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Michael Badalucco of “The Practice” visits UCPN

Michael Badalucco from “The Practice” Shares a Day with Teen CLC Students

The last day of school was made extra exciting for the teen academics class when special visitor, Michael Badalucco, star of stage and screen joined them in the classroom and spent time getting to know one another and sharing pizza and a movie!  Michael is a family friend of CLC student Josh London and that is how the visit came about. In “Pizza My Heart,” an ABC Family Channel movie that the group viewed, Michael plays a Dad and pizza parlor owner in Verona, New Jersey.  The students enjoyed a wonderful time, enjoying hot pizza while they viewed this funny and heartwarming movie with its star right there with them!  All the students and staff members commented on how much they enjoyed their visit with Michael, even though he is someone famous, he was like a friend they all felt comfortable with and was a great listener as well as a great sharer of stories.

The students prepared questions and interviewed their special guest and thought Center Square readers would enjoy excerpts from the session:

CLC students: How did you feel when you filmed your first movie?
MB: I was very nervous because the movie was “Raging Bull” and I was working with Robert DeNiro.

CLC Students:  What was it like working with Will Farrell and Nicole Kidman in Bewitched?
MB: Both of them are very nice.  One of the most memorable scenes in this movie was the dog scene which I thought was really funny.

CLC Students: How long have you been acting in movies?
MB: For 32 years!

CLC Students: When did you get married?
MB: Eleven years to Brenda.  We met on a blind date, she is from Ohio and I am from Brooklyn.

CLC Students:  What are you working on now?
MB: I just finished an episode of the television show “Bones” and I am developing a movie.

CLC Students:  Did the writers’ strike effect you?
MB: Yes, when the writers go on strike, it affects everyone from the actors to the producers to the makeup artists.

CLC Students: Are gas prices affecting you?
MB: Yes, I have to travel to New Jersey and I hope I can make it on what is left in my tank so I can fill up at a place I go there where gas is cheaper!

CLC Students:  How did you feel when you received your first Emmy award?
MB:  First of all, I am pleased to hear you say “received” rather than “won” because acting is not a contest, you do the best you can.  I was pretty nervous, I had prepared a speech but when I went up to receive the wards, it was like I didn’t.

CLC Students:  Who is your favorite actor or actress?
MB: Tom Hanks is my favorite actor.  Prior to acting, I was a “prop man.” I worked on the movie “Big” and Mr. Hanks was very nice.  As a result, I was very excited work with him as an actor in the movies “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail.”