Summary
- Italian actress Monica Bellucci has described ageing as a “wonderful gift”, saying maturity has given her a different perspective on life and helped her take on roles she could not have played when she was younger.
- Bellucci said her age had influenced her approach to her latest film, Histoires de la nuit, in which she plays an Italian painter living alone on a remote island.
- The actress said portraying a character with deep emotional turmoil required the kind of life experience that comes with age.
Italian actress Monica Bellucci has described ageing as a “wonderful gift”, saying maturity has given her a different perspective on life and helped her take on roles she could not have played when she was younger.
The 62-year-old actress made the comments in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar España, in which she said she wanted to grow old “with dignity” and viewed reaching older age as a sign of having more life ahead.
“Growing old means you’re fortunate enough to still be alive and have a future,” Bellucci said. “Besides, maturity brings with it a wonderful gift: detachment.”
She said ageing had also changed the way she viewed the world, adding that people could become more of an observer as they grew older and gained a different perspective.
Bellucci said her age had influenced her approach to her latest film, Histoires de la nuit, in which she plays an Italian painter living alone on a remote island.
“I could never have played this role when I was 30 or 40, not even with layers of make-up to age myself,” she said.
The actress said portraying a character with deep emotional turmoil required the kind of life experience that comes with age.
“To give substance, weight, and truth to a character with that level of inner turmoil, you have to have lived. You have to accumulate scars and experience,” she said.
Bellucci also said actors needed to continue reinventing themselves rather than trying to repeat roles from earlier in their careers. She cited Malèna, Irreversible and The Passion of the Christ as examples of films from earlier stages of her career.
“Bodies change over time, but what’s truly important is how we change on the inside,” she said.
She contrasted her roles in Seven Dogs and Histoires de la nuit, saying the former required her to play a glamorous woman while the latter used her “tired physique” as part of the character and story.
Bellucci began her career as a fashion model before moving into acting and has appeared in Italian, French and international films.
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