Many cinema-goers don’t realize that some of their favorite entertainment stars are just as busy making the world a better place off-set as they are forging success as an actor on the silver screen. In fact, there is a long and mighty tradition in Hollywood and beyond, for beloved celebrities to leverage their momentum in the public sphere in order to become a leader in the world of altruism, healthcare, or philanthropy.
One such modern-day luminary is American actor, producer, and director Enzo Zelocchi, who is joining the ranks of celebrities with a conscience and partaking in the time-honored tradition of using fame as a tool for positive transformation. Where other actors have often focused their humanitarianism further afield, Zelocchi is on a one-man mission to reimagine America’s broken healthcare system—drawing on the latest technology to ensure that wellness is accessible to the many, rather than the few.
The Phenomenal Work of Philanthropic Entertainment Stars
It may seem beyond belief that an actor who has already diversified into the roles of writer, movie producer, and cinematic director—often writing, staring in, producing, and directing his own motion pictures—would have the time to traverse the world of healthcare, but in this endeavor Enzo Zelocchi is impressively not alone. The practice of wearing so many hats can be traced as far back as to treasured American actor and comedian Danny Thomas who founded the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 1962.
In more recent years, a number of inescapably familiar faces have also thrown their hats into the ring of altruism. For example, Oprah Winfrey founded her charity-supporting Angel Network in 1998 and John Legend launched his Show Me Campaign to pursue social justice in 2007. Zelocchi’s fellow American actor Matt Damon cofounded Water.org in 2009, while musician and movie star Alicia Keys co-created HIV-focused organization Keep a Child Alive in 2003.
Such a diversity of talents shouldering the mantle of doing good in the world seems to align poetically with Zelocchi’s outlook on art and creativity. The actor shares, “Every beautiful thing in nature and art, including music & photography, deeply drives me.”
We can glean a little more about the go-getter attitude that urges celebrities to harness their fame in such a constructive way thanks to Zelocchi’s shared wisdom on approaching life: “If you deeply believe in yourself.. miracles happen.” No doubt, this capacity to lean into belief is something that the actor shares with the likes of Danny Thomas, Oprah, Matt Damon, and other multi-faceted celebrity miracle workers besides.
Will These Famous Celebrities With a Conscience Surprise You?
• Star of the Danny Thomas Show founded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 1962
• Jackie Chan created the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation in 1988
• Television host Oprah Winfrey launched the Angel Network in 1998
• Titanic actor Leo founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998
• Alecia Keys cofounded Keep a Child Alive with a focus on HIV and Aids in 2003
• Jennifer Lopez started the healthcare-centric Lopez Family Foundation in 2009
• The Laughing Man Foundation was created by Hugh Jackman in 2011
• Enzo Zelocchi began building revolutionary healthcare platform A-Medicare in 2019
A Multi-Award Winning Movie Star Branches Out
Ambition is certainly something that Enzo Zelocchi has never lacked. He began his career in the public eye as a teen model in Milan, Italy, before transitioning into acting in commercials and television shows. As his prestige grew and he began to dabble in producing the features in which he starred, Zelocchi also squeezed in time to study accounting and marketing—this was a man determined to be more than just a pretty face or a fictional character.
Over his years in the world of cinema, Zelocchi has been a powerful advocate for industry equity and diversity, championing a spectrum of creatives at every opportunity. Turning his hand to writing, producing, and directing alongside acting, the visionary artist pulled off a feat that few accomplish, combining all four talents in a dizzying number of his productions. Examples include films such as Angel’s Apocalypse, My Little Princess, and his most recent masterpiece No War, which saw the actor take the lead role as a CIA operative tasked with locating weapons of mass destruction in present-day war-torn Ukraine.
Fascinatingly, No War was something of a spontaneous production—one driven by how affected Zelocchi was by the current conflict between Russia and the West. Shelving a previously planned action-horror flick, Zelocchi was able to completely reinvent the creative direction of his next project thanks to his status as production leader, writer, director, and leading man. Inspiringly, Zelocchi cast real-life Ukrainian refugee Emiliia Nimak as his angelic child co-star.
This epic story was well received and rewarded with over 40 awards in various film festivals, including t the Cannes World Film Festival, Cineddiction Spotlight Film Awards, Halicarnassus Film Festival, Rome International Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, Milan Gold Awards, and Barcelona Planet Film Festival. However, it was research when writing the film My Little Princess that prompted the multi-talent to initiate a quest to mastermind a novel solution to the healthcare crisis impacting so many across the United
States.
Leveraging Cinema Success to Mastermind a Healthcare Solution
Ahead of its 2010 release, Zelocchi was working on the script for My Little Princess when he began to deep-dive on the state of American healthcare. His fictional take follows the story of a doting father and his terminally-ill daughter, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. As Zelocchi explored what similar families must navigate within the American medical system, he encountered alarming statistics, such as that only a little over half of U.S. citizens enjoy employer-based insurance coverage and a staggering 30 million Americans have no coverage at all.
Zelocchi could see that solving this problem would require a modern approach, and so he brainstormed what would ultimately evolve into A-Medicare, a groundbreaking healthcare technology platform that draws upon contemporary resources such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Dubbed the “Amazon of Healthcare,” this cutting-edge resource aims to allow government spending to go further by streamlining the way that healthcare is provided, benefiting society as a whole in the process.
In getting such an ambitious project off the ground, Zelocchi’s status as a social media influencer has certainly aided his rallying cry for support. With millions of followers across Instagram and other platforms, the star has an instant audience for his role as A-Medicare CEO. Just like the trailblazing celebrity altruists who have gone before him, Zelocchi might actually be on a course to change the world—and the world is certainly watching,
Enzo Zelocchi – Afternoon in Paris
Enzo Zelocchi – “NO WAR” – Trailer
https://instagram.com/enzozelocchi