The first time we spoke on the phone with Coco Rebecca Edogamhe at the beginning of summer, the conversation had that natural music that only cicadas can create in the background. She was in Bologna and was getting ready to go on holiday with friends in Greece and Sicily and then with her mother and her sister Alicia Ann in Salento, Lecce, the city where she was born just over 20 years ago. ‘Sooner or later I’ll also go to Nigeria, where my father was born, but I want to really prepare for that trip and study well,’ she tells us.
«I experienced it all rather naively because I knew nothing about that world»
Regardless, summer has brought her luck, as for three years now she has been the protagonist of the Netflix TV series Summertime produced by Cattleya, playing the role of a girl whose name is Summer: ‘An independent girl who dreams of flying away from the place where she grew up,’ she explains, ‘but at the same time feels she is responsible for her family.’ Which is a bit like Coco, ‘But in a completely random and unexpected way,’ she adds.
‘I was going to linguistic secondary school, so I went to school, I lived my daily life. One day a classmate of mine told me she was auditioning for a series, but we didn’t know much about it. So I decided to go too, accompanied by my mother because I was still a minor at the time. Once I left the audition, I went back home and continued to live my daily life.
A month later they called me to schedule more auditions, this time no longer in Bologna, but in Rome. I had never gone there and that was in itself really exciting for me. That second audition was followed by others, but I experienced it all rather naively because I knew nothing about that world – nor do I now as I am continuing to learn – of how an audition itself worked.’ Her tranquillity is obviously only apparent, ‘Because my stomach was full of butterflies (no longer cicadas, ed.), I was just so nervous.’
«I remember my mother’s face and sparkling eyes and her voice telling me that I would be the star of Summertime. I couldn’t believe it»
‘Thinking about it now, after the fact,’ she adds, ‘I can say that at that moment I was moving forward, even if I didn’t know it – I couldn’t know it – but that’s how life goes and that’s also the beauty of it.’ Then the next phone call came, this time to her mother, letting her know that her daughter had been chosen for the role. ‘I remember my mother’s face and sparkling eyes and her voice telling me that I would be the star of Summertime. I couldn’t believe it. “It doesn’t make sense,” is all I could say, and then I hugged her.’ And yet it made so much sense. ‘It was all true,’ she continues, ‘it was 2019.’
‘The most difficult thing,’ she explains, ‘was keeping everything hidden for several months, especially at school. Only my two best friends at the time knew, I had to tell them. When my other classmates asked me why I hadn’t gone with them on the school trip, I said that I had had to go work with my uncle in Apulia who had asked me to. When the official poster came out in the main Italian cities and in my city, they couldn’t believe it. But then they understood, they were all really caring, they became my fans.’
«Things come when it’s their moment and my personal history proves it»
Coco then returned to Rome, first commuting back and forth, then sharing a home with a colleague in the Prati area. ‘The idea of coming to live in such a different city, as wonderful as it is complicated, scared me, but now I know how to get around, and many people have helped me, Vanessa and Sara first and foremost (Vanessa Bozzacchi and Sara Castelli Gattinara of the agency Other Srl, ed.), my guardian angels who represent me, especially in knowing how to manage success. Everything is elusive, but I focus on what I have going on. If they don’t hire me for a part, I’ll try another, things come when it’s their moment and my personal history proves it. I like competition as long as it’s healthy. As long as it’s healthy, it’s great.’
She adds, ‘I’m taking advantage of this period with less work to dedicate time to myself, to relax. I continue going to acting classes in order to improve and I also go to singing lessons. I like to get in the game, sing in front of others, I also sang in the series. I often sing in front of my friends, who can’t take it anymore (laughs, ed). I use this job that I whole-heartedly respect, while having fun. In my free time I love to listen to hip hop, skateboard and paint.’
«Knowing how to create a special bond like that, with people you don’t know, makes you feel less alone, makes you feel alive»
She then tells us about the exact moment when she thought that this was precisely the job she wanted to do when she grew up. ‘I was in Milan, at the The Weeknd’s concert, my favourite singer. I’ve been listening to him since I was 14. On that stage, Abel (Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, the Canadian artist’s real name, ed.) conveyed something that went beyond music, he created a special bond with the audience that was going crazy, a unique emotion that’s similar to what an actor or actress can give, in cinema as well as in television. I wanted to convey this, to arouse emotions. Or at least I’m trying, because I just started. Knowing how to create a special bond like that, with people you don’t know, makes you feel less alone, makes you feel alive.
«My dream? Growing old in a world that doesn’t fall apart»
’Summer’s character has given her so much – like few others, the series has managed to recount the theme of integration in a completely natural way – but now it’s behind her. ‘I let her go, but she’s always inside me.’ Now the summer in the life of this very young and talented actress continues, outside as well, despite the fact that it’s late autumn. The crazy climate is the culprit, with all the consequences that have arisen and derive from it. ‘This climate upheaval worries me a lot, there has to be a change before things become irreversible. Many adults are taking this problem lightly, while in this sense young people have understood more and show it. My dream? Growing old in a world that doesn’t fall apart. When there were the heavy floods in Romagna I was in Rome, and like so many I saw the effects of this announced disaster. The young people there have done so much, their help has been precious. In those moments we feel powerless, it’s true, but if we all commit together and respect the environment, something good can be achieved, or at least, I hope so.’
Credits
Photographer Davide Frandi
Stylist Simone Folli
Make-up Alice Torri
Hair Dario Usai
Video Martina Amoruso
Stylist assistant Nadia Mistri
Photographer assistant Enrico Concato
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