It’s Valentines Day and I am meeting Antonella Salvucci at Zanzara, a trendy bar near the Vatican. We are standing outside when Keanu Reeves walks past us and gets into the passenger side of a vintage Fiat 500. I look at Antonella and she exclaims, “This is Rome!”
Antonella Salvucci’s interest in acting began early. As a child, she took on the different characters that lived in her mind and then she would go out into the world and test them. The fact she was the only one to join drama club in school didn’t deter her; she simply opted for solo performances. At age 15 she was modeling professionally but she didn’t want to just be an image. The desire to really help people had her considering a career in medicine but when she saw Spielberg’s E.T., she was inspired to pursue acting as a career. “I was impressed by the magic of cinema,” she says. “Acting is just another way of having a positive influence. If you can act, it’s a gift and you have the responsibility to share it with the world.”
Antonella has worked in film and television for ten years and has been involved in a variety of projects, from the film “The Family Friend,” directed by now oscar winner, Paolo Sorrentino, to “Moana,” Sky Cinema’s biopic about the life of iconic and politically active Italian adult film star, Moana Pozzi. More recently, Antonella played the ex-wife of an MMA fighter in Fabio Bastianello’s “Milano in the Cage.”
We turn onto a road meant only for pedestrians and wind through narrow streets tangled like capillaries. In the best rock star-parking example that I’ve ever seen, we come to an abrupt stop mere feet from the outdoor seating of Ginger, an organic-oriented restaurant not far from Piazza Di Spagna. Antonella’s is the only car around because they’re not legal on this street. Taking her seat at an outdoor table, Antonella jokes that she always breaks the rules when it comes to driving on the restricted streets in the center of Rome. She manages to never get a ticket, “Until I’m parked right in front of my house. That’s when I get a ticket!” She laughs.
Our server arrives. I would have bet on Antonella ordering a glass of wine or a spritz but she orders the healthiest thing on the menu, an avocado smoothie. Curious about her lifestyle, I ask if she has a daily ritual. She tells me mornings are the time to focus on herself. She says she raises energy as soon she wakes up. I ask what that means and she immediately starts vigorously rubbing her hands on her face, arms, and body as she explains its energizing effect. I tell her I’m intrigued and that I’ll give it a try.
After raising energy, Antonella keeps it flowing by putting on lively music or singing to herself while she starts thinking about what she’ll do that day. Then, contrary to the Roman tradition of coffee and a pastry or biscuit, Antonella enjoys a big American breakfast. Then she might read the newspaper while going over her day in a démodé paper planner. She points to the Moleskine journal I use for note taking and exclaims, “You’re old fashioned just like me!”
“Every day is a gift. Every day is a reason to celebrate.”
The server brings our order. I’d followed Antonella’s healthy lead and ordered water and a salad. Antonella takes a spoonful of her sea foam green beverage, thick as soft serve ice cream. She comments that she wanted something to drink but this smoothie is more like something to eat! It seems to me that the things that might prove frustrating for some, are just another reason for Antonella to laugh. “Every day is a gift,” she tells me. “Every day is a reason to celebrate.” She offers me a taste and then, noticing my hesitation, she says, “We’re friends, now.” I take a taste and wish I’d ordered that instead.
I ask about health habits. She says she doesn’t really have an exercise regimen but she takes jogging shoes whenever she travels. “It’s a great way to get to know a new city.” She prefers to eat healthy but loves chocolate. This reminds me that I’d brought Antonella a chocolate bon-bon as a thank you for setting aside Valentines evening for our interview. She laughs and graciously accepts the chocolate, telling me that we’ll share it. I ask the obvious question, whether she is single. She says she is. I ask a follow-up question. “Romance in the film industry is notoriously fraught with troubles. How do you approach this problem?” She sits back and thinks for a minute. “At the beginning it was good. You date people in the industry and you can learn the business together. But eventually it can lead to competition and ego.” After a long pause I ask, “And now?” Without hesitation she blurts out, “I don’t like dating actors!” She laughs. Her humor is clear but I sense sincerity. She continues. “I want to learn more from different people. If I date someone in my industry, we’d just spend all the time talking about work.”
I ask her what is the most difficult part of her work. She tells me that when she’s on set, it’s heaven and that she is often the person who gets everyone motivated. I don’t have a hard time imagining this. Her energy seems boundless, but in the next moment it becomes slightly more serious. She says she is always trying to evolve as an actress. She admires how Charlize Theron was able to expand her image beyond that of a sex symbol when she went through her unsettling and earthshaking transformation into Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer in the film Monster. Antonella tells me that playing an unattractive teacher in the miniseries Notte Prima Degli Esami felt similarly freeing. When I ask Antonella what advice she would give to her ten-years-younger self, she says, “Don’t stop studying, so you can be a complete artist. The more prepared you are, the more you can do.”
After a long and enjoyable conversation, our server arrives and clears our dishes. Antonella takes a bite of the chocolate and hands me the other half. I ask her where she sees herself in ten years. “Mama mia!” she exclaims. I give her a moment to collect her thoughts. She obliges me with a bit of a dodge. “Everything I’ve done is lining up to let me achieve what I was born to do. I want to be more conscious of what I have inside. When you achieve that, you can conquer the world, and you can give more to your characters.” I like the answer so I don’t press. I ask if she has a mantra she lives by. Without hesitation she says, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney.
