Jesse Williams Reveals Which ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Lessons He Took to the Italian Coast for ‘Hotel Costiera’: “There’s a Lot of Potential Here”

[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Hotel Costiera.]

The six-episode series Hotel Costiera, streaming on Prime Video, follows Daniel De Luca (Jesse Williams), a half-Italian former U.S. marine who returns to Italy as a fixer on the Amalfi Coast. When Daniel is not driving his scooter around the side of a mountain while singing Biz Markie, solving problems for wealthy guests, including retrieving the odd kidnapped dog or finding a missing spouse, at a luxury Italian resort requires him to make use of certain skills that he’s acquired. But Daniel has an even bigger problem to solve when he’s tasked with tracking down the hotel owner’s missing daughter, who may or may not have been abducted. All of this leads to a reveal that could make a possible second season more personal for Daniel.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Williams discussed how that musical introduction to his character came about, what the executive producer title allowed him to do, what he learned from the time he spent on Grey’s Anatomy and the impact it made on him, how much the character evolved and grew, his love of playing the comedy, doing as much of his own stunts as possible, and his hopes for a possible Season 2.

Jesse Williams Had a Hand in His ‘Hotel Costiera’ Character’s Memorable Introduction

“I certainly chose the song.”

Collider: I love a good character introduction, and at the start of the series, you’re driving a scooter on the side of a mountain while singing Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend.” Did you pick the song? How many times did you have to sing that song? Did you go insane with having to hear it over and over again?

JESSE WILLIAMS: That’s a good question. I did pick it in honor of Biz, who we lost recently. It’s such a contagious song from my childhood. We had to do a few takes. There are times, for sure, when I’ve been involved with something that had a song that becomes an earworm that just drives you insane, but I didn’t have to do it that many times. We were able to shoot it in a couple different ways simultaneously. Whipping that scooter up and down the coast for another take, I wasn’t mad at that. It was really dreamy. But we were able to get it done quickly enough. It didn’t become a burden. I certainly chose the song, combined with that terrible outfit, which was almost as bad as my singing.

What did being an executive producer on this allow you to do that you wouldn’t have been able to do without the title? Titles like producer, executive producer, and even showrunner encompass so much that they feel like jobs that can be personally tailored to the individual on their strengths. What do you like to use it for?

WILLIAMS: I’ve used it in many ways. I’ve been a producer on a variety of things and made different contributions in each at different levels and involvement in this. With this, I was the most involved of any time that I’ve had the title from the very beginning of character development, casting, story direction, plot points, hiring a writer, costumes, and a whole range of things in collaboration with our leader, Adam Bernstein, and the team. What it allowed for me to do that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to was to share honest input without feeling like overstepping because it actually was my role and was expected of me. I earned that spot from doing and I belonged there in that way, so that felt appropriate. But more important was to be able to be privy to all the conversations and things that factor into every decision and learn.

Adam, our director, directed Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Fargo, 30 Rock, and Scrubs. It’s a real range there, of styles and tempos and paces and tones. And we’re building out an original idea. We’re not a franchise, we’re not based on IP, we’re not based on a video game. We don’t have anything that’s going to bring us an audience. We have to go out and get an audience from scratch. And I’m the only American in the show. I don’t have other American co-stars to rely on to attract an audience. That meant we really had to do our work and really be prepared. I was really happy to roll up my sleeves and do that with this team.

It must be even more rewarding to see the finished product.

WILLIAMS: Yeah, it absolutely is. Fingers crossed for September 24th and the weeks that follow. I think we’re going to really find and reward our audience with something. Building it from the mud, it is going to feel that much better in success.

When you’ve spent as much time working on one project while playing the same character, like you did on Grey’s Anatomy, what does it teach you about acting, about being a co-star, and about yourself? Does your time playing that character with the people you got to work with hold a special place in your heart, and do you think it always will?

WILLIAMS: It does, and it always will. You’re getting your 10,000 hours, as Malcolm Gladwell said. You’re putting in the time. You’re getting a lot of wisdom from experience, as an actor, as a scene partner, as a co-creative. Some ideas sound better on paper. Some things play great in the table read. Some things made sense yesterday, but the world has changed and that actually has a different connotation now. You’ve just got to learn to be adaptable. We make these things, and they don’t come out for a year sometimes. Some shows you make, and it comes out three weeks later. How does that change the way we mold the project? I got a hell of a lot of experience in a pretty compressed period of time, even though I started acting later in life, so that all applies. It’s all actually been really helpful.

When you put it on paper, the character in this series is a Black and Italian-American ex-Marine who works as a fixer at a coastal hotel in Italy. There are a lot of elements in that one character. How developed was the character when you started working on this? How much did he grow and evolve and change before you actually started shooting?

WILLIAMS: A tremendous amount, but that footprint was there. Those adjectives that you just used were there. He was American and Italian. He became half-Black and Italian because it was me. There was a world written in Italian that had to be translated in English, so that I could read it and think about it. And then, we started molding it from there with each of these characters. Exploring that rudderlessness between quarter-life and midlife crisis, and then the crossroads of being this duality of citizen and military. If you’re a thief and now you’re catching thieves, what does that do to your sensibility? You’re a rough-and-tumble, ass-kicking guy, and you also seem to have a sensitive side and a humorous side, but they’re all struggling in search for each other. That’s a dream scenario to play because there’s a lot of ways to go and a lot of ways to communicate the truth of those scenes.

When you’ve been an actor who has spent time further down the call sheet, which every actor has, how does that affect and influence how you want to lead on set? Are there other number ones on the call sheet, that you worked with over the years, that you were inspired by and wanted to mold your own leadership style after?

WILLIAMS: I didn’t start acting until I was 29, so I didn’t come to this business with some of the bad habits that I would have if I started as a teenager or in my early 20s. I came in as an adult who waited tables and was in the service industry and taught high school kids. I’ve been kicked around and I understand what it feels like to be treated as less than, as a waiter or something like that. I treat service people well. I treat people well, in general. So, no matter where I am on the call sheet, and I really mean this, it hasn’t changed the way I treat human beings. I do understand that you always lead by example and, having been number 19 or 45 or 7 on a call sheet, people don’t remember that. They remember how you treated them and what your experience was with them, so I make sure to be pretty consistent in that. I took my responsibility seriously, though I did not overthink it. Working on story development with the team and being involved in the casting of everybody who’s there, that work is already done. Now, it’s time to play. We’re partners. I’m not your leader or your boss, I’m your scene partner. I’m like, “I’ve got some ideas. Do you have any ideas for me? Let’s collaborate and tinker with the material?” I think that not only is the kindest approach, but it also the most productive approach.

Jesse Williams Loved the Opportunity to Feed His Comedic Appetite With ‘Hotel Costiera’

“I respect comedy.”

Credit: Prime Video

You’ve talked about the comedy in this and how it really pushed you to keep up with your co-stars, comedically. Actors tend to get pushed more into comedy or into drama, so it seems like a blend and a mix of the two is the ideal and the most fun to do. What did you enjoy about getting to really play into the comedy of this? Are there things that you’ve discovered you really enjoy about comedy that you didn’t realize?

WILLIAMS: I loved it. My career needs to catch up to my comedic appetite. I love comedy. I respect comedy. I respect what goes into the writing and performance and execution of comedic moments. That’s why I did Only Murders in the Building. That’s what I wanted to hit in this role and got to do it with a whole range of actors. The British actors, Jordan Alexander and Sam Haygarth, are both so funny. That British sensibility and creative timing is something that really raised me. I grew up on a lot of British comedies, so that was something I really looked forward to. That’s a feeling you’re chasing because there’s always a way to get it better. That was certainly a highlight for me.

In order to succeed in the kind of business he’s in, he has to remain cool and unfazed by things, and act and react under pressure in ways that some people might not be able to do. Do you feel like the military discipline really comes into play in that sense? How much has that really shaped him and helped him succeed with what he does?

WILLIAMS: Absolutely. The military discipline provides this anchor point, this foundational footing for whatever comes at him. It’s not going to blow him all the way over because when you’re in the military, or an organization like that, you have a checklist. You have go-to positioning that helps you perform under pressure and make decisions without having to toil. You just have to click in with sense memory. That is a real character trait that I think helps stabilize him, no matter who he’s talking to or what about.

Do you enjoy getting to do the physical side of this? You get to punch some people and you get some fun fight sequences. Do you enjoy that kind of stuff? Did you have a favorite stunt moment?

WILLIAMS: I love that kind of stuff. I’m a simple man, in that regard. I love some good ass-kicking it, and being physical and pushing myself and being expressive in that way. One of my funnest action scenes was probably the motorcycle chase that turns into a fight off my motorcycle, on top of the stairs. I had to stunt coordinate off the bike with Jess Khan-Lee, an incredible actress and stunt woman, and then get back on the bike and whip it down the stairs. That was pretty great. I had a cool fight sequence on the boat, I think in episode six, with [Jess Liaudin] , this big dude, and that was fun. Being on the water and kicking ass is pretty good.

It sounds like you’re someone who likes to try to do as much of that as you can yourself. Can you get away with doing more when you’re filming in another country?

WILLIAMS: That’s a good question. You have to earn the trust of the stunt coordination team and the director. When you have a big company paying for it, they want to be not held liable for you breaking your damn leg for no reason. I was able to do what I wanted and also have gotten wise enough to not do things that I don’t need to do. Being efficient with that is something that’s come with age.

The First Season of ‘Hotel Costiera’ Planted Seeds for a Possible Season 2

“There’s more to learn about our characters, both in the past and the future.”

This series is left in a way that feels like there’s more story to tell and explore. It also gives the impression that things might get more personal if we get to see more of this. How do you feel about the way things are left at the end of the season, and what most excites you about what you could explore in a Season 2?

WILLIAMS: I feel great about what we’ve accomplished. We’ve planted a lot of seeds. There’s really fertile ground for us to grow as characters in this world that has this revolving door of people and energies coming through. Daniel having some more self-discovery and reassembling that jigsaw puzzle of his memory of the past and who he can be, independent of what was expected of him, is a great opportunity. And also, there’s more to learn about our characters, both in the past and the future. There’s a lot of potential here.

Release Date

September 24, 2025

Network

Prime Video

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  Jesse Williams

  Daniel De Luca

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  Maria Chiara Giannetta

  Adele

Hotel Costiera is available to stream on Prime Video. Check out the trailer: