In Jersey, if you don’t know somebody, you probably know their cousin.
Or their brother.
That was the case for Holmdel actor Johnny Cannizzaro, who plays Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band in the Bruce Springsteen bio pic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.” At Brookdale Community College, he studied with Van Zandt’s brother, Billy Van Zandt.
Billy is a noted Hollywood screenwriter and actor.
Billy made an introduction and Cannizzaro and Steven had lunch.
“Stevie’s like an encyclopedia when it comes to musical knowledge so you an ask him anything and he knows the answer,” Cannizzaro said. “I went in with a whole page of questions and I didn’t have to ask any of them because he’s so good at directing a conversation. You feel so comfortable with him so you get everything you need without having to say a word practically.”
Larry Saltzman, who taught Timothée Chalamet how to play guitar for the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” taught Cannizzaro, a piano player, how to play like Van Zandt. Cannizzaro auditioned in a bandana for the Van Zandt role.
“What we’re featuring in the movie is neither the bandana era or the Miami Steve era,” Cannizzaro said. “It was a period of time when he basically wore a beret.”
Cannizzaro, who played the brother of Four Season’s member Tommy DeVito in the movie version of “Jersey Boys,” was right at home when “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” filmed at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
“I was there all the when I was a teenager,” Cannizzaro said. “It was a full circle moment.’
Complete with Springsteen on the set.
“It was so great to have him there because everyone wanted to do his story justice,” Cannizzaro said. “He seemed to be very happy but at the same time he wasn’t trying to direct things. It was amazing to have him there.”
What was intimating was having Steven Spielberg on the set at the Stone Pony.
“It was intimidating because the camera was literally on me and the E Street Band at the time he was sitting in video village (to watch live feeds) with the director (Scott Cooper),” Cannizzaro said. “He was watching us shoot that scene, which ultimately got cut from the film but it was really wild to have Steven Spielberg there.”
Cannizzaro’s credits include appearances on TV’s “Quantum Leap,” “New Amsterdam,” “Criminal Minds,” “NCIS: Hawaii,” “S.W.A.T.”, and “The Rookie.” Look for him in the upcoming indie horror film “Stegosaurus.”
Big things are happening for Cannizzaro. You never know who will call.
“I got a Facetime call from my mom,” Cannizzaro said. “I pick up and say what’s going on. She said ‘I have somebody here who wants to say hi to you.’ She swings her camera and it’s Bruce and Bruce is like, ‘Hey man, what’s going on?’ I was stunned, I was absolutely floored as I think most people would be but he happened to be in the cabana next to her on the beach (at the Jersey Shore) and it was so wild. What a strange serendipitous moment.”
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