Originally Published: 2006-08-27

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"You have to make your own work in Canada. There's a larger quantity of projects being made down here (in L.A.), but there's a flip side and that's there's so many more actors down here as well."
His great-grandfather George emigrated to the U.S. so long ago, Donella isn't sure what region in Italy his ancestors hailed from, although he does fondly recall the home cooked meals his nonna from Brooklyn used to bring over for the holidays.
His latest work is Hate Crime, which made it's debut earlier this month in Toronto. He initially auditioned for the lead role, before being cast instead for the supporting role of Chad Boyd - the son of a fundamentalist baptist preacher who gets wrapped up in a murder investigation. Since his parents are Tibetan Buddhists, and he describes his own faith as "undecided at the moment," getting into the mindset of fundamentalist really meant stretching his acting abilities.
"Its nice to be part of something you believe in and play a character that is struggling with a moral conflict," said Donella, whose interest in acting began at the age of 10. While on holiday in Florida he was asked to participate in a student film that ended up in a NYC film festival.
"I find people fascinating and acting is an exploration into psychology - you get to delve into someone else's life. Storytelling is about community and as human beings we have a long lineage of storytelling. Several hundred people sitting in a cinema and sharing the experience of film can be a powerful experience." Donella is currently on his way to Dallas for his next project. Past box office credits include Final Destination and the romantic comedy 100 Women. He recognizes that there's a trade-off between working for independent films where actors are given artistic freedom to improvise and movie studio big-budget projects where meeting deadlines sometimes trumpets all other concerns. "Sometimes (in bigger projects) it seems as if you're just paid to show up and say a few words," says Donella. "But in the end it truly depends on who you're working with. If you can surround yourself with talented people you're bound to make a good film."

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