Sabrina Impacciatore, in a long interview with La Stampa, talked about how her career exploded after just one film made in America: “And to say that I’m a long-time actress, I’ve done these things in other Italian movies. Since 2000!”.
The role of Valentina in the US TV series The White Lotuswas worth a Sabrina Impacciatore an international reputation. The actress, whom Italy has struggled to value, has had her redemption in America. You spoke about it during an interview with La Stampa: “In 20 minutes, my life changed”.
Sabrina Impacciatore and the prejudices suffered in Italy
When it was pointed out to be the only case in which the career of an actress carried out after the age of fifty, Sabrina Impacciatore explained that this is related to the way things work in our country:
Italy could improve on this. I only did one project in America: The White Lotus. Only one! Yet my interpretation has not escaped anyone: bam, suddenly I exploded! And to think that I’m a longtime actress who doesn’t act but always lives the characters she plays: I’ve done these things in other Italian films too. Since 2000! At this point one of the questions is asked.
Therefore, she said she was convinced that she had paid the price for some prejudices about her, linked both to a non-canonical beauty and to the fact that she arrived at the cinema after some experiences on TV:
What prejudices have I discounted? Everyone knows: my television origins, my less canonical beauty… But now, all of a sudden, I’ve become good and beautiful, for the whole world. But here too: what is beauty for an actress? It’s her soul, not her modeling looks.
The idea of a future in America
Although he loves Italy, he believes that now that he has experienced the magic of Hollywood he is “difficult to think of only national projects“. He added that in America he would have the opportunity to put his ideas to good use, while in Italy he often found a wall in front of his proposals:
In America I am happy. There is a sparkling atmosphere of possibilities that is missing here in Italy: here we breathe an air of resignation, instead of a dream. When I say “I’d like to do this idea”, here they look at me like I’m crazy, overseas they get excited. However, I try to keep my feet on the ground: now I have a global reputation, they write to me from New Zealand to South Africa, but I know it’s only a moment. I just hope I don’t go back to the noggin… I speak as a burnt person. I’ve suffered so much that, even though I don’t stop dreaming, I try to be cautious.
She plays Valentina in The White Lotus series
In the role of Valentina in the series The White Lotus
Sabrina Impacciatore then recounted how she chose to characterize the character of Valentina in the series The White Lotus, deviating from how the role was initially thought:
When I read that she was experiencing a conflict with herself because of her sexuality, I felt invested with a greater responsibility, because in Italy being gay is still a problem for many people. Homosexuals are insulted and beaten on the street. Hence my choice to give an emotional key to the character, which on paper was much colder: I proposed the idea to director Mike White during the audition and he was enthusiastic about it. In fact, I really wanted Valentina to be understood and show that love is love. Point.
And he concluded: “Am I proud to have become a queer icon? Very. I don’t have children: this is my way of having children, of feeling useful and of giving a loving meaning to my life“.
Impacciatore: “In Italy prejudice and resignation, in America a film was enough for me to explode”