“I resigned as an actor”

Nicolas Vaporidis he is the protagonist of the early summer classic that every year, just like the final exam and the song by Antonello Venditti, is repeated almost automatically. That Night Before the Exams, now eighteen years ago, made the Roman actor famous and beloved by the general public. Today, after winning the Isola dei Famosi in 2022, he has decided to undertake as his first activity that of a Roman restaurateur in London and for a few months also in Milan. He still speaks of cinema with love. Of the TV where he was the protagonist most recently he says: «It reflects only what it wants to tell, generally an alteration of reality. Real life is on the streetamong people, not in a form of distorted imagination». Vaporidis confesses that he has no particular memories of his real high school exam «apart from the anxiety that was at a thousand…» but he is keen to explain that he has only now reached true maturity with the awareness of the fact that life can offer many different stages even if «after all, think about it, even the restaurant is a theatre where performances are performed every night… and even at lunch».

Nicolas, what did you bring from your city to Her Majesty’s court besides carbonara and amatriciana?
“Those are the driving force, the tools with which we try to tell a little about Rome and in particular Trastevere because it is the place where I grew up, having been born in Monteverde Vecchio. I lived in Trastevere afternoons, evenings, mornings and, beyond the name that represents me, that is the area of ​​Rome that resembles me the most. That Rome that in our restaurant passes through the service that is an attitude, and you don’t have to be Roman to understand it. The Rome of those who greet you, ask you how you are, of people who chat and want to hear how you are. London is less of a community than a neighborhood like Trastevere. That is our way of telling Rome. Even though it is not a Roman embassy but just a restaurant, we try to explain many things and to do it in a way that is as romantic and fascinating as possible.”

In your opinion, is London closer to Europe, despite having left the European Union, or Italy?
«I don’t know about all of Italy, but I can say that, entrepreneurially speaking, having opened the second Taverna Trastevere in Milan, was my way of returning to my homeland. Milan is a city today much closer to Europe than London is today. I arrived in London for the first time 24 years ago when I was eighteen. At that time I stopped to live there for a year. There I had my first real approach to life alone, without my family, in a foreign city looking for work, opening my first bank account and signing my first rental contract. I think it was an experience that did me good that unfortunately young Europeans can no longer have in London because of Brexit. Today you can go as a tourist. They have isolated themselves. They have lost Europe and with it a lot of work force. The dream of London no longer exists. Now they are experiencing first-hand what hard Brexit means. Something that is not convenient for anyone. In Milan today I feel an even stronger energy, definitely more advanced than that which is present today in London, which however was there up to 7/8 years ago, it was there too while now it has stopped».

Speaking of broken dreams… How do you feel when you read articles on the web that call you a former actor?
“I think first of all that leaving the acting profession is not like retiring or giving up other jobs. That said, today I read everything with a different attitude than before. I have learned not to give too much weight to many things. As a kid I always wanted to answer. Today I have learned that it is not necessarily necessary to have my say on everything…”

You recently returned to the set of a Brazilian film. So you really can’t say you actually “resigned”…
“We shot that film a couple of years ago in Brazil, where I had never been before. It’s called Fino alla fine della musica. When I come across some writing that I like, that interests me and that I recognize myself in, I put other things on hold for a while and do what needs to be done. I can only add that mine was not the decision of someone who gave up, but of a person who made a choice to continue with life, embracing change in a positive way. Now I’ve also learned something more. The first person who should be satisfied is myself… So no, I don’t feel like a former actor at all, but I’m happy to be completely myself: I’m Nicolas, who was an actor for part of his life, a period that I remember with big smiles, and now I’m doing something else and I’m still very happy. Among other things, I’ve found enormous points in common, useful for both jobs, among the things I learned studying to be an actor… I thought they were diametrically opposed, but I was wrong.”

Which ones are they?
«First of all the concept of entertainment. Before I worked to entertain people who choose to spend the evening with you and your proposal.
Of course, the food in a restaurant is the protagonist but the scenography, the lights, the music, the courtesy, the thought that everyone is well and having fun is exactly the kind of discipline that I learned in the theater. An approach that I also tell the guys who work with me. I explain to them that during the evening they are performing».

As a citizen of Monteverde Vecchio, is it true that Rome is the city of actors?
“I can say that in my neighborhood I have always seen many actors: Benigni, Nanni Moretti, Verdone. Paola Cortellesi lived at number 10 and I at number 8 on the same street. I saw Elio Germano, Renato Zero too. Really many actors live in Monteverde Vecchio. I saw them all the time. I don’t say every day but at least a couple of times a week I happened to meet them on their scooters or shopping at the bakery on Via Carini…”

How much does beauty matter for men too?
“Beauty in cinema is a relative concept. Being pleasing to the eye can help but if that is not accompanied by charisma there is little way. There are actors who are not so beautiful but their charisma on stage transforms them into supersex symbols. Talent far surpasses beauty and is universally recognized.”

At 42, would you like to have a child?
“It’s a desire I have. I live in a growing family. I have grandchildren. I’m surrounded by children and friends who have children. These are things that come naturally. I’m not planning it but I would be very happy to live it. And I’m sure it will be part of my life. Before there was that form of narcissism that makes you think it’s all around you.”

What advice would you give to the kids who are now taking their final exams… And what would you give to those who want to be actors?
«To high school graduates not to study Leopardi, it’s useless anyway (Laughs) To those who want to be an actor, it’s a beautiful introspective journey as well as physical. It takes you somewhere else and makes you do things that no other job would ask of you. Anyone involved in the art world is called to work on themselves. The artist is called to confront themselves, to disguise themselves. There is a child with whom you play and who grows together with you. Most people hide it. If one reaches that awareness, the journey becomes truly beautiful».