L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano A fter the interna- tional success of T h e W h i t e L o t u s , w h i c h e a r n e d h e r a n Emmy nomination and the admiration of the American audience, Sabrina Impac- ciatore has become one of Hollywood's most beloved Italian actresses. The second season of the popular series, filmed in Sicily across Taormi- na, Cefalù, and Noto, was a hit with both critics and viewers, even leading to her appear- ance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "When I was eight, I wrote in my diary, 'One day I will be an actress, and my life will be a movie,'" she told the host, smiling. "Sometimes it has been a horror movie, but that's fine: I never specified the genre." Originally from Rome, Sab- r i n a n o w d i v i d e s h e r l i f e between Italy and Los Ange- les, where in recent months she has been working on the s e t o f T h e P a p e r , a n e w series produced by Peacock a n d a s p i n - o f f o f t h e acclaimed The Office. She plays Esmeralda, an explo- sive, witty, manipulative yet irresistibly human woman. " A t f i r s t i t w a s d i f f i c u l t , because I'm a very transpar- ent person," the actress tells us. "It was complicated to understand how such a cun- ning mind works. I'm still try- ing to figure out Esmeralda: what drives her, what she wants. Then I asked myself: how can I make her charm- ing? And I thought of Tweety, the canary. Whatever Tweety does, it does to survive. That's also true for Esmeralda: if she doesn't fight, she loses every- thing." Which other characters did you draw inspiration from to create Esmeral- da? I thought of Gilda, and the divas of old Hollywood. On t h e f i r s t d a y o f f i l m i n g , I arrived already theatrically styled, just to make a spectac- ular entrance in front of the creators. I even brought my own lights, because the series is filmed so realistically that sometimes the lighting isn't f l a t t e r i n g . I h a d a p a n i c moment: "Oh my God, I look awful!" The creators thought i t w a s h i l a r i o u s , a n d n o w Esmeralda really has her own lighting on set. From the start, my goal was that next Hal- loween people would dress up as Esmeralda. I wanted to cre- ate an icon. We designed a look with long nails, dramatic hair, gold accessories, and form-fitting clothes – never p a n t s . I w a n t e d h e r t o embody pure femininity and use it as power, as a weapon. After The White Lotus, what made you choose a project so different, set in a newsroom? After working on such a p o p u l a r s e r i e s , y o u f e e l you've peaked and that an opportunity like that may never come again. Yet incred- ible calls came, like the one from director Julian Schn- abel, who wanted me for his film In the Hand of Dante without an audition. I had j u s t r e t u r n e d f r o m t h r e e months of filming in Cape T o w n w i t h V i o l a D a v i s , shooting the action film G20. Then, on a 24-hour flight, an agent sent me the audition for The Paper: 11 pages to p r e p a r e i n 2 4 h o u r s . I thought, "I can't do it!" But in the end, I did. How did the audition go? I felt like a wild animal, improvising, forgetting lines. After 45 minutes, they said, "You made us laugh so much. Can you redo it in two days with the actual lines?" So I began memorizing the mater- ial, in a language that's not mine. It was hell, but incredi- ble. And I was cast in two major roles at the same time. I c r i e d f o r h o u r s t u r n i n g d o w n t h e o t h e r p r o j e c t , because it was amazing. But now I'm here: Esmeralda is in my heart. W h i c h a s p e c t s o f Esmeralda feel like you? The only thing we have in common is that we are both Italian. At first, I had to study an American accent, then they told me: "Your accent is fine. We'll rewrite the charac- ter as an Italian woman mar- ried to an American, mar- riage over, now with a child." W e s h a r e t h e A m e r i c a n d r e a m : I ' m l i v i n g i t , a n d Esmeralda wants it, too. I wanted her to be different f r o m V a l e n t i n a i n W h i t e L o t u s . V a l e n t i n a w a s reserved, almost shy; Esmer- alda is explosive, exuberant, a little crazy. How have you learned t o h a n d l e f a i l u r e throughout your career? I've failed all my life. I'm used to suffering and accept- ing pain. I fought hard to get here. Whatever happens, I don't care. I could die in half an hour, happy. It's not ego joy, it's for the soul. All that suffering, choices, sacrifices… in the end, it was all perfect. I've become richer as a per- son. I don't want to become selfish just because I'm in Hollywood. I want the right to fall. Life has its highs and lows: we have to face them and enjoy this crazy, painful, wonderful journey. What is your earliest memory of acting? I was eight, at school, in the Christmas play. I had to play Mary. I had no idea what to do, but someone put a veil on my head, and I thought, "I can do this. Why not?" That feeling stayed with me: being able to be anyone, just by wearing something. When did you realize you wanted to pursue it as a career? At 18, though I thought I wasn't pretty enough. I stud- ied with many teachers in Italy, from Carmelo Bene to American instructors from the Actors Studio. I had no money, so I did cleaning jobs to attend classes. Up at 5 a.m., cleaning, then classes… but it was my passion. When did the turning point come? Thanks to Gianni Boncom- pagni, a brilliant talent scout, I s t a r t e d o n T V , p l a y i n g comic characters. I worked every day until becoming well-known in Italy. I studied with at least 15 American coaches, and my mentor Jack Waltzer in Paris, for many years. Your first major film role on the big screen? In 2000, Ettore Scola cast me in his film Concorrenza Sleale. Then, around four or five years ago, someone told me, "Now we need 25-year- old actresses." That was dev- astating. Then the pandemic arrived… I thought about quitting. But I kept studying Shakespeare online, purely for pleasure. Finally, came the audition for White Lotus. Tell us about it. I hadn't seen the series, so I watched the entire first sea- son in one night. I immedi- ately felt it was the right fit; it w a s m y w o r l d . I s p e n t 1 2 hours a day rehearsing, to exhaustion. Finally, I sent in my material, and two days later, they called: "You were f a n t a s t i c ! " F r o m t h a t moment, my life changed. SILVIA NITTOLI One-on-one with Sabrina Impacciatore, Hollywood's beloved Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore on the set of The Paper ((Photo: Aaron Epstein/PEACOCK) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

• Cover