In his work, Charlie Besso wants to explore the beauty of emotional connection. The Paris-born visual artist and up-and-coming actor, who moved from France to California with his family back in 2011 and now lives in NYC, is drawn to looking at the inner workings of human nature - painting people who are close to him and seeking to tell stories on screen that examine compelling family and relationship dynamics. We caught up with Charlie to talk about his recent role on Peacock’s show The Calling, his childhood art classes and the captivating nature of painting.

You recently appeared on Peacock’s show The Calling - what has that experience been like for you?

It was awesome! Everyone on set turned out to be really welcoming and friendly. I really loved talking to everyone in between filming. Actually, the actress that was playing my mom turned out to also be French, so we would talk to each other in French a lot – we were hoping that we would also get to do it in the show, but that didn’t happen. [Laughs]

How long have you been living in the US? Are both of your parents French?

My parents are actually Canadian but my brother and I were born in Paris and grew up in France. We moved to California in 2011.

Do you miss France a lot?

Yes, I do! We try to go back every year during the summer and it’s always my favourite part of the year. We normally go to the South and we’ll often bring a bunch of our friends to stay with us. It’s the biggest gift!

Back to acting - what are the stories that you would like to tell on screen in the future?

I’m really drawn to stories about the nuances of family life, the slice of life, “ordinary” stories – I feel like there’s often a lot of emotions in that and a lot of possibilities to explore the inner workings of people, their relationships to one another and to themselves.

Aside from starting your career in acting, you’re also a talented artist. When did you first realize that painting and drawing were something that you loved to do?

I started to do it when I was very young – me and my best friend would go to these art classes after school back in France. We would be the only kids in the class, all the other participants were adults. The classes gave us the time to experiment - there was no pressure of, “Paint this. We want you to create something that’s like this.” When you’re a kid, you sort of have that natural affinity towards things. And being in that environment when I was really young has definitely solidified my interest in visual arts. Also, I feel like my love for painting and drawing brought me towards film and television and wanting to create art on screen.

What, in your opinion, makes an interesting painting subject?

I would say there’s a strong connection between what I’m drawn to in visual arts and acting. A lot of people who I paint are people that are close to me – I’m inspired to draw them or paint them because of the emotional connection that I have with them. In my work, I have a desire to capture that and give it a new life. Sometimes, making art feels stronger than words – it allows you to bring visibility to things that we can’t normally see. Something that I love about painting is the way in which different artists will bring subjects to life in completely different ways, even if they paint the same thing. You can get an idea of the person – their soul, what they’re going through – from the way they choose to make certain brush strokes or use certain colours. To me, being able to see the person that created the painting in their work is what’s so captivating about art.

When do you feel most creative?

When I’m driving. Back when I lived in California, I would always drive from Laguna Beach to LA to go see people, and I would often be stuck in traffic. And that’s when I think a lot – usually, with the radio off because I don’t want to listen to the same three songs on repeat over and over again. Also, when I’m on the airplane and the ‘fasten your seatbelt’ sign is already turned off - it’s quiet, and you’re like “Okay, I’m not gonna die. But what’s happening now?” That’s when I’m most creative! [Laughs]

What was the last thing that you came across that really inspired you?

I recently saw a tweet of this super dramatic marble sculpture and the caption said, “A 23-year-old sculpted this. What’s your excuse?”