«RFinding myself on set with him was like entering a time machine. At 90 years old he has the same physical and mental energy: small, tiny, he is a bit of an elf, he never ages. When we hugged again he asked me: “How much time has passed?”. “Eh, half a century.” “Nooo, how is this possible?”». And yes, instead: 50 years passed between the filming of That?the film with which in 1972 Roman Polanski he threw Sydney Rome (“It was a Pygmalion, he changed my life”), and those of The Palacein theaters from September 28.
Strong social criticism
«A zany, absurd – and very comical – story about a group of customers who meet in a hotel in Gstaad for New Year’s Eve 1999/2000. There is strong social criticism, among amoral rich people, unscrupulous businessmen, Russian oligarchs and adepts of plastic surgery, like my character” she explains, a woman of sunny sympathy and loud laughter (“I hurt my knee in the swimming pool, jumping from the diving board, and the orthopedist commented: “It is the fifth case of the week, but the only one with a patient over the age of nine”»).
Uninhibited girl
The first meeting with Polanski?
I had been in Italy for a few years and, one day, I received the script of That?an over-the-top comedy set on the Amalfi Coast, a satire on sexual mores inspired by Little Annie Fannythe comic series by Playboy. The cast was ready (Marcello Mastroianni, Romolo Valli), they couldn’t find the protagonist. Roman then explained to me that she had to be the cross between a teacher and an uninhibited girl.
Departure!
No, I had to think about it: coming from a strict family of Jewish tradition (five children and a mother dedicated only to us), I was sure that dad, an entrepreneur, would have disapproved of seeing me in that sort of erotic fantasy. And I was the first to hesitate: “No one will give me credit as an actor anymore if I do nude scenes!”. Coincidence (but will coincidences exist?), a fellow student of mine, Sean Mankiewicz, the son of the director of Cleopatra. She convinced me: “Sydne, no one has succeeded without sacrifice.”
When did your interest in acting begin?
I remember it very well, it was a “clairvoyance”: at six years old I competed in class to read in front of everyone. I grew up in a town of five thousand inhabitants in Ohio: either you have a strong passion or you don’t get anywhere… But in the United States – this is the true American dream – if you are ready to commit you will find the way: my parents would never have me sent to the Actors Studio in New York, but several universities offer acting courses and summer workshops. So an agent noticed me and, in 1969, recommended an audition in Rome. They didn’t take me (laughs)on the other hand I was hired for a film in London and from there I started working around Europe.
Sydne Rome and aerobics
Sydne Rome with Roman Polanski in 1974 (Getty Images).
Not just cinema.
TV was an important step: at the time no big screen actress dedicated herself to television, but I loved dancing and singing. In 1980 they asked me to participate in Full gagI also played the ending theme, Domineering angel… I made records, I performed abroad, but I didn’t continue: it’s not like I was Barbra Streisand and, due to my character, if I’m not like Streisand I don’t like myself (laughs).
She was also a pioneer in another sector, aerobics.
When Jane Fonda launched it, in 1982, I said: good idea, someone should bring it to Italy. After two months I concluded: “Me!”. I followed the training in Berlin, with certified teachers, and opened a school in Rome. Fantastic!
Aerobics has marked a revolution on the fitness planet.
And it was an impulse for sports medicine: before it became so popular, there were no large-scale studies on cardiovascular benefits. Indeed, they feared that she would cause a heart attack. I collaborated with CONI, they monitored me with the Holter.
“Great suitor”
A life, his, full of chapters. The significant encounters?
The one with David Bowie, without a doubt. I had never had a friendship with someone of that level in showbusiness. He had invited me to Paris to the premiere of The man who fell to eartha, in 1976, to propose a film on the life of Egon Schiele. We talked incessantly two days in a row. A great suitor, but not one to imagine a solid relationship with: he had a 24-hour dedication to his talent, he was constantly creating himself. When they called me to Gigoloin 1978 (last appearance of Marlene Dietrich, ed), without yet having the main actor, I was the one who sent him the script, knowing that he loved the era of Germany between the two wars and German expressionism.
And Iglesias? Stories.
Julio was cute-cute and funny, but another impossible flirt. At that time he was busy in South America, I was in England. Once I surprised him: I joined him in Beirut but, being without a visa due to naivety, I passed through Syria, crossing the border with Lebanon in the back of a truck, wrapped in a Persian carpet. (laughs). When you are young you are not afraid of anything, you feel invincible. Over time, I felt the lack of family stability, I couldn’t see myself at 80 years old alone traveling around the world looking for writings.
The Pope’s geriatrician
Sydne Rome with David Bowie in 1979 (Getty Images).
So?
One summer I was on holiday in Argentario with Don Lurio (he was my best friend, I miss him very much every day) and Gianni Bernabei introduced me to his brother Roberto. He was a very serious young doctor, a fantastic (and, like every fantastic man, difficult) man who perfectly embodied my idea of Prince Charming at that moment. Suddenly it was like we were both in our twenties, still glued together. We got married in 1987. For me, a total change of direction: it wasn’t easy to get into the role, and without even an audition (laughs). There were prejudices about a Jewish American actress (her father Ettore and the entire family were very Catholic). I had to work hard to make people understand who I was. And, above all, who I wasn’t.
What do “an American actress” and Pope Francis’ geriatrician have in common?
The values, which are identical, and the curiosity of their respective worlds. Those who see us ask themselves: how is it possible for two radically different people to be together? And yet… The most difficult moment was after, not being able to have children, we decided to adopt two Brazilian sisters. There are no white mills, it was complex. But luckily I discovered mindfulness, which helped me and continues to help me live in the present, the wonders of the present, which are still there.
What kind of mindfulness?
Just that of Jon Kabat-Zinn, with a more practical approach than the Buddhist one, takes five minutes. At the beginning of the journey I went with Romina Power, my best friend, to a Zen meditation session: they placed us in front of the white wall for an hour… Luckily there was a fly, trying not to think about anything it was torture (laughs)!
“Me and mindfulness”
Sydne Rome with her husband Roberto Bernabei in 1992. (Getty Images)
Mindfulness must have helped her when she had the car accident.
Ah yes, more than twenty years ago… I tend to forget the bad things. The airbag, when it exploded, cut the muscle in my cheek and, when they stitched me up in the emergency room, I was so bruised and bloody that they messed up. I had part of my face paralyzed for years. It was a disaster for my job, not for me. Or, perhaps, I had more pressing concerns in everyday life. It was my husband who insisted: “Sydne, do something about that face!”.
There is material for an autobiography.
I already have the title: The bourgeois and the showgirl. (and laughs)
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