Page 136 - Alternative Europe Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945

What actors inspire you?
As an actor I am like a sponge. When I was little I used to go to the movies a lot with my mother
and my two brothers, who were much older than me. So we would go to the opera or to the movies
which she loved so much. So from the point when I was little, I was feeling like the leading actors,
identifying with them: man, woman, boy, girl, whatever. I felt like Samson and Scarlet O'Hara! So I
was inspired by everything. I love the actors of the past. I loved Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers. He was
so fantastic.
When he won the Best Actor Oscar for Reversal of Fortune the person he thanked was David Cronenberg
for his influence on Irons as an actor.
Dead Ringers was amazing. Irons was able to portray twins without changing his look. Generally, if
you do twins one has a moustache or another different look, but you knew which twin it was without
anything. It is something sexual when I see such a good job as an actor. I am not very fond of star
quality. I do love Leonardo DiCaprio not because he is a star [but] because he is a good actor. I went
to see the movie about Verlaine and Rimbaud because I was interested in the story. After 5 minutes of
watching DiCaprio I asked 'who is this guy?' He was amazing. And he is Romeo! He is a great actor in
spite of his looks. Extremely good looks are something that prevents good acting. If a person, a man
or a woman, is so beautiful it is difficult to go through that beauty to see the acting. There are perfect
beauties and beauties which are expressive.
Horror fans rarely talk about Barbara Steele's acting or characters, they mainly focus on her
extraordinary, expressive face. Alain Delon is also a good example.
Yes, Alain Delon was so beautiful that it was sometimes difficult to pass through his beauty. So
there's a lot of actors I love from the past. I had a passion for Vivian Leigh but that was more for her
looks and because my mother looked like her. A n d nowadays there are so many good actors, Jeremy
Irons, Daniel Day Lewis, Kevin Spacey. So I do like actors that act.
Are there any directors you would particularly like to work with?
Maybe I didn't have a great relationship with all the directors but I had a great relationship with
Roger Young in Saint Paul when I played Herod. I do like directors who know what they want and
know what to say to actors. Basically, I think a director should be an actor, or have trained as one, to
be interesting directors for actors. At least they must understand actors.
Do you think certain directors let their own fantasy of their artistic importance cloud their ability to
work with actors?
N o . A lot of them really don't know what to say to actors. I think one of the reasons I was popular
in the horror movies was the word spread that I was a director in the theatre. If a director comes to
me and says 'I want this and this' I try to do it but if he says nothing I have my idea of the character.
I don't stand there waiting for him to come in and direct.
Is that how you direct?
I don't care about scenery, costume, lighting - only the actors. My idea of the perfect show is an
empty stage with just actors. I had a very good relationship with Roger Young, he is a very closed man,
but he complimented me in a way that I was really happy with. He said 'I thank you, you are like an
instrument and a director can play you.' With Fabrizio Costa I got along very well. With Michele
of course, maybe because we were such friends and he was an actor and always was accepting, in a

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