Paul Carafotes knows where he comes from, and returns to meet his public.

By Cathleen Twardzik

Paul Carafotes, a Somerville native and 30 year veteran of Hollywood film and television, will appear and sign autographs at the 2011 Boston Super Megafest on November 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on November 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel.

An old friend of Carafotes, Rex Smith, recommended that he be part of this year’s event.

Carafotes has appeared in numerous high-profile film and television productions, which include: Knots Landing, Fight Club with Brad Pitt, Damages, starring Glenn Close and All the Right Moves with Tom Cruise.

“The life of an actor is a rollercoaster ride, and I’ve had all the joys, sorrows, scars and rewards that come along with the profession.  And I wouldn’t change a thing about any of it.  It’s been an amazing, wild experience,” said Carafotes.

Initially, Carafotes developed an interest in acting at the age of four after having seen the Beatles on television.  He performed in church Christmas recitals as a boy.

“I didn’t really get into it until 8th-grade,” said Carafotes.  At that time, he was “cast in a lead part after watching the auditions from the back of the theater. I was goofing around, making funny noises during some of the other kids’ try-outs, and Mrs. Ferrari spun around, [pointed] a finger at me, and demanded [that] I get up there and try it. I ended up with the lead.”

Importantly, Carafotes chose acting as a career because, “I just finished our senior high school play, Some Like It Hot.  It was the musical version called Sugar. Kenny Lonnigan, who was the choreographer, pulled me aside for a serious chat and said that I should try going to New York to become an actor.  A few days later, I got a call from [an] MIT student doing a short film for his thesis. He had come to the high school to watch the play.  He called and wanted to “pay me” to star in his student film,” he said.

“I wanted to prove to all those who didn’t think I could make it that they were wrong. A lot of my dreams came true early in life,” said Carafotes.

How early in his career did Carafotes achieve fame?  “I was in New York for a year and a half when I got my big break.  My acting coach was Joanna Merlin.  She was casting a movie for 20th Century Fox called Headn’ For Broadway to play the role of Ralph Morrelli, a young, brash kid with talent from Philly who could sing and dance. She said to go home and learn this role and go in as the character. I got the part,” he said.

Which specific moment sticks in Corafotes mind?  “An entirely new level of fame kicked in when I landed a role on Knots Landing. That was an eye-opening level of fame. That show was huge at the time.  I remember coming back to Somerville and going with my dad to the Meadow Glenn Mall. We had to get security to get me out of there, and then, it hit me that my dream as a little boy had come true, just like I was watching news clips on the Beatles getting chased and grabbed by emotional crowds,” he said.

On a sad note, “Soon after that, my dad became very ill and passed away. and suddenly my anchor was gone.”

Carafotes then “wrote a play called Beyond The Ring [which was] about my relationship with my dad that spanned over 30 years.  Doing that play set me back on course.”

After that Carafotes took part in CSI New York.  “That brought me to the attention of the producers of  Damages, which started my recent upswing of roles. Things are going well again, and I realize I can’t change anything in my past.”

During his career he also cast Demi Moore as his girlfriend in her first feature film role in the movie Choices.

He has won several awards and film festivals, which include the Audience Award at the Beverly Hills Film Festival for directing and writing Club Soda, which starred James Gandolfini, Joe Mantegna and Louis Gossett Jr.  Most recently, he appeared in the Emmy award winning series Damages as Ben De Falco.

At present Carafotes is doing a play which is entitled Your Late Mother, as well as a movie which is entitled The Hill and is slated to begin shooting in January.

Besides Carafotes, other celebrities such as Patrick Stewart, Anthony Michael Hall and Sean Astin will be attending Boston Super Megafest.

Each year Carafotes spends time in Somerville to visit his family.

He is available for booking, and his film reel, photos and resume are available at: http://www.carafotes.com/.