Major Moves: the interview with Sabrina Impacciatore, the star of "The White Lotus"
The second season of 'The White Lotus' made her famous in America. His secret? Intelligence, self-irony, dedication and a good dose of spiritual energy. Discover the interview with the Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore on L'Officiel Ibiza
Photography ERICA FAVA
Styling PABLO PATANÈ
It was nearly impossible to escape Season 2 of HBO's ' The White Lotus '. The satirical comedy-drama, fresh from the Golden Globe for best mini-series, takes place in a luxury resort in Sicily, in Taormina, and follows the guests and employees of the hotel, before the tranquility of the summer vacation is shattered by a mysterious and sudden death.
Sabrina Impacciatore , who plays the director of the facility, gave us one of the best performances of the series . The joke in which she compares Jennifer Coolidge in pink flowers from head to toe to Peppa Pig has gone viral, making her an instant celebrity from Rome to Hollywood, passing through the Jimmy Kimmel Show.
L'OFFICIEL ITALIA: In a recent video interview you mentioned the “Sabri” several times. Do you often talk to yourself?
SABRINA IMPACCIATORE: One of the best definitions of myself was coined by a great Italian theater director, Valerio Binasco, with whom I worked on the monologue based on the novel by Natalia Ginzburg: “Sabrina, dealing with you is like having dealing with an entire apartment building, the problem is that you don't understand who the hell is the administrator”. It's very fitting. I am often alone for work and I talk to myself to keep myself company. The analyst years ago suggested I stop, but it's irreversible.
LOI: Have you suffered from loneliness?
SI: Loneliness is a price to pay for doing a job that I love and that often leads me to travel. But I gladly pay for it. Sometimes I even miss it, it's rare that I really suffer from it. It will seem crazy, but I never really feel alone, it's as if I were accompanied by presences...
LOI: Are you a spiritual person?
SI: I have a very spiritual view of life. I feel in tune with the universe. I strongly believe in the invisible, almost more than in the visible. Spirituality gives a deeper meaning to existence and to everyday life. I am convinced that we are spirits in a bodily experience and everything that happens to me is a possibility for my spirit to evolve. Even tragic things or pain, always leave me with a lesson to learn.
LOI: How much does all of this influence your approach to a role?
Yes very much. The spiritual always enters everything I do. When I play a character I open up all of myself. I don't protect myself. My aspiration is to become a channel, kill the ego and let emotions, intuitions and creativity cross me in order to reach others. For me, acting is a gift of love that in some moments of my life has allowed me to touch the absolute, almost to come into contact with another dimension. It doesn't always happen, with the theater it was decidedly more evident. I believe that all forms of art allow man to expand his possibilities and to get in touch with some god.
LOI: You called “The White Lotus” director Mike White a genius. What is artistic genius for you?
SI: The term genius is widely abused, sometimes it almost becomes an interlayer. But Mike is a true genius. I think that an artist observes the world with a free, wise and innocent gaze which corresponds to a true exploration of life so as to be able to tell and reveal it. When you have the skills, the talent and the gift of being able to access the Muse (inspiration), you create true works of art, not a simple product. Mike White with “The White Lotus” did this. He created a human fresco, showing reasons and miseries of each character. Try to understand them without ever condemning or judging them.
«In the world of men, it is difficult for a woman to reach power. To do this, it must draw on all its potential and counter the obstructionism of our society".
- Sabrina Impacciatore
LOI: In this perspective, how did you approach your Valentina?
SI: The relationship between actor and director is very complex, and the former is dependent on the latter. There was an exploration of the role, I researched it myself and I admit that I was also very worried at first. I wanted Mike to be happy with the result and in the first phase I followed him slavishly, then we began to explore it together and one day that "click" came that triggered everything. I lived what Valentina lived in a visceral way: the conflict, the suffering, the inability to accept her nature and also the desire to understand it. I've heard everything about her, and now I miss her.
LOI: Your character in the series is a professionally accomplished woman. Why do you think society stereotypes women like her as necessarily strong?
SI: In the world of men it is difficult for a woman to get to power. To do this, it must draw on all its potential and counter the obstructionism of our society. Those who make it are described as aggressive and masculine, but it's just a show of strength and solidity that can't leave room for insecurity. Private life is different... I also hope that these women never sacrifice their femininity which for me is a great gift of power.
LOI: Monica Vitti is mentioned in "The White Lotus". As an actress, what does it represent for you?
SI: On my headboard there is a photo of Monica Vitti and Anna Magnani embracing and smiling, they are my muses. Two wonderful teachers who have taught me, since I was a child, that life is both a comic and a tragic journey. Remembering it moves me. I feel enormous gratitude towards him. She is a woman who has never lost her sublime grace. I had just auditioned for “The White Lotus” when she died about a year ago. I went alone on foot to the Capitol to greet her and pay homage to her on the day of the funeral. I spoke to her and asked for her blessing, it was a beautiful moment. A few days later they told me that I had been taken for the series and the amazement at having found it mentioned in the script was indescribable. I said to myself: “Monica you are here, I hear you, here you are”.
Team credits:
HAIR Danilo Spacca;
MAKE UP Simone Belli using @ GIVENCHY;
SET DESIGN Alice Ariano;
PHOTO ASSISTANT Carolina Smolec;
DIGITAL TECH Sara Meconi;
HAIR ASSISTANTSara Petrucci;
MAKE UP ASSISTANT Charlotte Hardy © SIMONE BELLI AGENCY;
SET DESIGN ASSISTANT Andrea Rossetti;
STYLIST ASSISTANTS Lorenzo Muscarà and Alessia Casà;
LOCATION Hangar63 Line B.
