Anna Valle: «My little revolution is not being on social media»

Ddisplay the scepter and crown of Miss Italy, Anna Valle left for a trip to Rome in 1995, and never returned to Sicily. He left his studies at the Faculty of Law in Catania and interpreted photo novels. He made his debut with a leading role in the TV drama Orders (1999) alongside Sabrina Ferilli and Nancy Brilli. From there, a thirty-year career took off, all set and family: she got married, shot a TV series a year, became the mother of Ginevra and Leonardo, who are now 17 and 12 years old.

Never a scandal, a gossip, a blemish on his image.
How boring, huh? I’m not even on social media. Visibility does not belong to me. Maybe I’ll have to give in to Instagram, but only to promote my work.

On stage in Scandala comedy written and directed by Ivan Cotroneo, until December 21st at the Teatro Manzoni in Milan, she plays Laura, a fifty-year-old writer recently widowed of a man she has loved for a long time, tempted by a boy who is 24 years younger than her. Where is the scandal?
Female sexual desire can be considered excessive. It’s embarrassing, especially if the woman is older. It is a legacy of patriarchal culture. The topic we address creates tension. On stage I feel the attention of the audience.

What is seduction for you?
It’s a two-person game. Suddenly an opening… intellectual, in the head, is created. Which manifests itself with a mutual glance. I learned seduction by rehearsing at the theater for Scandal.

Didn’t she need it because beauty was enough for her?
Beauty has great power. It’s the first thing they see about you, it makes it easier to approach others. But sometimes it’s counterproductive, especially when you’re young. At 20 years old, I was surrounded by prejudices at the auditions. Not so much for my appearance, but for having participated and won the Miss Italia competition.

In hindsight, do you regret dropping out of college to work in show business?
Knowledge is also a power. Maybe I would have liked to get a degree. I’m certainly not as cultured as Laura, my character in Scandalan intellectual expert in Russian literature.

An intellectual but above all a woman who is not afraid to desire. You once said in an interview: “I’m not a mattress tiger”…
I said it for fun, quoting a friend of mine’s phrase. Sex in a couple is very important, indeed it is fundamental. If the agreement is lacking for too long, there is a problem. Achieving harmony of the senses is a magical moment.

A husband’s love

Is it true that her husband Ulysses Lendaro wrote her a love message a day?
Yes, when I wasn’t around for work he made me find a note together with a red rose. Otherwise he would send me very nice text messages. I have a very tall little red book where I copied them all. He stopped texting me daily, but still does.

In his 30-year career he has filmed almost 30 TV series. The titles that gave you the most satisfaction?
Surely Ordersmy first stage as an actress: I was trusted. I was lucky, Nancy Brilli was generous with me on set. During the filming of Heartand by Maurizio Scarpato, in 2001 Leo Gullotta made me rehearse the lines in the dressing room. Sorayain 2003, was my first role of great responsibility. Another milestone? The seasons of the heartin 2004, with Alessandro Gassmann.

Between her and Neri Marcorè in This love of ours there was a great understanding.
I fell in love with him professionally. Our characters in the three seasons of fiction have something that belongs to us. I have always liked costume roles, on set there is total attention to detail, you have to immerse yourself in a distant era, with a different way of moving and speaking.

On the small screen she is always a respectable woman. In Atelier Fontana. The sisters of fashion he plays the most traditionalist figure.
I have a kind face, no one has ever taken the risk of casting me as a villain. As a girl I dreamed of a “Nikita” character, a mix of strength and fragility. Now I’d like to play someone who gets lost, who makes a big mistake. I could dig into the dark part. Change register in A new lifewhich will be broadcast on Canale 5, a story of rebirth where I am a woman accused of murdering her husband and released from prison after eight years. I return home with the aim of starting over and regaining my son’s trust by proving my innocence.

What do you know about prison?
A little something. My brother was a prison guard on the island of Elba and I have a friend who takes care of acting courses in the penitentiary. We actors know how to investigate, study. In some ways acting is a game, like children do.

50 years, and not hear them

In June he completedto 50 years. What relationship does it have with the passing years?
I live my 50s, I enjoy a new awareness of myself, as a woman and as an artist. The role of Laura in Scandal came at the right time. Laura was beautiful, and today she is still a beautiful woman who is not afraid to desire. I am lucky enough to feel loved by my husband and my family. My close-ups in Seasons of the heartfilmed when I was 30, it’s obvious that I can’t see them in the mirror. But the intensity of my gaze grew. But maybe it’s just me who sees it… I have greater maturity. If a person remains curious, time doesn’t pass.

But wrinkles don’t know this…
We wait for them to arrive. My fear is that, in a few years, I won’t recognize myself. Cosmetic surgery? I’m fine with that, but I don’t rule it out.

Anna, can you tell us about a head turn, even a small one?
Let’s see… Spending sleepless nights chatting during the Naples stop on the tour, and then going to work. I also love walking around the city at night. I do it often. It counts as a little madness, right?