Chris Messina may be an accomplished actor, but he still gets excited when the time comes to audition for famous directors.

Messina, whose directorial debut, “Alex of Venice,” is set for release April 17, stopped by AOL’s Build Series on Wednesday and spoke about a keepsake from 2008’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” that he had framed.

Hey, we’d get excited about a Javier Bardem original, too.

“Alex of Venice” hits theaters April 17.