Sabrina Impacciatore Living the Dream

Whether she’s playing a devoted mother, a biblical figure or a tough but kind hotel manager, Sabrina Impacciatore escapes into the lives and minds of her characters so completely that she often believes she has become them.

Impacciatore had wanted to be an actor since she was just 4 years old, but she grew up insecure about her looks and abilities so she pursued a degree in marketing and advertising instead. Unable to shake her childhood dream, she took up acting as a hobby, which led her to write for television. When she presented one of her scripts, she was asked to audition for it. Setting aside her fears, she gave it a shot, landing that role and many others to follow. Her sense of humor made her a natural for TV comedies.

Legendary director Ettore Scola cast her in her first feature film, opposite Gérard Depardieu, in the 2000 drama “Concorrenza sleale” (Unfair Competition). Her emotionally charged breakout performance came a year later as Livia in Gabriele Muccino’s international blockbuster “L’ultimo bacio” (The Last Kiss). In a 2010 interview with Fra Noi, she described it as “the movie that changed my life.”

In 2004, Mel Gibson cast her as Veronica in his controversial film “The Passion of the Christ.” It was such an intense experience for Impacciatore, she felt as though she had, in fact, become her character. “On the set, there was this incredible atmosphere. Instead of acting, I felt like I was living the experience. I believed that (Jim Caviezel) was Jesus Christ, and I was Veronica,” she explained in our 2010 interview. “I know that sounds crazy. However, when I saw my scenes, I realized that I was indeed living an experience, not just acting.”

After those two high-profile films, she continued to work steadily in Italy, earning a reputation as one of the country’s most talented character actors. In 2010, she reprised her role of Livia in “Baciami ancora” (Kiss Me Again), Muccino’s sequel to “L’ultimo bacio.” In 2018, the two teamed up again for the acclaimed ensemble comedy “A casa tutti bene” (There Is No Place Like Home), which was a worldwide success.

On the set of "A casa tutti bene"

Three years later, she appeared in Fabio Mollo’s Amazon Original “Anni da cane” (Dog Years), a coming-of-age story about a teenager who measures her age in dog years, believing that she will die soon. The delusion was triggered by a car crash that injured her and killed her father, after which she adopted a stray dog that was hurt in the accident. Impacciatore plays the girl’s mother, an accountant who treads lightly between being an authority figure and sympathizing with her daughter’s trauma.

Impacciatore has received rave reviews for her latest role as Valentina, a strict hotel manager in the second season of the hit HBO series “White Lotus.” Valentina walks around with a chip on her shoulder but occasionally reveals her softer side, feeding stray kittens during her lunch break and protecting her female employees from their flirty male co-workers.

During the series, a few comments are made about Monica Vitti in reference to other characters. Ironically, Impacciatore embodies the qualities that made Vitti so versatile, sliding effortlessly from comedy to drama and back. Impacciatore takes that talent to another level, often accomplishing the feat in a single scene.

“My dream is to spend my entire life being an actress, and my dream is to become one of the best Italian actresses ever,” she told me. “I don’t care about money or being recognized or being popular. That is all secondary. To me, what is important and what gives me joy and happiness is to simply play a character.”

She is indeed living her dream. Click here to follow her adventures on Instagram. The second season of “White Lotus” is available to stream on several platforms, including YouTube, Hulu and Vudu. Several of the aforementioned films are available through Amazon. Click on the titles for direct links.

- Written by Jeannine Guilyard for the March 2023 issue of Fra Noi magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Comments

"Roma 11:00" – The Tragic True Story of Desperation in a World of Poverty

There couldn’t have been a more perfect couple than Lucia Bosè and Raf Vallone in Giuseppe De Santis’ 1952 “Roma 11:00.” A tragic story based on true events, the film follows several young women in post-WWII Rome as they answer a job listing for a typist. When 200 women are in line on one staircase over several floors, a crack leads to the collapse of the entire staircase. Dozens were injured and one was killed. The tragedy spoke to the poverty and desperation that existed for so many Italians in the early 1950s before the ‘58 industrial boom began. Cesare Zavattini was one of the screenwriters. Elio Petri was the assistant director who interviewed many of the victims and cast a few in supporting roles. In addition to Bosè and Vallone, the film stars Carla Del Poggio, Massimo Girotti, Maria Grazia Francia, Lea Padovani and Delia Scala. The film is set in Largo Circense 37, while in reality the collapse took place in via Savoia 31, in the Salario district, on J...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

'Salvatore Giuliano' blends documentary realism with dramatic storytelling

"Salvatore Giuliano" is a 1962 Italian crime drama directed by Francesco Rosi that dramatizes the real-life events surrounding the life and death of the legendary Sicilian bandit and folk hero. Giuliano rose to notoriety after the liberation of Sicily from fascist control in 1943, when he formed a gang that joined a separatist army. When the army dissolved, he and his gang intensified their outlaw activities. One of their most significant crimes was the Portella della Ginestra incident, during which dozens of men, women, and children were killed or wounded. This act prompted the authorities to launch an all-out war against Giuliano. His defenses slowly crumbled, and on July 5, 1959, his body was discovered in the courtyard of a house in Castelvetrano. That moment serves as the starting point for Rosi's film. Giuliano's fame is tied to his involvement in the Sicilian independence movement and his battles against both the Italian government and the Mafia in the 1940s a...

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 ...

Gianfranco Rosi to premiere 'Sotto le nuvole' at Venice Film Fest, exploring Naples' history

Documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi will premiere his much-anticipated latest film at the upcoming 82nd Venice International Film Festival , which runs August 27 - Sept. 6. "Sotto le nuvole" (Below the Clouds) takes a deep dive into the rich history and culture of Naples and the area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. There has not been much information revealed but so far, we know that the film will focus on themes similar to those explored by Rosi in his previous works, such as the examination of Roman culture in "Sacro GRA" (2013) and Lampedusa's refugee crisis in "Fuocoammare" (2016). The film's synopsis reads, “The land around Vesuvius is a vast palimpsest. On the surface, underground and even beneath the sea of the modern city of Naples and its surroundings, the memory of history is etched into tunnels, walls and fissures, the remains of women, children and men — statues, buried cities. Only thin layers separate contemporary and ancient life, an...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog