D.a semi-unknown actress a leading protagonist of Italian television. All in the short space of a few years. To radically change Vanessa Scalera’s professional life was her meeting with Imma Tataranni, the magistrate created by Mariolina Venezia and brought to the screen by Rai Fiction and Ibc Movie. A woman full of very normal defects: impulsive, rough, frank on the verge of offense, but at the same time charismatic, intelligent and incredibly human.
A character – that of the deputy prosecutor of Matera – that director Francesco Amato found in Vanessa «After the fourth test. After that she texted me saying “Hi Imma”», Said the actress. A beautiful moment, with the actress totally unaware of how her life would take an unexpected turn, overwhelmed by an overwhelming popular success.
Who is Vanessa Scalera
Proudly Apulian, Vanessa Scalera was born in Mesagnein the province of Lecce, April 5, 1977. He soon realized that he wanted to recite: even as a child she did everything to be the center of attention. The highlight of her was the Celentano imitation. “My parents understood that this was my path. They indulged me in a healthy way without making me anxious about my future, ”she recalls. Leaving Puglia, which she continues to love viscerally, Scalera moved to Rome to graduate from the La Scaletta theater school.
Vanessa Scalera at the Quirinale for the presentation of the candidacies of the 67th edition of the David di Donatello (Getty Images)
From the theater to Imma tataranni
At 19 he began to dedicate himself body and soul to the theater. He begins with Drums in the night by Bertold Brecht and never gets off the stage anymore. His is a long apprenticeship which leads her to confront important texts. She briefly crossed paths with cinema in 2001, with South Seasand television in 2005 with the Canale 5 miniseries, Fathers and sonswithout even being accredited.
Continue with small parts until, in 2015, Marco Tullio Giordana wants her as the protagonist of Leathe TV movie that tells the story of Lea Garofalothe witness to justice murdered by the ‘Ndrangheta in 2009. But it is not yet her moment that comes when, at 42, Francesco Amato chooses her as the protagonist of Imma Tataranni.
Good and aware
To enter the role of the deputy prosecutor of Matera, Vanessa Scalera transforms herself. Her dark, neat hair turned red and disheveled. Her gait becomes disordered. Success is almost immediate: viewers are immediately conquered by this female character who does not discount the powerful and is empathetic with the weak.
Its secret? Look like normal women struggling with work (the fact that he is an assistant prosecutor is a detail) and everyday life which includes husband, daughter, mother and in-laws. What makes Imma so real is Vanessa’s acting awareness, who on the eve of the airing of the second series, admitted: “I am so different from her that, despite the success, often in normal clothes they do not recognize me ».
Not only Imma Tataranni
The success of Immawhich also makes her win the Flaiano Award for the best female interpretation, gives an incredible boost to Vanessa Scalera’s career. In 2021 she is in the cinema with The arminuta, in which she plays the mother of the little protagonist of the novel by Donatella di Pietrantonio about a little girl returned to her family of origin, in Abruzzo in the 1970s. Also for The arminuta, Vanessa Scalera is rewarded: she goes the Nuovo Imaie prize awarded in the context of the Silver Ribbons to which she was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress. For the same role she is nominated for the David di Donatello and the Globo d’Oro which has not yet been awarded.
Vanessa Scalera in “L’arminuta”.
From Romulus to Avetrana – This is not Hollywood
Now that Vanessa is out of the shadows there are many directors who notice his skill and versatility. Matteo Rovere wanted it in Romulusof which the second season will be released on Sky next October 22, where it is Rea Silvia. The Manetti Bros have assigned her the part of Flora, the secretary of Minister Caron, in Diabolik.
She was also in the cast of the lucky one I run to you together with Pierfrancesco Favino and Miriam Leone. On Rai instead it will return as Filumena Marturano, film based on the famous comedy by Eduardo De Filippo. On occasion she will be paired with again Massimiliano Galloher husband Pietro in Imma Tataranni.
Vanessa Scalera on the set of the TV movie “Filumena Marturano”. (IPA)
He is also among the stars of the film Sky Original, Travelers, adventure story with a group of young people traveling to Benito Mussolini’s Rome. As evidence of his great versatility, Vanessa is now wearing the role of Aunt Cosima in Avetrana – This is not Hollywood for Disney +. The story is that of the Sarah Scazzi crime that will air on Disney +.
Vanessa Scalera and truly private life
The adjective “private” has an important meaning for Vanessa Scalera that he maintains a great deal of secrecy for everything that does not concern his work. His name is linked to that of the actor and director Filippo Gili, who has often directed her in the theater since 2012 and is the author of some of the texts she has brought to the theater. However, there are no photos that portray them together.
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