Meet Vito Giacalone, the 11-year-old from Gloucester featured in DunKings 2 Super Bowl ad
'Forget them suckas,' Affleck claps back, in a thick Boston accent. 'Matt Damon and Tom Brady don't have the heart of a champion. We got a new squad, DunKings sequel! Afflecks and Belichick.'
An exasperated Vito rubs his head as Affleck shouts 'DunKings!' and pumps his fist in the air, while Casey Affleck and Belichick make halfhearted fist pumps.
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In the DunKings 2 ad, Vito Giacalone, 11, can't believe that Matt Damon and Tom Brady aren't part of the DunKings.
Lia Giacalone/courtesy photo
It was game on as the DunKings, dressed in bright pink-and-orange tracksuits, competed against rival chains in the 'JavaJam Battle of the Coffee Brand Bands.'
Vito, sixth-grader at O'Maley Innovation Middle School in Gloucester, watched the amusing commercial with his family and 'a lot' of friends at their home Sunday night.
'We had a big Super Bowl party with my family,' Vito, who wore his DunKings tracksuit for the party, said in an interview Monday night. '[There were] 20 kids, [and] 50 people in total.'
Vito wore his DunKings 2 tracksuit during Sunday's Super Bowl with his family at their Gloucester home.
Lia Giacalone/courtesy photo
Vito hails from a long line of Gloucester fishermen. His father, Vito, and uncles, own a wharf in the famed port.
Vito and his mother, Lia, sent in an audition tape for the commercial at the end of December, Lia said in a phone interview with the Globe.
'It was literally an audition recording from my phone,' Lia said. 'And his headshot was his school photo.'
The 11-year-old submitted his school photo as his head shot to casting directors.
Lia Giacalone/courtesy photo
They got a call back to meet with the directors in early January, and he was told he got the role and flew out to Los Angeles a few days later, Lia said.
'I auditioned for it, and next thing you know I'm on a plane to L.A.,' Vito said.
Shortly after they arrived, Vito said that he and his family had to be evacuated from the area, near Sunset Hill, due to the raging wildfires.
'The production team was awesome, they relocated us, and we only got pushed out a couple of days and then we finally got to film,' Vito said.
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When Vito met Ben Affleck, he said the Oscar winner complimented the boy's audition video.
'Ben saw my films and he said, 'Oh, I saw your films, they were awesome,'' Vito said.
He said he also got to toss a football around with the Affleck brothers.
'They were so cool, and they were so funny,' Vito said. 'I never expected their personalities to be so kind, they were so kind to me.'
Among the other celebrities he got to meet was Belichick. Vito said he got to shake hands with the former Patriots coach.
'He was very serious,' Vito said. 'All he said was, 'nice to meet you,' and I said nice to meet you back.
'I was so excited to meet him because I'm a Patriots fan,' Vito said. 'I was starstruck.'
Watching the commercial, which also features Boston-born actor Jeremy Strong of Succession fame, was a special moment for Vito.
'I was blown away, it was so cool,' Vito said.
Prior to the DunKings commercial, Vito said his only other role was a Bert in a school production of Mary Poppins, but he said he would like to continue his acting career.
'I'd love to,' Vito said.
Vito in the arms of actor Ben Affleck, with Boston-born actor Jeremy Strong dressed as Paul Revere, in a scene from DunKings 2: The Movie, a 7-minute production on YouTube. It was not featured in the Super Bowl commercial promoting Dunkin'.
Lia Giacalone/courtesy photo
Adam Sennott can be reached at
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