Spoiler alert: This interview contains spoilers up to episode 6.white lotus‘ airs on HBO on Sundays and streams on HBO Max.
Sabrina ImpacciatoreValentina is unleashed in this week’s White Lotus installment following the final episode’s shocking sex scene — looks like between uncle and nephew — a more tender intimate moment between the uptight hotel manager and the free-spirited and ambitious singer Mia (Beatrice Grano).
After seducing Giuseppe (Federico Scrivani), accidentally drugging him and sending him to the hospital, Mia takes over as the hotel’s substitute piano player by appealing to Valentina’s deepest fears and desires. “You’re gay, right? I’m a bit gay too,” she says. “Give me this job. I promise you and I will have a good time.” It’s a bold suggestion, but rather than offend Valentina, she delivers a deeply emotional chord. Hit.
After Valentina’s heart is broken to learn that Isabella (Eleonora Romandini) is engaged to Rocco (Federico Ferrante) in episode 6 of the series produced by Mike White, the hotel manager makes a promise to Mia. Take advantage and take her to an empty suite. While most of this season’s sex is taboo and fraught with danger, Valentina and Mia’s moments are pretty sweet and innocent, despite the underlying sense of the deal.
For Impacciatore, the sex scene was the first in her 25-year acting career. And although she was stressed out about it and couldn’t sleep, Said Working with an intimacy coordinator was “really helpful, effective and safe.”
However, Impacciatore’s standout moment in the series comes before that: when Valentina tells Mia she’s never been with a woman. After being robbed by the subdued devastation, the Roman-born actor “cried for 30 minutes and jumped into Mike’s arms.”
“I remember how I felt. I wasn’t acting, I was living this character’s conflict in a very profound way,” said Impacciatore. “How do people who can’t accept themselves live?”
Impacciatore has been touched by all the positive messages she has received from fans around the world who resonate with her character.This includes her co-star Meghann Fahy, who sent her a “beautiful message” that made her cry after watching the episode 6 screener. variety Impacciatore burst into tears when he described Valentina’s journey in an interview. “She is finally free.”
Known for most of his career as a comedian, Impacciatore made a name for himself in Italian films such as “Napolion and I” and “Miss F”, both of which received the David di Donatello Award (the equivalent of the Italian film industry’s awards). ) was nominated for Oscar). But the 54-year-old actor says her appearance in ‘The White Lotus’ changed her life and sparked numerous project offers in both Italy and the United States.
“I am very grateful,” said Impacciatore. “This is one of the happiest moments he has had in my entire career.”
Impacciatore sat down ahead of the Episode 6 premiere We discuss Valentina’s key moments, scenes left on the editing room floor, and what “White Lotus” means for her future.
Valentina is an interesting character. She sympathizes with her for being lonely and unfulfilled, but at the same time she continues to harass her employees and holds many grudges against her. How do you balance that?
This character is very complicated. She is very impulsive and she doesn’t reveal anything about her inner self at first. She doesn’t know herself, so I explored this process with a character.For example, her attitude towards Mia and Lucia [Simona Tabasco] It has to do with her job, but it also has to do with something inside her. These two girls represent freedom. Valentina is oppressed, compressed and disconnected from her own feelings.
For me, Valentina is trying to be powerful. She exerts her power in her own work, which is the exact opposite of what happens in her emotional life. She is childlike in a way and very naive. She is in love with her employees simply because they made her feel watched and paid attention to her. She becomes aggressive when men focus on her, but when Isabella focuses on her, her heart begins to melt. There’s a big conflict inside her—she doesn’t know herself until something happens and she can’t escape anymore.
Her attitude towards men in the series seems to allude to her past experiences with men. How do you envision Valentina’s backstory?
Mike White and I didn’t talk much about this character — maybe 10 minutes before filming started. Arriving on set, I still had no idea what was going to happen to this character. It was a real exploration. For the first few days, I was following Mike’s instructions, not quite sure where he wanted me to go. But he wanted to explore with me, so some of the scenes we filmed ended up being cut.It’s all about Valentina’s past: she was once married to a man, but she wasn’t happy. So I invented a backstory about a husband who was abusive to her. I did everything I could to get closer to her process. I remember how I felt that day when I shot the scene where he said, “I have never dated a woman.” I wasn’t acting, I was living this character’s conflict in a very profound way. “How do people who don’t recognize themselves survive?” I cried for 30 minutes after that scene. I jumped into Mike’s arms and said to him. thank you very much! ‘ And he said, ‘Sabrina? Why are you saying that? You’re the one doing these things.’ And thanks to you, I understand more about life. “
Being gay is still a big problem in Italy. They have no rights in Italy. They cannot marry, they cannot have children. You can also be attacked on the street just because you love someone of the same sex. So I started to understand my responsibilities as an actress. We must accept and respect all different qualities. So this scene was a deep experience for me.
The story of the cut scenes is interesting. When Murray interviewed his Bartlett in season one, he said there was a scene where Almond tells Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) that he always wanted to be an actor. But the audience didn’t know that.
exactly! The scene at the end where he goes to a sex worker and says “I understand what you’re doing. I stand by your girl” was cut.But Mike White is a genius is. With just a few touches, he is able to gain a deep understanding of the characters and life itself.
What was your reaction when you first found out that Valentina was going to sleep with Mia?
I was so happy! I was so excited. I thought, “Oh my god…really!?” I fell in love with Valentina. The switch surprised me. she is finally free She is finally free to accept herself. It was very exciting for me. I love Mike White. It took me to places I could never have imagined. He had so much fun with me because he wanted to go in three different directions at times. But I’m fascinated by the fact that we explore these characters together in a very pure way.
What was it like shooting the sex scenes and working with the intimate coordinator?
I’ve been an actress for 25 years and have never done a sexual scene. It was my first time. Working with an Intimacy Coordinator was really helpful, effective and safe. In the US we really appreciate that you have an Intimacy Coordinator.In Italy we don’t have that.
Interestingly, we shot that scene two months later.shopping in taormina [executive producer] David Bernard called me and said, Please come to the hotel. ” I was so scared. He was waiting for me in the courtyard and he said, Can we shoot the sex scene tomorrow? ’ At that moment, I nearly passed out. I thought a lot about the sex scene, but then I thought, ‘Okay, two months later! I wanted her to be happy, so I replied, “Yes, of course no problem.” Then I regretted it and thought, “Why did you say that!?” I couldn’t sleep that night. When we shot this scene, it was just two takes. I didn’t even know what I was doing. i was just exploring. After the first take, I asked Mike, “Can he do one more take?” I wanted to add something emotional. Can you imagine the pressure? I’m not sure which take on the series.
Have you told your friends and family about this big scene coming up? Are you nervous for them to see it?
The only person I was really nervous about was my father. No one on earth was more worried than me. Unfortunately I lost his father a year ago. I’ve been thinking about him a lot and I know he’s very proud of me for this show and everything. I am very excited about this. This will be a big problem for my career because in Italy you will see me for the first time in a completely different way. For 15 years I was just a comedian, but people knew me as someone who made people laugh. I’ve done a lot of dramatic roles, but this is very new to me.I can’t wait to see what my friends and family do. I am excited like a child.
How was your audition for the series? When it was announced that ‘The White Lotus’ was coming to Sicily, was there competition among Italian actors for these huge roles?
When I got a call from my agent saying they needed a self-tape for this series, I had no idea what it was. I had never seen “The White Lotus” and didn’t know Mike White. I was shooting a movie in northern Italy, and I was so focused on my character, I said to my agent, ‘Sorry, I can’t do a self-tape, I’m too busy.’ Then my agent said, “You should watch this series to understand what I’m talking about.” That night I didn’t sleep and saw everything. I was shocked. He is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. After watching Season 1, I understand why every Italian actress wants to take a selfie tape of her. That was a big deal.Italian actress wanted these roles So badly. When I got the role, I got a really bad reaction from people.
like what?
envy. People were jealous in a bad way and it hurt me a lot. I have suffered a lot. Some were very pleased — even an actress friend of mine who made a self-tape. But I also faced terrible jealousy. It’s really upsetting. That’s hard. I believe in fate and have never felt jealous of any actress in the world. I believe that each person has their own story, and that something happens to each person due to the mysterious reasons written on the stars. I don’t compete with anyone. I race myself I want to grow as an artist. When “The White Lotus” lined up, I thought, “This is a given.” Because I’ve been preparing for it all along. I don’t understand jealousy.
Are you already starting to see the impact White Lotus will have on your career since Season 2 began airing?
It has already started in Italy and America. A few minutes ago, I received a very nice proposal. It’s been incredible since only a few episodes have aired and things have already started. It’s one of the happiest moments of my entire career. Last week, I went to an international ceremony in New York and met people from all over the world. I was surprised – important producers from England and South Africa showed up and introduced themselves to me. I never felt like I belonged entirely in Italy. And now my dream is to be able to work in different parts of the world and I hope it will come true.I have been disappointed many times in my life. Being a woman and being an actress is tough. I don’t want to have expectations because I don’t want to put myself in the position of hoping it won’t happen. But a little voice inside says, “Sabrina, get ready for the roller coaster.”
This interview has been edited and condensed.