CHARLIE WEBER [HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER]
PHOTOGRAPHER: IRVIN RIVERA
The crew just finished setting-up when Charlie Weber popped inside Lono Bar in Hollywood. The How To Get Away With Murder (HTGAWM) actor donned a comfy combo of white t-shirt and casual jeans. A part of me expected him to be quite intimidating but he was far from that. Well, he played his HTGAWM character Frank Delfino very well. In the show, Frank is a tough guy, cunning, loyal and someone who will beat you up if you mess with him or his loved ones. He is also tall. Weber started his career in New York City as a model when he was 19 after being chased by a guy from deli shop asking him if he would be interested in modeling. Since then, he did campaigns for Abercrombie and Fitch, booked roles in Buffy, Charmed, Veronica Mars and more, and he has become Frank Delfino in HTGAWM for six seasons since 2014.
Back on set, Charlie greeted everyone with a warm smile, introduced himself, checked his outfits for the photoshoot, and went straight to business. Charlie may have worn Frank’s skin really well but he is far from the character in real life. From the get go, there is a sense of gentle calmness in him that you would not perceive in Frank’s character as an audience. I rarely gave him direction during the shoot. He knows his angles and he was a model after all. Charlie was very open and he provided this air of open collaboration to the entire team. And a really good sense of collaboration was not a farfetched idea to Weber. The show, HTGAWM, relies heavily on it. Weber speaks highly of his open collaborations with Peter Nowalk, the showrunners, the writers, and fellow actors. “I’m so lucky to have Pete Nowalk as a boss. He lets you come in and talk to him. One of my favorite things to do is have him ask me just questions about the storyline and other characters and also for me to give him Frank’s responses to that- to tell him how Frank feels about things and how Frank would respond.”
A lot of people may not know but the show’s scripts were never delivered early to the actors. They usually get their scripts a day or two before the show. It is an interesting way of filming and writing the show. Even flashbacks and flash forwards were not filmed separately. They film as they go, which makes it really exciting for everyone. The show does not only keeps its audience on its toes; it also does it to its actors. And it’s probably one of the challenges as well as the blessings of working in the show. There’s a whole lot of different ways to tap into your creative self and freedom to develop and marinate your character into its full maturity.
As the show delves into its final season, tying loose ends, and answering a lot of unanswered questions, we sat down with Charlie Weber, a.k.a. Frank Delfino to talk about the show, living with and embodying Frank, working with Viola Davis, his thoughts about the show’s final season, what would be a good closure for Frank’s story, and more.
STYLING: AISHA RAE, GROOMING: PAIGE DAVENPORT @ EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS USING CELLCOSMET, PHOTO ASST: PHIL LIMPRASERTWONG, STYLING ASSTS: ANGEL CROSS, CRYSTAL LEONARD, LOCATION PRODUCER: BRI MARANGA, LOCATION: LONO HOLLYWOOD
“I’ve never played someone this long. I’ve never played someone for more than a year and I’ve been playing Frank coming up on 6 years and to spend that much time with one character and to develop him over all that time is such a gift; he’s a huge part of my life and I know it sounds strange but he’s closer to me than a lot of people that are in my life because I talk to him all the time. He’s always with me.”
A portion of the proceeds from Charlie’s book will go to ST JUDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Catch Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino in the final season of How To Get Away With Murder!