Hollywood veteran draws on Livingston past for latest production

From Cape Town, South Africa, to Livingston, Alabama, and then on to straddle the country from New York to Los Angeles, Stelio Savante harkens back to his football days in his latest movie Under the Stadium Lights.

Savante, now a three-decade Hollywood veteran, was recruited to the United States on an international tennis scholarship by Livingston University, now the University of West Alabama, in 1990. He also kicked for the Tigers football team, coached by Pat McCorkle. 

“I was excited to move to the United States as a young athlete, to see what the future held for me,” he said.

Savante became interested in acting as a career while in Livingston. He was on stage in a long list of university plays and in productions throughout Alabama, including Demopolis. He played Speed in the Canebrake Players’ staging of “The Odd Couple” directed by Mike Reekie.

His latest production stars Laurence Fishburne and Milo Gibson, the son of Mel Gibson. It will be distributed by Saban Films and Paramount Pictures and will open in theaters and on demand starting June 4.

Under the Stadium Lights is based on the 2009 Abilene High School football team that went on to win the Texas state championship.

“It’s an underdog story,” said Savante. “a journey of faith and redemption, and it doesn’t apologize for what it is.”

He said a friend who serves as the main producer of the film came to him with it when it was in post-production. Savante said, “There were several ways I could help bring it to distribution and help out.”

The story also appealed to him in another way.

“Grass roots sports stories have always elicited my interest. There’s something raw and real about them,” said Savante, who was an athlete for many years.

“I love football with an almost obsessive passion. In addition to being a kicker for Livingston, I also played rough touch football in New York and have been a lifelong fan of the Washington football team.”

He made friends with some of the football players from the ‘90s, including Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green whom he will pray with occasionally.

“Having lived the passion that comes with playing college football, loving and knowing the game really well, it just seemed like a natural progression for me to become involved with the film, and the story of how they won the championship inspired me. And,” he added, “who doesn’t love Laurence Fishburne?”

The acting bug bit while he was in Livinston.

“I was fascinated by the process of connecting with other people (actors/characters) on stage,” he said. “I do owe a lot to James McGahey who ran the theater department with the kind of passion and experience that was inspiring. He encouraged me, even made some recommendations to folks that he knew in New York.”

After Savante had become established in his career, he returned to Livingston to thank McGahey.

“I found him working in the back of a furniture and crafts type of store after secretly coordinating with his daughters to inquire of his whereabouts so that I could surprise him,” said Savante. “I would have driven to the moon to see him face to face and say, ‘Thank you, sir, for the difference you have made in my life’ because he believed in me.”

He also got a chance to see his Alabama adopted parents, Diane and J.J. Boyd. “They’re family to me, and spending a few hours with them was priceless.”

Savante left LU for New York in 1991 with his girlfriend Carla, now his wife of 29 years, and to pursue a career in acting. The couple has a 14-year-old daughter.

With more than 125 film, television and video game credits to his name, Savante has worked in all genres as an actor and has produced works in the sci-fi, faith-based and sports genres, as well as in theater. But he admits he enjoys acting above all.

“Leaning into characters, breathing life and conflict into their stories, preparing and crafting characters and connecting with other characters is my passion because I have so much to draw from in my own life,” he said.

“I’ve lived and worked on four different continents as an actor, and the more I live my life, the better storyteller I become.”

Producing is something that he does “every now and then.”

During his 30 years in the entertainment industry, “I’ve become close friends with actors who are well known commodities in film and television, and I’ll bring them into my plays and films,” he said. “Life is short, and you want to work with your friends and folks who know what they’re doing. But it’s all about the roles for me and not the producing.”

Savante’s most recent film and television credits include starring roles in the action thriller Infidel opposite Jim Caviezel, the family drama Running for Grace opposite Matt Dillon and Caviezel, the role of Moses on the biblical series The Chosen and the voice of Ajax in the “Call of Duty Black Ops” video game. He is producing and will star in the sci-fi film Destination Marfa opposite Tony Todd opening Aug. 3.

In 2007, he became South Africa’s first Male SAG Award Nominee as a member of Ugly Betty’s lead cast, and played significant roles in My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Starship Troopers 3, Marauder and as a guest lead role in Law & Order SVU, starring opposite Bradley Cooper, Angela Lansbury and Alfred Molina. 

He can’t talk about his next project, but in addition to Destination Marfa he will be in a new Netflix series, has five films in post-production and continues to be the voice of Ajax in video games.

The trailer for Under the Stadium Lights can be found at https://andersonvision.com/under-the-stadium-lights-in-select-theaters-on-digital-and-on-demand-june-4-2021/