An Interview with Alessio Pescatori, Star of Bet Dead Casino

by Mike Haberfelner

March 2026

Films starring Alessio Pescatori on (re)Search my Trash

Your new movie Bet Dead Casino - in a few words, what's it about?

It’s a movie about a website where people bet on real fights. It’s a very original story, and people are really appreciating the film. I was honored to be part of it and to open the movie in the very first scene. It’s not the first time that this has happened in my career , I also opened a Thai TV series,.I appeared in the opening scenes of the series KinnPorsche, which became very famous in China and across Asia. I also had an acting role in the opening scene of a Russian TV series, where I performed a very crazy stunt.

Your scene in Bet Dead Casino is basically a fight scene - so how did you prepare for it, and to what extent did it reflect your personal fighting style?

I train a lot,, realistically speaking, maybe even too much. I train up to fifteen sessions per week. Three to four days a week I train three times per day.In the morning I do about 45 minutes of stretching and conditioning to the pain, to prepare my body and increase pain tolerance. Then I train Muay Thai or martial arts for around two hours. In the evening I go to the gym for another two-hour strength session.I train in Muay Thai, boxing and other martial arts, and I also practice, design and create combos and technique of my own designed style named extreme combat, which is a blend of Muay Thai, Lethwei, Dutch kick boxing, boxing and old-school Karate. Any combinations, with the proper adjustments, would work in a real fight (where my style comes from) or in a street fight or in front of the camera.

How did you get involved with the project in the first place, what drew you to it?

I  became involved in this project thanks to Ron, who introduced me to the team. Through him I met Byron, and we became very good friends.

What can you tell us about Bet Dead Casino*s director Taffy Edwards, and what was your collaboration like?

One of the interesting things about the film industry is that sometimes you work on a project without meeting everyone involved. In this case I didn’t get the chance to meet the director yet, but I’m looking forward to it. However, the atmosphere on set was amazing.

Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere!

We prepared for more than 30 hours of rehearsals. We would meet and train for several hours each time. On the shooting day we worked about 10 or 11 hours straight with almost no break. On the second day we shot for another six hours.

Any future projects you'd like to share?

I recently received an acting role in the main cast of a movie where I will also work as the fight choreographer. Last year I've been the lead actor and fight choreographer of a teaser, as Netflix is interested in the script.

Before we dive into your film career so far, why don't we start with your career as a martial artist - so what can you tell us about your background as a fighter, and your accomplishments in that field?

My martial arts journey is a long story. I started when I was nine years old with full contact Karate. I trained eight or nine times per week for about two hours each session. I started competing when I was twelve years old. I had around 130 Karate competitions and won approximately 120 of them. time, and it became an obsession. I used to train 2 to 3 hours a day, from 6 to 9 times a week. One hour of conditioning to the pain, everyday, we were beating the hell out of each others each training. We’d challenge ourselves to who would have a more purple belly at the end. It was very physical, very painful, and i loved it. In that time we would do yearly live shows and we designed our fights, an experience as fight choreographer that now truly helps in what I do. We were training in a gym without Tatami, heater or I began competing at a very young age. But I always had a particular needrf, the need to fight with as few rules as possible.

At the 12th year of Karate, I’ve started Viet Vo Dao simultaneously, then quit Karate and I finally switched to Muay Thai, because unfortunately, Lethwei (bare-knuckle Burmese fighting with no rules) was nowhere to be found in Italy. I remember waking up at 5am, run, working 10 heavy hours as lifting hundreds of glasses everyday, then run to the gym. At the end of the 2 hours Muay Thai training, I’d jump in the car, reach the other gym to do  my Vovinam training. i won the semi pro champion in 2012, and beat tje semi pro champion in 2012, and beat the previous Italian champion in 2013 in another title match. Even though I had only 7 or 8 fights and he had over 60. I made my amateur debut with a huge ko, and i had quite a long strike win. I remember, at least a dozen of times I couldn’t fight because other athletes refused to face me. I'm a certified black belt (1st dan) Karate instructor, an international Muay Thai and boxing coach, a blue belt in Vovinam, and a street fight instructor. I’ve been doing combat sports since 1996. I’ve always had a deep love for the art of fighting. I also studied it through books and documentaries. After twelve years of  Karate I became an instructor and earned my black belt, first dan. During that time I also competed in kickboxing and earned a blue belt in Viet vo dao.

When I was twelve years old I got my first computer. The first thing I searched online was “What is the most violent sport in the world?” — which tells you what kind of mindset I had as a kid. That’s when I discovered Muay Thai and Lethwei, and I immediately thought: This is what I want to do. I wanted to fight with as few rules as possible. In 2009 I finally started training Muay Thai, and I fell in love with it. I won about 16 -17 amateur fights in a row before having my pro debut. My first professional fight was against a former Italian champion, and I won. Often I fought opponents with much more experience than me. Sometimes I had one fight and my opponent had twenty-four. I had four fights and my opponent had forty. It was crazy, but I kept winning. There were even periods when I couldn’t get fights because opponents didn’t want to face me.

What made you want to cross over into movies eventually, and did you receive any formal training in the subject?

Acting has always been my other big dream . probably the most difficult one. But I always knew that one day I would end up in front of a camera. It’s not about motivation. It’s something I always felt inside.

What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Bet Dead Casino?

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find Alessio Pescatori at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find Alessio Pescatori here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai

Actors, martial artists, whoever else who inspire you?

My inspirations come from classic action movies and actors like Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Tony Jaa, and Bruce Lee. But if I had to name my biggest inspirations as actors, I would say Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe and Tom Hardy.

Your favourite movies?

Some of my favorite movies are Braveheart, Fight Club, The Last Samurai, Sin City and Watchmen.

Thanks for the interview!

© by Mike Haberfelner

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