In a new interview on Blazing Minds, I got an opportunity to talk with one of Italy’s most famous and celebrated actresses Claudia Gerini. In the interview I got a chance to ask a few questions about her role in the upcoming horror The Well, her directorial debut with the psychological drama Treadmill and working on the action film John Wick 2.
Q. Thank you for joining me today to talk about some of your upcoming projects. One of the films I would like to talk about is the supernatural horror The Well, can you tell us a little bit about what we can expect from the film?
A. I expect the audience to be shocked by this movie. There’s drama, it’s very gothic and very strong. I think people are going to be excited about this, especially horror fans.
Q. You play Emma in The Well. What attracted you to the role and what sort of preparation did you do?
A. To prepare for Emma I got inspired by many others, as Emma is a duchess who comes from another century. I was inspired by Hitchcock because there is that cold person. Emma has her strategy to maintain everything going on with the curse, so she’s very focused.
At the same time, I prepared Emma as a very dramatic character, because she’s very lonely. I wanted to give her an eternal allure, an elegance, but a desperation at the same time.
Q. Did you make any changes to your character from how it was portrayed in the original script?
No, I saw that Federico (Zampaglione) was very inspired, and I didn’t want to change anything, and I tried to deliver the line the way it was written. Normally I do, because with the horror you can express nuances, because there are a lot of layers. She doesn’t want to lose her youth, she wants to be beautiful and powerful, and everything. But in a way, she’s feeling sorry for what she does.
I wanted her to be very neat and strong as the leader of the story, I tried to sound like a period woman, very classical.
Q. Did you experience any issues whilst filming The Well?
A. When I got very old, I needed to have all of that makeup on. No issues, but I had to be 100 years old.
Q. How long did it take you in the make-up to look that way?
A. 4hrs
Q. That really was a long process. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. First of all, I really enjoyed being my daughter’s mom in the movie, Linda was my daughter in the movie, and I really liked that. I also really liked it at the very end when Emma becomes like Ash, because I had fun being as crazy as possible.
Q. You recently made your directorial debut with the psychological drama Treadmill. What made you decide to step behind the camera as well as in front?
A. It wasn’t my dream, but I was part producing the movie. I had read the treatment and then contribute with the script. We didn’t have a director in mind and the main the producer said, why don’t you direct it? I was like “what? Absolutely not”. For me, one location, one character. I was like, oh my god what a debut. it’s harder, of course, to being in one location and to be the main. But I know the journey of this character, and I in my mind how to how to express this, Emma. From there I thought, I can direct myself, took the courage to say, Okay I’ll go. It was a really an amazing experience, a complete a creative journey.
Q. How did you find the process of both directing and acting in the film?
Actually, I’m a I’m a pretty good leader because I needed to run, run, run. We had 4 weeks to do the entire movie. So run metaphorically, but also running. I loved directing the other actors and I was very demanding with myself. I wanted to be more authentic than ever I didn’t find it difficult, because sometimes the actors direct themselves, and it happens to me where I propose something to the director. So, this is a process that I have in mind. I disagree with the director all the time and that was the difference, the actors and director got on very well.
Q. You also co-wrote the film, what were you influences when writing the script?
A. I co-wrote the film because I wanted to represent different issues, I wanted to talk about sexual identity. I also cut the movie and so I had to rewrite the movie because some characters didn’t work. I like to write the story of the other clients and patients to be crossed with her problems, so there was something she could mirrored in. That’s why it was very important for me to write with the writers,
Q. You have a background in martial arts with a black belt in taekwondo and although you are not involved in some major action sequences, you make a lasting impression with your performance in John Wick2. Going forward do you think action films could be something which you may be interested in doing?
A. I would love an actual role; it is my dream. I love action movies and I would love for me to be an action character. I did something like that with the Manette’s brothers. It was just an episode of the series, but I had this amazing character, a martial arts person. And I would love that, I love all genres. Thrillers, noir comedies, of course, dramas. But in action I would have so much fun, especially being a black belt. But I’m not violent.
Q. Are there any sort of characters or roles that you haven’t had the opportunity to play portrays so far that you’d like to portray in the future
I would like to portray a woman who decided to become a mother by herself. There’s so many stories now about women that choose to be mother a little later in in life, because they decided to work and to dedicate their time to careers. It’s interesting this relationship with this a baby, maybe you don’t even know who’s the father, and then you fall in love with the father. I don’t know. I have this story in my mind.
Q. Maybe that could be your next script, it Sounds interesting. Do you have any other projects you are working on?
I’m working on Netflix series Sara. It comes from a novel by an Italian writer called Maurizio De Giovanni. It’s also a thriller and I’m part of the secret services of Naples. It’s all shot in Napoli.
Then another noir, it’s all noirs and thrillers now. I am in a movie called Il Corpo, The Body. I am CEO of an important pharmaceutical company, and there’s a mystery behind her death. I’m dead at the beginning of the movie, but when they go to the morgue the body has disappeared. There’s a lot of mysteries behind this, and she’s a very strong woman, it’s a strong character. I’ve just started it and we are shooting in Rome
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
