Sault native Giordano loves meeting people, sharing their stories as a U.S. TV talk show host

Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Sistina Giordano has found her niche, meeting people and sharing their stories as co-host of Bridge Street, a morning talk show on WSYR, an ABC TV affiliate in Syracuse, New York.

Bridge Street airs weekdays at 10 a.m.

“When I was a little girl my mother left me home alone for the first time for about 10 minutes and I cried the whole time, and now here I am in another country, that’s quite remarkable,” Giordano chuckled, speaking to SooToday.

“I like what I’m doing because for one hour every day I get to learn and share something I didn’t know before, teach something, change somebody’s perspective, or make somebody feel good, or inspire somebody to something good for somebody else.”

“That’s why I love what I do.”

Giordano’s current role as a TV talk show host comes after first studying theatre and being involved in U.S. show business.

Growing up in the Sault, Giordano attended the former St. Basil Secondary School for three years before completing her high school education at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy near Traverse City.

“There are 60 spots in the drama department, from freshman to senior year. The chances of getting in are slim, but I auditioned and got in,” Giordano said, expressing gratitude for the support she received from her parents in her career aspirations.

She later studied drama at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York before going to Syracuse University.

Graduating from Syracuse with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, Giordano went to seek work as an actor in New York City.

“I did the usual thing that most people do when I went to live in New York, I worked as a waitress...I did some regional theatre in the city and auditioned a lot. It was really tough.”

Giordano, however, can look back on her acting career with fondness, having appeared in an episode of The Sopranos, a famous U.S. crime drama television series starring James Gandolfini as mobster Tony Soprano, which ran from 1999 to 2007.  

Giordano portrayed Donna Amato in the 2007 Sopranos episode entitled Walk Like a Man.

“Ironically I got the part, because when I auditioned for the role the first time I was sick and had lost my voice, so I went home and hoped for the best, but before I knew it I was on the set in Queens where I did my final audition and landed the role.”

“When you sit down to read the script and you get on set with James Gandolfini, it’s a ‘pinch me’ moment,” Giordano said.

“The actors had all kinds of trailers on set and I had a small one for myself, it was the coolest thing.”

Giordano met and chatted with the show’s cast members, including Gandolfini.

“It was extremely intimidating at first, but everybody who’s met him and worked with him will say he’s very shy, painfully shy. He’s larger than life, playing larger than life roles, but when the director yelled ‘cut’ he was the biggest teddy bear and quietest man in the world, so bashful.”

Having had her photo taken with Gandolfini, Giordano was shocked and saddened upon learning of the actor’s death at the age of 51 in 2013.

“It was devastating. I think he was one of the good ones, who really struggled to make his way. Current events and veterans mattered to him. He was really respected and the fact he’s no longer here is sad because we saw what he did and he could’ve achieved more.”

From acting, Giordano made the transition to news reporting and broadcasting when her then-husband, who she had met in college, expressed a desire to move back to central New York.

“I wondered if I could become a reporter, to find another way...the reason I got into theatre was because I like being on a platform to make people think, telling people a story, teaching them something, changing their perspective, so I figured if I could do that in a different realm, in journalism, I’d be happy.”

Returning to Syracuse University and completing a graduate program in journalism, Giordano did an internship with a newspaper, then traveled across the U.S. as a university recruiter before eventually becoming Bridge Street co-host at WSYR in 2014.

Because Syracuse is home to CNY Film Hub, a film studio, actors are known to visit the community and speak with Giordano on Bridge Street.

“We get some interesting celebs, we had Tom Berenger (an actor best known for his role in the 1986 film Platoon) a few months ago, Daniel Baldwin, we interviewed him, we get a lot of comedians, athletes like Alex Tuch (of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, a Syracuse native)...Syracuse is a really interesting community. People would be surprised to know there’s a lot going on,” Giordano said.

She also interviewed William Shatner, of Star Trek fame, by satellite.

“That was a year ago. He was a really sweet man, really well versed, and he spoke to me about Canada and being Canadian, which was cool. It was neat to sit and chat with him.”

Celebrity interviews aside, Giordano said “the stories I really love covering are the human interest stories, like a family that comes in which has lost a child to cancer and are organizing a benefit. For me that’s the most rewarding part of my job.”

She tries to visit the Sault and family once or twice each year.

“Sault Ste. Marie, and Canada in general, will always feel like home. Syracuse has become home because I live and work here, I’m raising two children here and this is their home, but I’m really proud of the community I came from. I’m really proud to be Canadian, we have a lot of really great things going for us. Where I came from helped shape who I am today.”