Giorgia Gianetiempo has been playing the role of Rossella Graziani in Un posto al sole for 14 years. She grew up on the Rai3 soap, facing adolescence with her own difficulties and becoming a young actress with the desire to try new experiences, giving voice and body to the fragility of every “possible and imaginable soul”.
Giorgia Gianetiempo she will turn 28 on September 24th, but for 14 years she has been the actress who gives the face to Rossella Grazianiin the longest-running soap on Italian TV: A Place in the Sun. A character with whom she grew up, whose lights and shadows she embraced, who accompanied her in the most tormented years of an individual’s life, such as those of adolescence. Becoming great on set is a daily challenge, with oneself but also with whoever change he sees it through a screen. In this interview, she spoke about herself, about hers fragilityof the passion for a profession that he will want to do for the rest of his life, but also of the need not to be afraid to look one’s weak points in the face, because they are the ones that actually make people unrepeatable.
Fourteen years ago you set foot on the set of Un posto al Sole for the first time. It’s almost half your life.
Yes, it’s incredible, it’s the anniversary in a few days. June 30, 2010 was my first pose.
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Speaking with some actors of your generation, what emerges as a common factor is the fact that arriving on set so young leads to speeding up. Was it like this for you too?
In this sector it is inevitable to grow up quickly, before A Place in the Sun I had also made other fiction, other films, but I was younger, so I didn’t have the awareness that I would have had as a teenager. I joined the soap at the same time as my first year of high school, so I found myself facing a series of new things. The set was also different from those I had seen before.
Did it burden you to live an adolescence different from others?
If I went to school in the morning, I was on set in the afternoon, unlike my peers who perhaps went home or went out. On Saturday evenings I often didn’t go out, because I had to catch up on the subjects I hadn’t done during the week, because I was busy filming. Then, being in contact most of your time with more adult people leads you to see things with a different awareness, you acquire maturity. In reality, however, despite the growth, you never let go of that child within you.
Have you ever thought about stopping?
I never thought about stopping because I have always wanted to do this job since I was little. Every time I went on set I felt good, I had fun, it was my place. The luck, then, of making Un Posto al Sole is in everyday life, once a story has been told it doesn’t mean that your character is finished. It’s a game every day, a constant challenge even with what the authors write. I used to think that I would have liked to spend more time with my friends, but to this day I don’t regret anything. I am who I am also thanks to my sacrifices.
And how are you? How would you describe Giorgia, compared to the Rossella that everyone knows?
After so many years it is normal that there is something of me in Rossella and vice versa, but we are different. For example, I never had his dedication to studying, perhaps because I was working so I was committed to that area. I graduated, I even enrolled in university, then I dropped out. I am a person who has many friends, while Rossella is suspicious, she tends to confide only in her family, which I happened to do, but not as a girl. We are both good, kind, but if I need to tell you something I do it, even making a thousand turns of words, as long as you don’t send me negative energy, I struggle to get close there, but I can change my mind. I need a moment to understand who you are.
This instinct you speak of is perhaps an aspect that you have developed through being an actress, being in contact with your emotions and those of others.
It’s true, but also some experiences that happened to me in real life. I have been exposed to the public since I was 16-17, when you are still a bit naive and I have always been particularly good. You can find friendships that aren’t real, people who are with you because they take advantage of you, they think “she’s on TV I can be friends with her” and then they turn their backs on you, as if nothing had happened, they say mean things. This is also why you put up a shield and start to trust what you feel, perceive who is worth opening up to and who triggers distrust.
You said it yourself, you found yourself being exposed from a young age. What relationship do you have with judgements? Did you know how to manage them?
I don’t open Facebook anymore. I read such mean, ignorant comments, they hurt me a lot. When I was younger I was chubby and I found myself faced with horrible insults about my physical appearance, I felt inadequate. I had a period of blackout with my diet, also due to these words, which I don’t give the same importance to now, I don’t want to see anything like that anymore.
What hurt you most about those comments?
Gratuitous wickedness. There have always been keyboard lions, those who write without considering that on the other side there may be someone who is ill. It’s absurd that they are the same people who then hug you, greet you kindly, maybe even ask for a photo. Criticisms are welcome, even if they are constructive. But offense is never acceptable.
How did you come out of that dark period?
It is not an easy or quick process, which is why I bless psychotherapy, I also bless this drive to free oneself from a taboo that envelops psychologists and psychiatrists. It’s important to know that you can talk to a person who doesn’t judge you, who is there to listen to you, to help you, it’s wonderful that we talk about it so frequently. However, having people around you who support you is equally important.
Who was there for you?
My family, my boyfriend Luca (Turco ed.) He was very good, even talking to me in a certain way. When particular mechanisms are triggered in a person’s mind, you often don’t know how to interact, how to speak. I became nervous, I suddenly lost my temper, over anything. Not eating I had ups and downs, some beautiful, very happy days, others when I was down and he never lost his patience.
There, now that you mentioned it. In Un Posto al Sole Luca plays Niko Poggi, so your love was born on set. But who took the first step?
The truth? Vodka (laughs ed.) I believe a lot in destiny, I think this is clear from some of my statements. Luca and I have known each other for 14 years and we have been together for almost 7, it didn’t all happen straight away. When I arrived I was 13 and he was 19, we have a six year difference and at that age they get along, plus he was engaged. Some time later, he was single and by chance there were a series of charity evenings and events that we happened to go to together. One evening, we had drunk a little too much and something happened on both of our sides. Maybe a little more from him.
Work together, live together. Have you found your balance?
In reality we are not always together, it’s a false myth. We meet at home in the evening, also because on set we have completely different stories. Maybe in the morning he accompanies me to the set, then we live the day each on our own. It may happen that he is in his private company, we never work together, fortunately, otherwise it would have been different.
Speaking of loves. Rossella made a rather strong choice, after a long tribulation, she left Riccardo at the altar on their wedding day. What made you stop?
Finally Rossella was courageous, she managed to make a choice that she had developed herself, without being influenced by other people’s advice. She thought it, she decided it and she did it alone and I’m very happy about it, because until now it had never happened that she made such an important decision without having regrets. She felt bad for Riccardo, because he was the man she loved and left him at the altar, she was also sorry for Nunzio, who she didn’t want to choose right away as her partner. But she knew, deep down, that she had to choose.
Should we expect another evolution?
I would say that we need to give time to time (laughs ed.)
Giorgia Gianetiempo and Vladimir Randazzo, Instagram source
There is another significant relationship, the one between Rossella and Michele (Alberto Rossi ed.) is a deep bond, despite not being her biological father. It’s a way of saying that love knows no boundaries.
Absolutely. I think that children belong to those who raise them, not to those who make them, Michele and Rossella are the true example of this. Michele has always taken part in Rossella’s life, she has always looked after her, she has never let her lack anything.
Is there a scene you filmed together that made an impression on you?
I remember a scene we filmed several years ago, when Rossella decided she wanted to meet her biological father. Michele never objected, he could have feared that once he met that man he could take her daughter away from him and instead he stepped aside from her. He was touching. I’m sure that many families experience situations of this type, I believe the strength of Un posto al sole is right here, in respecting reality in all its facets and bringing it to the airwaves every evening.
Giorgia Gianetiempo, Alberto Rossi and Fabio Balasso
Has the plurality of stories told contributed to the longevity of Un posto al sole in your opinion?
We are the only ones in Italy to do this. The stories that the authors write are based on real events, we have covered many themes, from homophobia to child prostitution, now the sale of newborns, many stories in a very short time, because what we are shooting today will be broadcast in a month.
Do you think anyone could underestimate the work that goes into A Place in the Sun, given that it’s a product that airs every evening?
I think so, because I have the feeling that many take for granted the fact that it is a soap, that it has been on air every evening for almost thirty years and therefore they may not consider it the same as a drama that is filmed, perhaps, in six months. But it is a product that has an incredible cast, plus hundreds of people who work behind the scenes and who as soon as a problem arises, are there to solve it.
Do you want to try your hand at something else in the future or are you afraid of being stuck in the role of Rossella?
Being an actress I would like to give my body and my voice to all possible and imaginable souls. It’s not something I fear. Harry Potter for me is always Harry Potter, even if he makes other films and I think that’s normal. Ultimately, it is always me, as a person, who gives body and voice to a character, whoever he may be.
We talked about negative comments, but is there anyone who felt inspired by the stories you told and wanted to tell you?
A girl wrote me a message which I took a screenshot of because it struck me so much. She had just taken her medical tests, because Rossella’s story had moved her, it had given her strength and self-confidence, so much so that she attempted to undertake that path. Knowing that what we show, but above all the way I do it, can be an inspiration to someone is a responsibility, but also a huge emotion, for which I will never be grateful enough.
