Born in Venezuela to a Sicilian father and Turinese mother, Solarino was raised in Northern Italy and grew up surrounded by culture. As a student, she majored in philosophy but turned her direction to acting in 2000 when she auditioned for the prestigious northern Italian acting school, Teatro Stabile di Torino, and was selected to enroll in their program. After following the three-year intesive course, she received her first acting job shortly after graduation; a role in Mimmo Calopresi's 2003 film, La felicità non costa niente (Happiness Costs Nothing). One year later, she accepted the role of Bea in Giovanni Veronese's Che ne sarà di noi (What Will Happen to Us). The role turned out to be life changing for the actress. She fell in love with the director, and 10 years later, the couple is still going strong.


You were born in Venezuela. Your father is Sicilian
and your mother is from Torino. How has all of that culture influenced you as
an actress?
My physical features are very typical of the south. I'm of Sicilian heritage and so that's perfect for representing someone southern, but I can also easily represent someone northern because there are many Sicilians in the north. So, I can certainly portray the Mediterranean type.
My physical features are very typical of the south. I'm of Sicilian heritage and so that's perfect for representing someone southern, but I can also easily represent someone northern because there are many Sicilians in the north. So, I can certainly portray the Mediterranean type.
With Valeria Solarino after our interview in NYC, 2014 |
About 15 years ago. My mother was a stage actress when she was young, and although I never saw her perform, she took me to the theater a lot and it was sort of something that I had inside of me. So, I decided one day when there were auditions for a school- the Teatro Stabili of Torino, an important acting school, that I would try out. I did the audition and I got in. From that point, it was like 8 hours a day every day of the week for three years. While I was there, I realized that this is my life.
Let's talk about two of your films that are available in
America. First, Purple Sea. Angela is such a strong, complex character. Tell me what it was
like to portray her.
This was a very beautiful character for me to do. From the very start, it was good. The movie was adapted from a book. I was fortunate because I had plenty of time to read it, and to really get to know the character. So I went into the project wholeheartedly.
Which qualities of that character did you appreciate or
identify with the most?This was a very beautiful character for me to do. From the very start, it was good. The movie was adapted from a book. I was fortunate because I had plenty of time to read it, and to really get to know the character. So I went into the project wholeheartedly.
The aspect I appreciated the most is how I shared this idea of love between two people independently of their gender. We were shooting some very delicate scenes between two women, scenes that you don't generally see in Italian cinema. But I had no problem to do them because I saw this as a story of love between two people.
Watch Purple Sea..
Another strong woman that you portrayed was Consuelo in Angel of Evil.
Yes, I really loved playing that role and working with the director, Michele Placido, and the great actor, Kim Rossi Stuart. He's the kind of actor where all you have to do is look at him and you are able to respond as you need to. Being able to depend on someone like him when you're doing a film is a great experience.
Watch Angel of Evil...
What were your challenges in portraying that character?
It was a complex character and I was always trying to keep a balance with her eternal sweetness and that kind of tough, provocative side that you need to survive in such a tough environment. So I tried to bring these qualities into the character; both this sort of sweetness with a more provocative side, which is a more decisive thing you see in her when she decides to leave because that was such a hard life that she had to face and you have to be very strong to survive in such a tough world.
It was a complex character and I was always trying to keep a balance with her eternal sweetness and that kind of tough, provocative side that you need to survive in such a tough environment. So I tried to bring these qualities into the character; both this sort of sweetness with a more provocative side, which is a more decisive thing you see in her when she decides to leave because that was such a hard life that she had to face and you have to be very strong to survive in such a tough world.
During the Q&A at Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, 2014 |
The inspiration behind this film was a little piece in
the newspaper, Il Messaggero, about two
street sweepers in Rome who were meeting in the dawn and talking about The Critique of Pure Reason by the German philosopher Immanuel
Kant. If you think about it, it would make you laugh but it's also a startling
reality. The director said, "This is a world that I want to talk about." This is
something happening in Italian society and also throughout the world where you
see how talented people are not able to express themselves. This lent itself as a starting point to tell a story in the style of a
comedy.
Valeria Solarino currently has four films in production,
which include Michele Placido's latest project, La Scelta.
Solarino's films, The Purple Sea and The Evil Angel are
both available stateside through Amazon.
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