Neville Refalo: 'To always try to do your best in whatever you do. Whatever the result, you will never regret what you have done'

Neville is managing a furniture showroom during the day and singer/actor in the evening. He has been part of numerous successful theatrical and musical productions. In addition to his artistic practice, he is also enjoying the love and comfort of his three-year-old beautiful twins.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

I wake up early and very slowly (not to wake anyone at home) go down to the kitchen to drink a large cup of water and prepare coffee. Then I shower and wake up my super energetic twins.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

To always try to do your best in whatever you do. Whatever the result, you will never regret what you have done.

What do you never leave the house without?

My handbag which has everything in it, mobile and smartwatch.

Pick three words that describe yourself

Loving, thoughtful and kind.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

I think it must be investing so much time and money in my musical career and still be here doing what I love almost 25 years later. My singing and acting career has been quite long now. I am still extremely happy to do it and thank God I am still going strong.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

I am not a person who loves or craves sweets. However, every day after lunch I absolutely need a dark chocolate square to finish. There’s always a large chocolate bar in the cupboard which usually lasts around two weeks after I open it.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

To choose well the people to love and keep close to you. It is very difficult for me to trust someone at the beginning due to past experiences. However, once I manage to trust someone, they will be part of my inner circle and I would be ready to do anything for them.

Property and cars aside what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?

I think it must be my current favourite crossbody bag.

What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

That I really wasn’t a good teacher. I graduated as an Italian teacher and my childhood dream was always to aspire to be that. However, I discovered with time that I wasn’t good at it. So, I only spent a year teaching and changed jobs completely. Had I known before I would have chosen another university course.

Who’s your inspiration?

They surely must be my parents. They have been together for 50 years now and still have the same unity as in the beginning of their relationship. They raised a beautiful family and we always felt loved and appreciated whatever happened, even in our most difficult times. It’s thanks to them that I now cherish everything I have.

What has been your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge (and success) was to change my life completely some 10 years ago. I took drastic decisions because I wasn’t happy in life, and this paid off fantastically.

If you weren’t a singer/actor what would you be doing?

I would have loved to be a West End/Broadway show director. Am I still in time to do that?     

Do you believe in God?

Yes, I do. I was always very religious even when I was younger and was part of many Christian groups in the past. To tell you the truth, nowadays, I don’t really attend many religious activities, but I do pray every day when I wake up and before I go to sleep.

If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

It has to be Jesus Christ. It’s not only a question of religion. I believe he is the most influential person who ever existed. I have quite a few questions to ask him and would look forward to his replies.

What’s your worst habit?

I am a very fidgety person and don’t know how to stand still. So, even though I do spend time sitting down to work or watch something, I have to stay biting the skin near my fingernails. You should see my fingers when my hands are under water for a couple of minutes!

What are you like when you’re drunk?

I never got drunk in my whole life. I do drink in occasions and when I was younger there were periods where I had those occasional binge-drinking evenings. But for some reason, I never manage to get drunk. I’d imagine I’d lose my inhibitions and be friendlier than usual.

Who would you have play you in a film?

Well, they sometimes told me I look a bit like Jason Statham. So, I’d imagine he’d be a good choice to play me. He would be me with a much better figure, so I’d go for that.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I deplore those people who say bad things about you behind your back, mostly after complimenting you a few seconds before. I love those people who can tell you anything, good or bad, in your face and be sincere about it. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of those nowadays.

What music would you have played at your funeral?

If I could, I would really love to have a full orchestra and choir to play Mozart’s Requiem and a small choral boy to sing Pie Jesu from Lloyd Webber’s Requiem.

What is your most treasured material possession?

I don’t think I have one item that I treasure so much. I’m a person who likes changing material items frequently and never gets attached to anything I buy.

What is your earliest memory?

It’s playing with friends in front of our house way back when there were only fields around it. We would spend endless hours playing football and building camps with pieces of wood we would gather from the fields. Nowadays there are absolutely no fields around our house any longer.

When did you last cry, and why?

I finished a theatre production a few days ago and was in the post-production blues period. I started watching a musical on TV, it was a sad one I admit, and for some reason, tears started coming down incessantly for no reason at all. It must have been all the adrenaline I accumulated in the production which was now over and felt that was the only way to let it out.

Who would you most like to meet?

I would love to meet any person who revolutionises something in his/her field. I am intrigued with how their mind works and what makes them decide to dedicate their lives to something which at that moment didn’t exist.

What’s your favourite food?

I unfortunately love junk food. So, it has to be anything with chips. I have not had any for months now due to health reasons, but I surely crave them once in a while.

Who’s your favourite person on social media right now?

I am not really a social media lover, as one can see from my current (not really updated) profiles. So, I don’t really follow any people with much fervour.

If you could travel in time, where would you go?

I’d love to go to the Middle Ages in British fortified cities and see how they lived at that time. We don’t have much written about it and was always intrigued by that era.

What book are you reading right now?

I read a lot but do not usually go for books. I am all the time reading articles, sports, scripts and backgrounds which lead to scripts.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

That is very easy. I would love to read people’s minds and thoughts. It would help a lot in both trusting people and conquer my shyness if I knew what they thought about me from beforehand.

What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Go and live abroad. I really wish to retire in Scotland for example.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

In my car it is either musicals or Italian music. Even my radio is almost always synchronized on Italian stations. However, I do listen to a lot of other music depending on what upcoming concerts I have. Sometimes, to feel better I also listen to the occasional classical music choice.

In the shower or when you’re working out, what do you sing/listen to?

Most of the time it would be something I am studying at that moment. So, if I have a concert, it would be lyrics for my upcoming songs or otherwise a script from a musical, I am taking part in.