The ReMARKables InterViews: We talk with The Italian Lady Caterina Milicchio about Italy, Art and Life And Style! Markopoulos Ch. Thomas and Off The Record News BlogSpot

The ReMARKables InterViews: We talk with The Italian Lady Caterina Milicchio about Italy, Art and Life And Style! Markopoulos Ch. Thomas and Off The Record News BlogSpot

Caterina Milicchio. Mother, Artist and Model... What a Lady! 

Can you tell me how your love for the world of acting came about? 

Do you have any artists in your family?

I have no artists in my family except my father who was not an artist but was a policeman, even if in real life he was an all-round artist. By the way tomorrow is the anniversary of his death and remembering him like this makes me very happy. The lightning bolt for the show was born when at only 10 years old in a somewhat particular way I managed to audition for a film for American cinema and in this film I played the protagonist as a child and that was my first experience, my baptism into the world of cinema. After that experience I wanted to go and live in America, but I was only 10 years old and my parents kept me at home. I am Calabrian and so all this happens in Calabria. Then I continued to attend schools of entertainment and dance here in Calabria and at the age of 16 I participated in a national television talent competition "Fantastica" and I won the first prize. From “Fantastica” I moved to Rome when I was still a minor and I was a dancer in Fantastica for two years and at 18 I decided to stop dancing and dedicate myself to acting, my first love. At 19 I got my first role in a TV series with Virna Lisi, Giancarlo Giannini and Gabriel Garko “Il sangue e la rosa” and from   there came other TV series on Canale 5 such as “Onore e rispetto 2” and “Il bello delle donne”. At the same time I continued to go to university and study diction and acting and to attend various film schools and courses with Anna Malvica, a great theatre actress with whom I later had the pleasure and honour of working. The theater also arrives   starting with “Il cappelli a sonagli” with Gianfranco Iannuzzo, “La governante” with Ornella Muti, “Liolà” with Giulio Corsi and Roberta Giarrusso and “Il caso Tandoy” by Michele Guardì, where I play Leila Motta, the protagonist, and this was a very important theater tour, which gave me a lot both from an artistic and human point of view.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on the theatrical show "Steel Flowers" with Barbara De Rossi and Martina Colombari, which will be at the Manzoni Theater in Milan and then Trieste, Naples and we'll tour around Italy.

Which entertainment legends did you grow up with? 

Who are your reference actors?

I have never been a child with idols, I have always had my feet on the ground. When I was very little I watched dancers on television doing the splits and I tried to do it too. I watched Meryl Streep and as the years passed, her skill increased and I am not saying that she is my reference actress, my inspiration, but a source of education and knowledge that makes you understand that you can   always push yourself further. Meryl Streep is the one who made me think that this job can be done all your life. So growing up and getting older does not represent   a reason for blocking me, but for growth and continuous elevation.

Talking about theatre, do you prefer the brilliant or the serious role?

Actually both because in my strings there is also a lot of comedy and brilliance but also tragedy and I tell you this because already in high school I did a tragedy one year and a comedy the next. So let's say I have fun in both cases. Lately I did two films in which I have two very different roles but tragic at the same time, instead the next one that I will shoot in the month of May will be all focused on comedy, so I can juggle and jump from one role to another.

You acted with a legend like Virna Lisi. 

A memory of yours, an anecdote?

The first memory I have of Virna Lisi was that she put me in difficulty. It was my first day on set ever and it opened with a scene of ours. I had never been on set except as a child with that film for American cinema, so I was returning to the set after 9 years. I remember that I learned the script in a very methodical, meticulous way, without changing a comma. In the first scene Virna Lisi had to say: "Any news?" and I: "No news". She never said that "Any news" to me and I couldn't start with "No News" and so at that moment I had to improvise and she looked at me and didn't say anything. I somehow managed to stay afloat, to get by, I managed to keep up with her and she didn't speak but I understood that somehow things were going well and this confirmed it to me when at the end of filming she said to me: "Always remember that if I don't say anything it means that there is nothing to say, if you had done badly, I would have definitely pointed it out to you". This was her way of saying that I was doing a good job. Another anecdote I remember about her was that she always had her hands covered with gloves or foundation. I remember this habit of hers, this constant putting cream on her hands, then makeup and then gloves. I will never forget this play with her hands. I often watched her and then at the end she smiled at me, which she didn't do at the beginning a little, in my opinion, because it was part of her way of being, but for me it was a very important training ground, a school that gave me a lot because in the end I earned that smile of hers.

What are your ambitions?

Nowadays they can only concern quality choices, because in life I have fulfilled myself as a mother and I have also fulfilled myself artistically because I frequent the A-series theaters like the Manzoni in Milan, the Duse in Bologna and the Quirino in Rome. So ambitions only for interesting texts, only for quality roles, in international cinema and it is no coincidence that I am also sowing in Los Angeles with an agency, with a school to begin to expand the boundaries, this is my greatest artistic ambition.

You said you came to Rome when you were only 16. How do you remember the impact with the Capital?

In fact, I think I always had it in my head, in my imagination, as if this city was waiting for me. I immediately felt welcomed, I immediately felt an integral part of Rome.

What area did you live in?

I arrived when I was 16 and I was in Cinecittà inside this academy that had proclaimed me the winner and had given me this scholarship. I finished my studies at the classical high school Immanuel   Kant in Rome and I moved to the San Giovanni area. After San Giovanni I toured half of Rome.

Has Roman cuisine won you over?

No more than the Calabrian one. I indulge in many sins of gluttony, not just one. I am addicted to sweets and chocolate and I make few sacrifices.

Three adjectives to define yourself?

I am good, honest and hard-working.

Reality, for or against?

No, I never accepted them. They were proposed to me several times, even for years in a row and I never accepted them for the simple fact that when I was a child these reality shows didn't exist and I was already thinking about becoming an actress and therefore everything I did would have been worthless if I had taken the path of reality. It's as if I had gone against myself, against the child I was.

You are a beautiful woman. Have you ever had pushy, annoying fans?

A bit like everyone. On social media there are those who go further even if in strange comments you can't go. Yes, it happened, but just block and like in real life, just put up walls.

What is your weak point?

My daughters.

Have you ever been asked to make a calendar?

Yes, but I've never done any.

What do you need to be happy?

May all my loved ones be well.

Your relationship with Faith?

Strong, very strong. I had a dark period when my father, the greatest love of my life, passed away seven years ago, but then I became stronger than before.

Are you devoted to any saint?

Yes, to Padre Pio.

Besides work and family, do you have any passions in life?

I've started dancing a lot again. In the past I had given up because after 15 years of continuous dancing I couldn't take it anymore, but now I've started dancing again. I also want to start singing, and I read a lot. I love romantic literature like William Blake and Shakespeare.

Who would you like to say thank you to?

To my mother who always helps me. After my father passed away she is a bit of a lightning rod in my life.  

Thank you my lady for your help and this gorgeous InterView! We will do it again. Love you!

Thank you Mr. Thomas. You are very kind, so nice and very big -in all meanings- guy! At your service always.