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Fading Gigolo star John Turturro on playing an 'everyman' sex worker

John Turturro joins Jian to discuss playing the lead role in latest film, "Fading Gigolo"
Prefer to watch Jian's interview with John Turturro? Continue to the bottom of this post for the video version.

Actor and filmmaker John Turturro joins Jian to discuss his latest film, Fading Gigolo -- the story of an unlikely sex worker that he wrote and directed -- why intimacy isn't easy, and the advantages of not being a "beautiful person".


Turturro plays an unassuming, middle-aged florist convinced by his best friend (played by Woody Allen) to get into the business of pleasuring women for money. Also cast: Vanessa Paradis, who plays a sheltered Orthodox Jewish widow gripped by loneliness, and other actresses -- Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara -- who sign on as adventurous customers.

Not the 'chisel-faced' guy

Turturro notes that most people are used to a "certain kinda guy" playing the romantic savant, noting Brad Pitt or George Clooney come easily to mind.

"But I think sometimes it's interesting to see a different kind of person in that situation who can represent more like an everyman," he says. "Well, I thought that's something I can do."