Sopranos star Max Casella has revealed that his career was nearly derailed in his mid-20s due to a growth hormone deficiency.
The actor, who played DiMeo family associate Benny Fazio on the hit drama series, said in a new interview that he didn’t go through puberty until he was 27, following medical intervention.
He told Page Six on the red carpet this week that his career was “pretty much dead” when he underwent physical changes most people experience as teenagers, even though he was already an established actor.
“I went through the awkward phase that most people go through in high school,” he explained.
“I had to start all over again. It was a humiliating experience,” he said. “It was awkward for a while... I didn’t wear it well.”
He said he struggled to adjust to his changing appearance, adding: “You know what happens to especially boys when they go through puberty. They get awkward and zits and fat, chubby, whatever.”
He added he was in his 20s with “a little boy’s body.”
Casella said that securing a role as Timon in the original Broadway production of The Lion King helped him get back on track.
“I was dancing eight times a week,” he explained, “and I completely became an adult.”
He said of the situation: “Wouldn’t have been my choice, but you know, given the cards you’re dealt. You make the best of it.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, growth hormone deficiency is a rare and treatable condition that can cause short stature in children, delayed puberty, delayed tooth development and low blood sugar levels.
It can be caused by a genetic mutation or damage to your pituitary gland.
It affects about 1 in 4,000 to 10,000 children; approximately 1 in every 10,000 people have adult-onset GHD.
Casella stars in Jimmy, a biographical movie about Jimmy Stewart’s journey from being a combat pilot during World War II to returning to Hollywood for his turn in the 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life.
In Jimmy, Casella portrays the It’s a Wonderful Life director Frank Capra opposite Riverdale actor KJ Apa in the starring role as Stewart.
Casella said he threw himself into research for the role, saying: “I read his book... I watched some documentaries about him. What I was really trying to find out is how to play him. What kind of a person is he? How does he smoke a cigarette? How does he sit in a chair?”
“Just get a vibe from, you know. There’s not a lot of footage of him at the time when he was younger, so it was challenging,” he added.
