Shyness: from the Latin verb timère, “to be afraid”.
Shyness and fear, where the latter is often the cause of the former; fear of something unknown, of not knowing what to do, or both together. Shyness not to be confused with reservedness, because if a reserved person does not like to tell things about him or herself around, probably a shy person might want to do so, but is afraid of coming off looking bad.
She knows well that condition of the soul Clotilde Esposito, a very young actress from Campania, among the most beloved of the series Mare Fuori, a great Rai success that can be watched anytime on RaiPlay. Born in Castellamare di Stabia in 1997, «I was a very shy and introverted only child without ever having the dream of being an actress», she tells us. «As a child, however, I participated, like all children of that age, in school plays and I loved doing it, so much so that my mother, when I was 12, decided to enroll me in a theater class so that I could interact with everyone else. Year after year, as I continued studying – I had meanwhile finished high school – I fell in love with that profession and alternated between studying and auditioning for TV».
Clotilde Esposito and theater: «A school of life that forged my personality»
Clotilde began acting primarily in the theater «a school of life that forged my personality. I remain introverted, that is true, but all that shyness is gone. By that time, I had enrolled in law school, never leaving the sets I attended consistently».
Filmmaking was thus becoming, for all intents and purposes, a job, and as a “framed and rational” girl-as she calls herself-she certainly could not fail to finish her studies. Here, then, is the graduation in 2022 until the audition-“that audition”-that changed her life forever. «I had known casting director Marita Delia who had been talking to me for some time about a project that would star a group of actors as young inmates in a Neapolitan prison. I did not yet know it would be called Mare Fuori, just as I knew nothing about the project in general beyond this very little information. I decided to attempt the audition, and from March of that year I heard nothing more about it. Suddenly, in June, they called me to tell me that I had been accepted. I started jumping for joy because I couldn’t believe it».
Clotilde Esposito about her character in Mare Fuori: «I became very fond of Silvia who is so different from me. I would like to advise her to build her future on a solid foundation and not just on dreams that are impossible to achieve»
Since then, as many as four seasons of Mare Fuori have been aired, watched by millions of viewers, and they have very recently begun filming the fifth. «It was and is an incredible project that has taught me and given me so much. With all the other colleagues, some of whom have become friends, we did, and continue to do, great teamwork. In my opinion, this is one of the rules for making something, a project – in this case a fiction – succeed».
Clotilde plays Silvia, «an unintelligent, naive and unfortunate girl, born into a family that did not give her the right teachings. Her father was always absent in her life and her mother, alone, had to carry on a family, or at any rate, what was left, among a thousand sacrifices and renunciations. I have become very fond of her who is so different from me. I would like to advise her to wake up, to build her future on a solid foundation and not just on dreams that are impossible to realize».
Success, which came at a very young age, changed her life but did not turn it upside down. She moved to live in Naples in a top secret area, so as not to have fans under her window. So many have been impressed by her beauty as well as her skill; so many love her, especially professionally, but she has not let it go to her head. «It takes mental strength to stay grounded – she says – managing popularity is a process that took time to accept and metabolize». Beauty has helped, «but it’s certainly not enough. I’ve always had a bad relationship with my aesthetics and my body, but then things changed growing up. Today I treat myself just right, go to the gym and follow a diet that suits my physique».
«Through my work I can set a good example and make people realize how important it is to respect the environment and take care of it»
Eating means consuming and producing, therefore, waste.
«In recent years I feel very close then care and respect for the environment. Although someone like me is a tiny speck in the universe, and I feel powerless in that regard, I always think that something can be done. Therefore, in my daily life I use but do not waste; from toothpaste to water when I brush my teeth to plastic, which I try to avoid whenever possible. Through my work – she adds – I can set a good example and make people understand how important it is to respect the environment and take care of it».
Today Clotilde is in demand – «It takes great mental strength to stay grounded and you have to be able to accept even the ‘no’s’ when they come, because they strengthen you and make you grow» – but she remains an extraordinary girl-next-door. If shyness is a condition of her soul, the same is a dimension that opens up at times to loneliness, «with which – she points out – I have a wonderful relationship. I’m always around people, but in my private space I like to carve out a space for myself where I can recharge and start again, and it’s beautiful».
Credits
Photographer: Erica Fava
Stylist: Stefania Sciortino
Make-up: Revlon
Hair: Revlon Professional
Post production: Angela Arena
Photographer assistants: Carolina Smolec, Sara Meconi
Stylist assistants: Chiara Carrubba, Aurora Mauti
Location: The Rome Edition
© Riproduzione riservata
