Diving Deeper with ‘The White Lotus’ Star Sabrina Impacciatore
Italian actor Sabrina Impacciatore on loneliness, the spirit world, and The White Lotus.
Photography by Erica Fava
Styled by Pablo Patanè
Last fall, it was nearly impossible to escape the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus—not that we’d want to. The latest season of the addictive satire takes place at a luxury resort in Sicily, and follows the hotel’s guests, employees, and locals as their respective roles in a mysterious death unfolds.
Italian actor Sabrina Impacciatore, who plays the hotel’s manager, delivered one of the series’ standout performances. After having acted on stage and screen in Italy for decades, Impacciatore’s introduction to American audiences turned her into an overnight star, flexing both her dramatic and comedic chops—an improvised joke where she compares Jennifer Coolidge in head-to-toe pink floral to Peppa Pig went viral. Impacciatore’s character, Valentina, a seemingly rigid working woman who keeps a watchful eye over the White Lotus, does everything possible to ensure guests have a five-star experience. Though she seems to know almost everything that goes on at the resort, parts of herself remain hidden. “In the world of men, it’s hard for a woman to come to power,” says Impacciatore. “Those who make it are described as aggressive and masculine, but it is only a manifestation of strength; there’s no room for insecurity.”
L’OFFICIEL: In a recent video interview you repeatedly call yourself “Sabri.” Do you often talk to yourself in the third person?
SABRINA IMPACCIATORE: I heard one of the best descriptions of my personality from a great Italian theater director, Valerio Binasco, with whom I worked on a monologue based on the novel The Dry Heart by Natalia Ginzburg. He said, “Sabrina, dealing with you is like dealing with an entire building. The problem is that you don’t understand who the fucking administrator is.” It is very fitting. I’m often alone for work, and I talk to myself to keep myself company. A psychologist told me years ago to stop, but I haven’t abandoned it.
L’O: Do you ever feel lonely?
SI: Loneliness is a price of doing a job that I love and that often requires me to travel, but I’ll gladly pay it. It allows for a moment of recollection and reflection, which also lets me explore human beings while playing a role. It might seem crazy, but I never feel alone; I’m always accompanied by “presences.”
L’O: Are you a spiritual person?
SI: I have a very spiritual vision of life; I feel in tune with the universe and invisible forces—maybe that’s why I never feel alone. Spirituality gives a deeper meaning to the everyday. Everything that happens, even if it’s tragic, always has a deeper meaning. There is always a lesson to learn.
L’O: How much does this influence your approach to a role?
SI: A lot. The spiritual always enters into everything I do. I’m not protecting myself. When I play a character, I split myself open. My aspiration is to become a channel, to kill the ego and to use emotion, intuition, and creativity to reach others. Reciting lines for me is a gift of love that in some moments has allowed me to almost come into contact with another dimension. It does not always happen; with the theater it was more obvious. I believe that all forms of art allow man to expand his possibilities and to come into contact with some god.
“Everything that happens, even if it’s tragic, always have a deeper meaning. There is always a lesson to learn.”
L’O: You’ve called Mike White, creator and director of The White Lotus, a genius. What is artistic genius to you?
SI: The term genius is widely abused. Mike’s a real genius, though. I believe that an artist observes the world through a free, yet innocent lens, which allows for a true exploration of life. When you have the skills and the gift of being able to access the Muse (the inspiration), you create real works of art, not just a product. Mike White did this with The White Lotus. He created a human fresco, telling each character’s story and understanding them without judgment.
L’O: From this perspective, how did you approach your character?
SI: I admit that at the beginning, while first studying the role, I was a little worried. I wanted Mike to be happy with the result, so I followed him slavishly. Then one day came that “click” that triggered everything. I lived what Valentina lived in a visceral way: the conflict, the suffering, the inability to accept her nature, and also the desire to understand herself.
L’O: In the series, the great Monica Vitti is mentioned. As an actress, what does she represent for you?
SI: On my headboard, there’s a picture of Monica Vitti and Anna Magnani hugging and smiling; they’re my muses. Two wonderful women who taught me, since childhood, that life is both a comic and tragic journey. Remembering Monica moves me, and I’m very grateful to her. I had just auditioned for The White Lotus when she died—I walked alone to the capitol to pay my respects. I spoke to her, and asked for her blessing; it was a beautiful moment. A few days later I received the news that I had been cast for the series. I said to myself, “Monica, you’re there. I can hear you; there you are.”
HAIR Danilo Spacca
MAKEUP Simone Belli
SET DESIGN Alice Ariano
DIGITAL TECH Sara Meconi
PHOTO ASSISTANT Carolina Smolec
HAIR ASSISTANT Sara Petrucci
MAKEUP ASSISTANT Charlotte Hardy
SET DESIGN ASSISTANT Andrea Rossetti
