For Joseph Farina, film success is a matter of time

Actor Joseph Farina in “Strapped”

He’s played a policeman, DA and nuisance brother. Now Joseph Farina, 42, plays an undercover detective strapped to a ticking bomb in the psychological thriller, “Strapped,” with actors Tom McElroy and Kevin Lingle.

One of the three sons of the late Chicago actor Dennis Farina, Joe began acting 10 years ago, a milestone the Reel felt was just right for getting to know him better.

Strapped is a short. Any chance of it becoming a feature? 

Mike Vanderwyst and Jeff Frye of Chicago produced the film. Suk (Dhaliwal, the director) would like to turn it into a full length feature. He wrote it that way, then got enough funding for a short. He thought, let’s start with that, just 15-20 minutes.

This is a way to show the world Suk’s talent. Selfishly, I hope people say, “That Farina guy, he’s all right. There is something there. I like what he can do.”

Do you seek tough guy parts, like your dad?

The older I get, the more people say I look and sound like him. Although I also have my mother’s green eyes and fair skin.

When you think of a tough guy cop role, Strapped would be it. I played an executive in Debt of the Heart, a lifeguard captain in RiffRaff, with Rob Belushi. I love comedy and I love drama.

Where did you study acting?

I learned a lot from my dad. You can’t beat that. I took classes at ActOne, Piven Theatre, Second City.

What did you do earlier?

Before that, I studied psychology at DePaul and did a radio show with Carlos Hernandez Gomez. He’d play his Beatles bootlegs and I’d play my Kinks bootlegs.

I had 9-5 jobs, too. Sales, customer service.

Did you spend any time on sets with your father?

I started shadowing him when I was seven. We’d go to rehearsals, the agency, the set. When I was 13, he got Crime Story and sort of hit it big. They filmed season one in Chicago, season two in Las Vegas.

My dad drove me and my brothers out there in the summer of ’87. We fought the whole way; I’m surprised he didn’t drop us off in Colorado. My brothers left after two days. I stayed until school was starting and my dad said I had to go back.

What did you learn from watching him?

I started to appreciate the craft. I admired how my dad went about his work, how focused he was, how he was polite to everybody on the set. I could see the strong work ethic he had. My dad worked long hours on the series, and was always professional.

Did he encourage your acting career?

No matter what role I was doing, he wanted to know how it went.

I got a small speaking role in Chicago Fire last year. I talked to him about once a week then. He said, “I think you are good at acting. I don’t think you should give it up.”

I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy to hear those words. We’d had discussions about acting before, but this one seemed pretty deep and pretty profound. Maybe it was the way he said it. There was a certain enthusiasm, a certain resonance. And then a few months later, he was gone.

Where do you want to go with acting?

I hope the good roles increase. You are always looking for something to kick the door open. Hopefully, Strapped will kick it completely open.

Farina is represented by Kimberly Katz Talent.