Professional wrestling is a hard sport to find a decent work-life balance around, especially if you want to become a top star in the industry. Adding film and TV endeavors to the mix creates an entirely different kind of chaotic travel schedule that few people can really balance well.
For independent pro wrestler Vinny Pacifico, finding that balance in life has been paramount. The competitor from Staten Island, New York, has been able to make a name for himself in the ring while making waves on the silver screen. Pacifico will add a new film to his impressive list of credits as he’s set to appear in “I Dream of Pizza.”
Directed by Matt Provenzano, “I Dream of Pizza” takes a look at a pizza-making prodigy leaving Italy for New York City to start his own pizza shop. The only issue – it’s been taken over by an Italian crime family. Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Michael Leavy, Giorgio Cantarini and Vic Dibitetto are among those appearing in the film.
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Pacifico told OutKick Dropkick the skills that have made him solid in the ring have also helped with his acting career as well. When Pacifico was presented with “I Dream of Pizza,” he said there was no way he could turn it down.
“When they came to me about it, it was described as like a ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Ratatouille,’ and I said, ‘Wait a minute. Are you kidding me? Who would say no to this?’ I love ‘Ratatouille.’ I’m a huge fan of that. … I love ‘Ratatouille,’ like that’s a great freaking movie. So, once I heard that, I was all in, and that was it, you know, we kind of just made an agreement. I said let’s do it. This is something that I’m really excited about. I’m Italian myself and it’s finally my first ever Italian film.”
“It’s about a kid who wants to have an Italian restaurant, and it kind of gets taken over by mobsters. Great story. It’s a positive fun story, a lot of twists and turns to it. The cast that I mentioned isn’t the full cast,” he added. “There’s a few more surprises getting ready to be announced soon, but I think this is gonna be really, really fun. I’m really excited about this. It’s filming in New York, and I believe some of it’s being filmed in Italy.”
Pacifico said he felt “blessed” to be able to have the opportunities to film and continue to work in pro wrestling.
He’s been back and forth between Coastal Championship Wrestling in Florida and Hollywood Wrestling for the most part. But even as his Q score in Tinseltown increases, Pacifico said he planned on continuing his work in the ring for as long as he can.
“Until I can’t do it anymore,” he told OutKick Dropkick when asked if he saw a finish line for his pro wrestling career given his emergence in the film industry. “I don’t wanna stop. I wanna do both until … I want to do both forever. I don’t want to stop either of them and I never will stop either of them. I believe that I will find a way to keep my body healthy enough to continue wrestling no matter what. Again, everyone says that, right? Everyone says, ‘Oh, I wanna wrestle ‘til I can’t anymore,’ but I’m gonna, I’m going to make sure that I keep my body healthy, that I do physical therapy all the time, that I make sure my body is up to speed where it needs to be to continue wrestling well into my 60s and 70s if I can. That’s what I want.”
Pacifico understood what that means – keeping his body in tip-top shape no matter what he’s doing, where he’s traveling or what other obstacle is in his way.
“I wanna be able to do it. It’s not, like I said, it’s not likely. It’s a very hard-on-your-body industry. The flights, the bumping, the weapons, it’s very hard on your body. But there is no end date in mind at all. I love doing both. I really, genuinely enjoy doing both, and it’s been so much fun. But like I said though, I am going to, I have been, and I’m going to be very strict on my body and how I can keep it safe and keep it healthy.
“Everywhere, every wrestler should be doing that because this is your job. As a wrestler, your body needs to be at its best form. You gotta take care of it, massages, acupuncture, you know, whatever your body needs to continue moving in a way that keeps you in the ring safe, keeps your opponent safe, and keeps your body going. And the flights. I had a month where I flew coast to coast like eight times. Flights do damage to your body, you know, sitting crammed in a seat. It’s not easy. Taking care of yourself on flights, stretching before your flight, taking vitamins. These are things that I feel for me, I’ve been doing, and it’s been helping me out a lot.”
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Pacifico has mostly been seen on the independent scene working his way through to make a name for himself. But he’s met a whole host of characters as well.
Richard Holliday, Ben Bishop, Effy and Rhett Titus have all become big names on the independents over the last few years. Pacifico floated those wrestlers who he thought could work well in movies.
“I would love to see Richard Holliday definitely,” he told OutKick Dropkick. “Come on, he’s amazing. I think he’s amazing. Ben Bishop, amazing. These are the people anyone would say because they’re just killing it and they’re just amazing people. I’ll go a step further, there’s a lot of guys who have just this amazing question. Besides the obvious two, because personality is everything, Gangrel – I think he’s done films already but I would love to see him in another movie.
“Effy, come on! And there is stuff in the works with Effy in a film. I’m working on some things. And he’s a person that I’ve put the name for this film and he’s somebody who would kill it. He’s done some film stuff I think. I think he’s done some TV and film stuff but Effy, I believe, if he went hard on it, he would kill it. Rhett Titus – so underrated. Amazing wrestler, but his personality and his comedic timing and his charisma is massively underrated.”
“I Dream of Pizza” is in pre-production. For now, fans of Pacifico can see him in “Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle & Bone” and “Between the Living and the Dead.”