Basilicata-born Actress Alessandra Romano Baudelaire Making her Mark in Hollywood

Nestled in the Dolomite mountains of southern Italy's rich, historic region of Basilicata, Castelmezzano radiates the same southern beauty as its own Alessandra Romano Baudelaire, a stunning, talented filmmaker who left for Los Angeles to work as an actress. Although the move took courage and sacrifice, Romano Baudelaire has found her share of success in both leading and supporting roles.

After having recently visited her picturesque hometown and meeting members of her beautiful family, I can understand how the sincere passion for her work and the desire to make the world a better place through her art ignited her need to give it all she had and chase after her dream.

Romano Baudelaire and I have been connected for some time on social media. In light of wanting to know more about the young people of her region- why some stay and others leave- I asked her about her work, her love of acting and her dreams for the future.

Tell me about your work as an actress.

In Italy, everyone is a sort of an actor. Italy is really the country of theatre. As children, we do a lot of theatre. Then it might happen that the ‘game’ becomes your work. I was lucky enough to collaborate with top Italian theatre people such as Christan Ginepro, Isabella Urbano, Tonino Centola and many more. However, my real passion is cinema and LA is the best city for that. When I got to LA, I attended the NYFA (New York Film Academy). I was very lucky because right after graduating, I was chosen for two feature roles; one with Robert Woods, that for me was a dream come true since he is very big in Italy. He was in all the spaghetti western movies. But also, at that time, I was a spokesmodel for an American/Persian company. Recently, I worked on an Origo media production television show in a leading role, playing Rosenda and I also got cast for two other pilots where I was the lead again. One of those is a funny dating TV show (Rickshaw Romance!). The other one is a pilot, My Life After, where I play a Dominican brokenhearted daughter that lost her dad during a plane crash. I hope we’ll see those on TV very soon. I just worked as a cast member for a truTV show that is going to be on in September, but I also got notified that one of the ultra low budget shorts I’ve done as a supporting role, Very Bad Words, just received an award and one of the reasons for it was the performance of the actors…I am really happy and grateful.

Alessandra Romano Baudelaire's hometown, Castelmezzano, Italy

When did you realize that acting was your calling?

I am a very curious person that likes to explore all the nuances that the world offers us. Acting, as a form of art, gives me the freedom to reach a new unexpected genuine truth. I really think that any talent we have should be used to serve people. As artists, I think we have the responsibility to show the best part of us everyday in order to inspire others. Being creative is really something that gives me happiness. It makes me feel alive and joyful and close to the beauty of the universe.

Did you study acting before arriving in Los Angeles?

I’ve been taking acting classes all my life. I studied acting at the Smile Academy in Potenza, and at the Roma Tre Dams. I also had many coaches, two of them really made a difference for me: Natalia Florenskaja and Ivana Chubbuck.

Do you have any family in Los Angeles? Tell me something about your life there and how you have assimilated into the culture.

I am here really by myself, although I was lucky enough to find people that really care about me. Even here, I know I can count on someone, and I feel blessed it for it. This city gave me a lot, it teaches how to turn your scars into stars.

What is your dream? Do you have the desire to return to Italy someday to live?

My biggest dream is to work with Terrence Malick. In fact, my university thesis was about the way he approaches the creative process and how he works with the actors. I would love to experience that in person. I know I will retire in Venice. That’s my favorite Italian city. All the magic in the world is hidden there.

Check back for updates on the progress of Romano Baudelaire's two pilots.

Comments

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...

Ornella Muti: Five decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with “La Moglie più bella” (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, “Sole nella pelle” (Sun on the Skin), in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies, with its political climate, breathtaking seaside, and the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and captures the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with "Flash Gordon." She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including “Oscar,” directed by John Landis and starring Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, and Sylvester Stallone. In 1992, she w...

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty. He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence. Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

The Timeless Vision of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pondering his films and poetry, I wonder if the uniqueness of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films was rooted in his unconventional childhood. Born in Bologna in 1922, Pasolini's father was a lieutenant in the army, and his family was always moving. He grew up in various small towns in Northern Italy. After his parents separated, he spent most of his time in his mother's hometown of Casarsa, in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. There, he grew to respect the area's peasant culture and began to write poetry in the region's dialect. He studied literature and art history at the University of Bologna and was drafted into the army during World War II. The war proved to be especially tragic for his family as his younger brother was executed by Communist partisans. Following the war, he returned to Casarsa where he worked as a teacher and ironically became a leading member of the Communist party there. Pasolini was later expelled from the party due to allegations of homo...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog