When Jacopo Cullin was a child, what did he dream of doing when he grew up?
«The archaeologist».
Why?
«I liked digging the earth».
That’s the farmer. Or, at most, the mortician.
“Hand! Now I’ll explain. I liked digging because at school we did gardening and sometimes I found coins, small objects, things like that.”
So, he was an Indiana Jones fan!
«No, never seen it. But I saw a lot of documentaries.”
I read that as a child he felt like the breadwinner.
“It is true. My father left home when I was 5 years old. My brother was entering his teens and had other things on his mind. So let’s say that I had become the male of the house.”
Did your mother work?
«Yes, in the secretariat of the health management of a hospital. I got my sensitivity and brightness from her.”
And from his father?
«My mother says manual skill and romanticism. I didn’t experience it much, we started seeing each other again about ten years ago.”
Didn’t he come to his shows?
«He told me yes. She paid the ticket, stood at the back and was moved. Now we are starting to build a good relationship.”
The theater tour starts in a few days: 8 dates in Sardinia plus three in Bari, Turin and Florence. Isn’t he afraid of remaining locked in the cliché of the Sardinian character actor?
«Well, I wouldn’t really say Sardinian. In Lolita Lobosco I play a guy from Puglia: I auditioned and beat many other local actors. I even received an award! The character actor is still a good role, it allows you to characterize him a lot. And then there is a nice interview by Massimo Troisi in which he explains that the problem is others, when they don’t make an effort to understand him who speaks Neapolitan. It can also apply to Sardinian.”
Do you like being a director or an actor more?
«I like being a director very much, perhaps more than an actor, because I like working with actors and being able to bring out something that even they didn’t think they had. I like telling stories through images, but I wouldn’t be able to film something someone else wrote.”
If he had a magic wand, who would he want to direct?
«Okay, so without limits? Meryl Streep or Emma Stone, which I love to death. The truth is that with these people you mostly sit, watch and learn.”
But Gigi Riva directed. Can you tell me a personal memory of him?
«I shot a short film with him for the 2013 Special Olympics. In reality I had already done everything, the only thing missing was him, who still didn’t know what I had in mind».
And how did he manage to overcome his proverbial reluctance?
«I ambushed him at Giacomo’s, his trusted restaurateur in Cagliari. When we met outside, because he had to smoke, he saw that passers-by were asking for photos of me too, not just him, and that I was also very calm, like him. I think he decided this way, seeing me as very normal, not artificial. He trusted.”
Why wasn’t he at his funeral?
«Because I wasn’t well, I had had a devastating flu. Many have asked me to make statements, to participate in broadcasts, to write a memory. But knowing him, I knew he would appreciate the silence more than anything. I only wrote one post on social media, in one go, crying.”
He was born on April 11th. Aries.
«I was born on Easter day. The doctor had suggested that my mother call me Pasqualino.”
A beautiful name. Too bad he missed it.
«Yes, indeed. I could see myself in a milk commercial on TV.”
What amused you the most out of all the things you did?
«A lot. But if I have to choose one, it was my first show in front of five thousand people at the Roman Amphitheater in Cagliari. I think it lasted three hours, I didn’t want to get off stage! But people remained, laughing. Afterwards, we went with the musicians to eat a pizza by the slice on the sidewalk. An incredible evening.”
Five thousand people at the first show doesn’t happen to everyone.
«It wasn’t really my first show. I started with 100, then 300, then 500, then 1,000. Gradual, but very fast.”
It was called You are in me: played six characters. The first, iconic, is Mr. Tonino in pajamas.
«He was the father of my friend Roberto. I was taking part in a competition for emerging stand-up comedians, I was 21 years old, and among the characters there was also him, with his unmistakable voice. I reached the final, very tense, and in the audience there was also Mr. Tonino, who had brought his friends to cheer. They died laughing. There were 120 spectators and I won with 116 votes: I’m afraid I didn’t get Mr. Tonino’s…”.
We recently saw her again on television in the role of Lello Esposito, the agent who works with Lolita Lobosco, infamous for his very bad coffee.
«My character has grown a lot, year after year: in the last season he gave a very touching monologue. And in any case I make very good coffee, even if now all I have to do is press a button.”
What is it like working with Luisa Ranieri?
“Really easy, because she’s an absurd professional, very professional, she’s someone you learn from as you work.”
One thing you learned from her?
«To manage energy during filming. Which is the opposite of being ungenerous. In the large floors, where you are small, it is useless for you to give your best. While, like Luisa does, when needed you have to know how to charge from zero to 100 in 3 seconds, like a Ferrari.”
Do you like Lello?
«I am very grateful to him because he is a funny character who makes people laugh and brings lightness into the homes of Italians. He’s in my league.”
Have you ever thought about giving up?
«Yes, when I was in Rome. I was studying at an acting school, but I didn’t even pass an audition.”
In The Refereewith Stefano Accorsi, plays an Argentine footballer.
«Watching it again, I told myself that I could improve the accent and I was sorry».
So he’s a little precise?
“A bit'”.
He also lived in Paris and New York. Why did he return to Sardinia?
«My priorities have changed. First I wanted to explore, go, understand, learn, compare. Then I thought: ok, now I want to go home, close to my mother and my granddaughter, of whom I am the godfather. I feel great in Cagliari, I have a wonderful relationship with the people, I feel like I’m part of the family: they greet me as if I were a relative, a brother, a cousin, a nephew. Because they saw me grow.”
Are they never intrusive?
“Not at all, they are very respectful.”
Your favorite place?
«Portu Maga, in the Costa Verde, here in Sardinia. It’s very wild. And then I am tied to Sant’Antioco, the island of Gabriele Cossu, who does the show with me at the theater. He was president of the jury in the competition mentioned above: that same evening he invited me to work with him. And I’m still paying interest on his move!’ He laughs.
What if I tell you Benito Urgu? A legendary actor in Sardinia.
«A true myth! We spent many days together, sitting on the chairs in front of the fireplace, peeling tangerines and saying unspeakable nonsense. He could be my grandfather, but we are like school friends. He has an artificial lake in which carp as big as tuna swim.”
As a child he watched Jerry Lewis.
«And also Dean Martin, Paolo Villaggio-Fantozzi, Alberto Sordi, Totò».
He’s engaged?
“I have to answer?”.
See you.
“Let’s say that right now I’d like to start a family.”
