PLEASE take a few seconds to read this. I need to talk about it at least here, or I swear steam will start coming out of my ears.
For weeks now, Luca Marinelli has been surrounded, humiliated, and mocked by a large portion of Italians (spoiler: fascists, but without saying it) just because, in some interviews (interviews he HAD to do—it’s not like he volunteered—purely to promote his new high-profile project M, The Son of the Century on SKY TV), he stated that he is antifascist, that his grandmother and entire family were too, and that it was difficult for him to take on Mussolini’s appearance and portray him.
The series is outstanding, making it untouchable from a production standpoint (JOE WRIGHT is the director! The same director of Pride & Prejudice and Atonement with McAvoy).
So what did this disgusting Italian ignorance do? Of course, it could ONLY latch onto Marinelli’s words.
Words that should be completely normal in a democratic government, right? An Italian actor says it was challenging to portray a historical figure who was atrocious and horrible for Italian families themselves.
And yet… no. They attacked him, mocked him. From then until now (to the point that he was interviewed again, and he admitted that yes, of course, it hurt him because he was speaking genuinely about himself). And now that a second season is confirmed, they’re mocking him even more.
But what exactly are they saying? Well, the usual ignorance:
That he took the MONEY, so he should shut up. (He worked. Obviously, he got paid. He worked for a production team and even said he was thrilled to collaborate with them. But he still despises the historical figure he portrayed.)
That he's a nobody. (Sure, he’s not super famous outside of Italy. But in Italy, he’s REALLY well-known. He’s one of the few Italian actors who has worked with Charlize Theron, starred in an American series, won at the Venice Film Festival, worked with foreign directors, acted in LGBTQ+ projects, and performed in English, Italian, and German.)
That he should shut up (again) because other famous actors have played bad characters and stayed silent. (Completely false. Leonardo DiCaprio and even Evan Peters—who played Dahmer—have both said it wasn’t easy to portray a real-life serial killer. Plus, we’re talking about Marinelli, an Italian actor playing an Italian dictator from the 1900s, not Caesar. This is recent history, and it still carries deep wounds in our country. You can’t compare it to an "American actor" playing a fictional villain or even a real historical figure from another country—someone who didn’t harm their homeland or cause them personal pain or shame.)
That he only said it to get attention and his moment of fame. (FALSE. GUYS, GUYS, GUUUYS… we’re talking about Luca Marinelli, who DOESN’T have social media, whose private life is completely unknown, who is genuinely shy outside of acting, and who has never been involved in any gossip.)
All of this disgusts and saddens me… The only thing I’m "happy" about is that at least The Old Guard 2 is happening.
