“THEor I always say: what I didn’t do in reality I did with my characters.” Alice Lupparelli25 years old on March 11th, will be at the cinema on March 19th Night before exams 3.0the new chapter that comes out 20 years after the first Night before exams. In the film, directed by Tommaso Renzoni, the actress originally from Spello (Perugia) she plays a student struggling with her high school graduation. Even in the TV series A professor 3 Alice had “lived” her last year of high school in the classroom. Instead, the real one ended remotely for her, due to the pandemic.
Let’s start with this role in Night before exams 3.0.
In the film the protagonists go through adventures or problems that are a little more current than those represented in the other two (the first, from 2006, and Night before exams – Today of 2007, ed). I play Allegra, a girl who, like everyone else, is preparing for her high school diploma, and who has some difficulty understanding and accepting herself and her sexual orientation. She has put on some labels that are a little too tight for her. He will be able to discover himself and listen to himself more. And then there’s everything that happens before exams, the disasters that happen among the kids.
Labels weigh.
They certainly give you a great sense of belonging, especially in adolescence. We often tend to define ourselves in a certain way, but it’s too early to be sure what you want. I found myself in this a lot too: do I necessarily have to define myself in something and be someone because I like this or that? In reality, if one listens to oneself, one finds oneself full of contradictions. I listen to myself a lot. I always question everything a bit, I almost never label myself. You never stop learning about yourself.
Alice Lupparelli will be at the cinema in “Night before exams 3.0”. (Photo by Mattia Cecchetti)
The maturity of Alice Lupparelli
His final exam in 2020 was different from that of the film.
And experiencing it on set was very beautiful, almost therapeutic. Because I missed it. I did the last period of the fifth year of linguistic high school in Dad (with distance learning, ed). For the exam it was necessary to prepare a paper to be presented at school, between masks and pre-established routes, with some teachers present and others connected remotely. It was funny. Compared to the normal exam, however, it was milder. I missed the cohesion with my teammates, the atmosphere in which everything seems possible even if we don’t know what will happen in the future. I was sorry not to have gone through that stage of life that everyone talks about saying “How beautiful” or “How anxious”.
What kind of teenager was she?
Crazy. I think it’s normal, it’s a moment when everything collapses a bit and you try to survive the changes. There are those who react in a more calm manner and those who are more rebellious. I started high school quiet and shy, then I got low grades in conduct because I joked with my classmates. I did the bare minimum, but I always got by.
Alice Lupparelli (first from left) in “Night before exams 3.0” together with Tommaso Cassissa, Adriano Moretti, Alice Maselli, Aleandro Falciglia, Bea Barret. (Photo Chiara Calabrò)
After graduating, she moved to Rome to become an actress.
The change of city (first from Spello to Foligno for high school, then to the capital for acting, ed) was both traumatic and healing: when you change reality you realize that, in the end, no one cares about you. It’s a great liberation, you no longer have this burden of having to be someone, especially when you’re so young.
On set his character discovers love, his sexuality. How do your peers experience love?
We have experienced a moment of change: we talk about everything and everything is much freer and more fluid. But those who are totally free are the generations after mine, even more open, who experiment and manage to let go and then understand what type of relationship, love or sexuality belongs to them.
Is she engaged?
Yes, her name is Costanza. I’m happy, it’s going very well.
According to data from CNEL, the National Council for Economy and Labour, 78 thousand young people between the ages of 18 and 34 left Italy in 2024. And from 2011 to 2024 there were 630 thousand. What is it like to be 25 today? Have you ever thought about going abroad?
I realize how many leave and never return. For cinema, Rome is the best place in Italy because there are more opportunities. But I realize that, for many other situations, going abroad is worthwhile. Having an English mother, all of us (Alice has a sister and two brothers, ed) we know we can go to England. I too had thought about it before starting this journey.
In “Maschi Veri” (Netflix) with Maurizio Lastrico. Lupparelli is Emma, he is her father Mattia (Photo Lucia Iuorio/Netflix)
One of her dreams was to be a midwife. Instead she entered the Experimental Cinematography Center. Do you remember the entrance exam?
First I sent a video audition, then they called me for the one in person. We were all in a huge room, waiting to be called. I also had to hold a sheet of paper with my name on it for filming and my hands were shaking like hell. I said to myself: “Let’s try it, let’s have fun, let’s dive in”. And perhaps this unconsciousness also helped me a little.
Are thoughts written on the phone or on paper today?
I have a stack of journals for every period of my life. I continue to write on paper. I also transcribe the texts of the auditions: I prefer them written by hand rather than on the computer.
Purple by A professor 2 and 3 (aired on Rai 1) is a person in a wheelchair. Elena’s Adoration (on Netflix) is a victim of femicide. Emma by Real men (Netflix) tackles gender stereotypes and helps his father with new technologies. How did you work on yourself for these characters?
For Viola, my first job, I had a wheelchair brought home and I used it for a month before filming, to try to identify with it. For Elena, also thanks to the help of a coach, I worked on her painful past, to understand how she carried it. For Emma, my first role in a comedy, I learned that acting can be different depending on the tone and I got a lot of help from Maurizio (Lastrico, the actor who plays her father, ed).
In “A Professor” (Rai 1, third season here) Lupparelli was Viola: in this image she is with Filippo Brogi, who plays Zeno. (Photo Pino Bruni)
In the past he studied dance and violin. Is it continuing?
I started modern dance again after six years: I’m the happiest person in the world because I missed it so much, it makes me feel really good. I would also like to take up the violin again, but now it’s complicated.
For actresses and actors, the body is fundamental. How is the relationship with yours?
I suffered from eating disorders, especially when I was in high school. It’s a constant struggle, I know it’s a door that isn’t closed and that it will be present in my life. But I’ve learned to find a way to know it’s there, and to keep it ajar.
Also because there is always attention to the body, especially that of us women.
And that’s not right.
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Yes. I grew up in a provincial environment where traditionalism was very strong, where you felt the weight of how past generations saw women: their role, but also relationships and marriage. I believe that feminism is a necessary struggle on a social level.
How do you see your future?
I want to try to do this job, which I like so much, as much as possible. At the same time I still want to be able to get my degree in Obstetrics, even late, I don’t care how many years from now. And then I still have to get my license.
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