Towards another dimension

Benedetta Porcaroli, the already-risen star of Italian cinema

She is barely twenty-one and already worldwide famous. Fame came with her role in an Italian television series, Baby, the story of a group of restless teenage girls brought up in wealthy Roman families, who have the urge to live as fast as they can: sex, drugs, desires, disappointments, daydreams, dreams, alcohol. The series- produced by Netflix- deals with the juvenile prostitution issue, based on a real Italian sex scandal which occurred in the posh Parioli district of Rome. Her name is Benedetta Porcaroli and she has a contemporary yet melancholy face, charming and romantic, bright but which tends to darken all of a sudden.

Benedetta was born in Rome. She’s always been attracted to the arts: music was her first love. She sang in a band, like a lot of teenagers, of course. But she was driven by a unique passion. A few photo shoots now and then, being fashion addicted, in particular, to Gucci, which she always wears on red carpets and at official events, such as the latest France Odeon Festival in Florence, of which she was the patroness, dressed in an Alessandro Michele design. Then she began working “for real”: in television, in the fiction Tutto può succedere. Every afternoon, after school, on the set. It was the year 2016, and she never stopped. She made her film debut in Perfetti sconosciuti by Paolo Genovese. And with Baby, she rose to international fame. “Two weeks ago, I was in Miami, and some Puerto Rican kids stopped me in the street: I couldn’t believe it!”. Even today, she still can’t believe that her success is real.

Benedetta, you’re starring in a TV series revolving around teenagers. And this series has been sold to 150 countries. How does it make you feel?

I better hold myself tight or I’ll break apart! This is such an opportunity for myself, my career, my personal growth. I can’t let it slip by.

Has the international motion-picture world, in particular, the American one, been contacting you?

Yes, I’ve been considered for some roles overseas. I did some screen tests, which I would have never imagined possible only a few years ago. But now I need to improve my English, which is not bad but I would really like to master it. And I would like to go live in the United States.

Baby is a very successful series. Why, in your opinion?

Because it deals with issues that touch everyone’s life: the transition from youth to adult life. We are now shooting the third season, directed by Andrea De Sica again, who has become a friend.

Let’s talk about Florence and Tuscany for a moment. You played your first leading role in a film by a Florentine film director.

Yes, I did: Tutte le mie notti by Manfredi Lucibello. He is young but he has very clear ideas. The cast included great actors, such as Barbora Bobulova and Alessio Boni. I learned a lot from them. And thanks to Manfredi, I learned to love Florence.

Did you spend some time in Florence?

Of course I did! I went to Manfredi’s house and I’ve been in the Chianti countryside. I love Tuscany so much, its sense of harmony, the beauty you breathe everywhere you go. In Florence because of its artistic treasures, and in the countryside because of the beautiful hilly landscape and the towns built on a human scale.

You are now starring in another film…

Yes, it’s called 18 regali. It’s my first truly dramatic film role. The leading role is played by Vittoria Puccini, a woman you realizes she is very sick and decides to give her daughter eighteen gifts, one per year, until her eighteenth birthday. The story is told by the daughter, whom I play. It’s a love story between two women: two women who do not know each other.

At the age of twenty-one, you’re already famous, you work a lot, people recognize you in Miami. Is there something you’re afraid of?

I’m very afraid that all this can end in a flash. It’s hard to stay grounded when everyone makes you believe that you’ve made it.

Have you ever wondered what film directors like about you?

Yes, I have. Probably because there’s something deeply melancholy about me, even despite myself. Even when I’m happy, it looks like I’ve just received the saddest news!

She says it with a laugh, but with the touch of sadness that has won over so many film directors and millions of viewers.