. This film is also so different than the tone of 'Upgraded,' so I feel like she's nailed every tone at this point. I'm also excited to see what else she does. She's so professional, knows how to talk to actors, how to pick a shot, and everything. I'm excited to see what else she does with her career [in front and behind the camera], and I hope I get to work with her again.

Given a project of this nature, does it require a slightly different shift of mindset for something that's cathartic like this, or is it just something that you just approach it like anything else?

I approach everything the same. I mean, with this one, I felt like my character was a little naïve, and I had to play into that. I approach everything the same, but my scenes were not as crazy as many of the others in the movie. I have a couple of crazy scenes, but mine were more normal and conversational. I approached it like anything else: "Be yourself. Don't put anything on a pedestal because then you can psych yourself out." I feel like other characters had a lot crazier scenes to do, definitely compared to Sophie.

Is there a particular genre you're hoping to do more of that you haven't had a chance to do?

I haven't made a goofy comedy, although they're not making many of those right now. I would love to do a 'The Hangover'-type movie like Bradley Cooper. That's an ideal fun thing to do at this stage of my career. A lot of times, I am given drama, and then the director is like, "Oh yeah, add some of that comedic element to it," so I would go crazy with the comedy in a funny script, and then see what happens. I haven't been able to do that yet. I feel like that's the only thing I haven't done. That's, hopefully, the next thing we'll see.

Trust, which also stars Billy Campbell, Peter Mensah, Katey Sagal, Rhys Coiro, Forrest Goodluck, and Renata Vaca, is available in theaters.

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