Henri Lubatti
Henri Lubatti is known for his work on the acclaimed show, Sleeper Cell. Waiting to find out if there will be another season of the intense drama, we talked with Henri to see what else he's been up to.
The Star Scoop:
What have you been up to lately?
Henri Lubatti:
I just finished up a two episode arch on The O.C., which I shot at the end of last year. As far as more work is concerned, we're waiting on our third season pick up for Sleeper Cell, trying to get word from the network. It'd be nice to get back to work right away, and then just in the works with my agent, manager, other projects. There's a little bit of waiting to see what happens with Sleeper Cell, because [I'm] under contract with them. That's kind of it. I like to do theater, and film, and television, so anything, any opportunities that come my way, that don't conflict schedule-wise with anything else. I've been fortunate enough to work.
The Star Scoop:
You've had the opportunity to part of a lot of the big shows that are out right now. Is there a show if you had the opportunity, that you'd like to be on that you haven't yet?
Lubatti:
There are actually a lot of them. There's some great writing on a number of shows. I would love to work, it'd be fun to work on 30 Rock, their writing is great on that. It'd be fun to work with the cast at Heroes. Battlestar Galactica, it's just a blast to watch. The list could go on. There's so much good work going on. I could just kind of run the gamut from sci-fi to comedy, to some kind of drama. It'd be a blast to take part. Like you said, I think I've been super lucky with regards to the resume in terms of getting to work with a number of different casts, people on different shows. That I hope, doesn't change. If I have to be sort of anchored with one project for a period of time, that's a deal, but there's a real pleasure in getting to meet different people and getting to work on different stories.
The Star Scoop:
What has Sleeper Cell done for your career and for you personally?
Lubatti:
It's been great professionally. Just in the industry, working more consistently, and steadily. It's given me...series regular work, hold[ing] on to the character for the arch of the season. It's a mini-series, but it's still the biggest number of consecutive episodes I've done. Also, just in terms of opportunities, it obviously [is] waves a great calling card, everything about their [Showtime] line up is really, really strong. Having the Showtime name, to have worked with them, is beneficial, and that's how it was helpful in terms of getting opportunities, and just a shot at something. Personally, it's been great, a lot of the same reasons, because in the end, the relationships I've created are not just professional ones. They've turned into very personal friends, and that's significant in this industry, too. There's a tendency for me to have worked with a lot of people for short periods of time, doing an episode here or there on a given show, which is fantastic, but doesn't give me a chance - in this case I had the opportunity to meet people consistently over a long period of time, and as a result maintained contact and friendship outside of the work of the environment, which is great, just broadens my horizons.
The Star Scoop:
How does working with Showtime compare to the major network shows?
Lubatti:
The thing I noticed with Showtime right away, and it's hard to compare too directly because I have such a close relationship with Showtime over this long period of time opposed to the brief spurts with other networks. But the big thing was how personal and intimate the company felt despite being a major studio. It seems like we all have access to the decision makers, in terms of they're accessible as people and individuals, and it's something I didn't expect, didn't even imagine, for any reason just because it's an impractical way in some cases to try to be. It means you really have to take time out of the day to get to know each employee, every member of each cast. But they do, and it's amazing, a classy way to operate. I appreciate it, I really, really, do. I don't know that that's different from any other studio, but it's certainly the experience I've had with Showtime. It makes you feel part of a team, and I have nothing but good things to say.
The Star Scoop:
You've been in a lot of TV, more recently. As far as your attitudes toward movies in the future go, where are you more comfortable as an actor?
Lubatti:
I've been most fulfilled when I felt like I was running from one medium to another. There's something really rewarding about each of them, and I'm including theater, as well as film and television, all three of them. If I can continue to do them, that would be great. The rent is paid through television, and I don't want to obviously lose that. I'm looking forward, in the coming year, to actually make some work in features, and just have more time on a film set. It's a different experience, it's a different process to some extent. You're not doing an hour of TV in eight days. Things sort of move at a different pace, in a different way. I always enjoyed the times I did it. Definitely not done it as much as I'd like, and I'm looking forward to this year, adding lines to the resume that include feature film. That's going to be a part of the focus in the coming year, along with just continuing to work frequently and as diversely as possible. That's something I really enjoy, the diversity.
The Star Scoop:
With Sleeper Cell being on Showtime, it's a little bit less accessible to most people, compared with the other shows you've been on. What role do people seem to know you most from?
Lubatti:
That's a really good question, because it's true, Showtime does not have the basic - it's not part of basic cable. There are definitely people who know me better from Felicity, I think for a while I did an arc on Felicity, and that's going back a few years. And then also, on 24. Hugely successful, great show. I would say that 24 and Felicity because they were the longer recurring chunks, are the ones that most people think of.
The Star Scoop:
What's it like for you to meet those fans?
Lubatti:
Fantastic. I'd say that all the people that I've interacted with that way. It's always this really nice conversation with people who just are very respectful, either interested in the program for one reason or another, or fans of TV in general. I'm always struck at just sort of how smart, and also extremely gracious everybody is - polite and respectful, and I really love to interact with people like that because most of the time, they're willing to share what they're doing, too. They know the character, they know the show that I was on, but they don't know who I am, and I don't really know who they are. I actually have time to have a conversation.
The Star Scoop:
What is it about this business that attracted you, and why are you still here?
Lubatti:
I liked acting early on, I was acting in school, and it was only a materialistic thing in the sense that I got cast in a play while I was in college, at the Seattle Children's Theater, and it was fun, but it was the first time that at the end of the week that I was [given] a paycheck, and I thought, okay, I guess this can be a job. I knew it could be, but it was never something, a real choice until then. I got my bachelor's degree, and I didn't do another play until I graduated. But when I did, I started working, and I just found that it's a real profession, it's an honorable profession. It's something that I enjoyed doing, it's something I felt I could contribute to. I had the skills to bring to the project, and I have a lot of respect for the other people I work with.
The Star Scoop:
What is the most challenging thing about the business?
Lubatti:
The wait between projects. It is an art form that requires and audience. And when television and film are involved, it requires a crew and financing and all sorts of other logistics and business things. There's always a delay between the idea and the exercise of performance, because there is so much else that goes into making a TV show, making a movie, and frankly, putting on a stage production. The delay between the actually acting, the pleasure of just ending and exchanging dialogue with other people and so on and so forth. The art of speaking is sort of what's it's about, and yet there's a whole bunch of other stuff that goes on before, during, and after that sort of have nothing to do with it, but obviously facilitates it. That part can be unbearable, and the uncertainty that it evokes...if that job is going to happen, will it go forward, yes or no?
The Star Scoop:
Is there anything you'd like to add before we end?
Lubatti:
My mother is French, my father is of Italian descent. I'm still very connected to my family. I would love to do what I do and work, in the U.S., but also in France and Italy, see more international collaboration. I'm just hoping that continues, the domestic audiences continue to receive foreign product, continue to receive it the way they have. There's a lot of work coming out of other places, other countries, [and] it's becoming more and more available. I hope I can participate in creating some of that at some point, but also watching it, and hoping that work continues.