After speaking with Martina Lampugnani, the first feeling that remains is that of being left conversing with a girl of more unique than rare maturity and determination. From Milan, born in 2001, Martina fully embodies and embraces the spirit of healthy passion. Music, sports and then acting, the path she decided to pursue. Studying for important realities in the fields of theater and cinema, both in Italy and abroad, she dedicated herself to the art of impersonation from the very beginning, achieving important goals.
After seeing her in Il bambino nascosto, a 2020 film under the direction of Roberto Andò, and in the successful Netflix series Summertime 3, produced by Cattleya and directed by Francesco Lagi, today Martina steps into the role of Emma in the TV drama Gloria on Rai1, alongside Sabrina Ferilli.
«Every time I go on stage it’s like the first time. There is always room for improvement, and I am constantly super critical of myself»
Acting, singing, but also sports. If you had to choose only one thing among these, which one
would you choose?
Without a doubt I would choose acting, my greatest passion. As much as music, and also sports, play an important role in my life and training, the path of theater and film is the one I have chosen and that I feel reflects me best. That said, I do not rule out the possibility of reconnecting and integrating my musical passion with acting. The piano is always there waiting for me and I am quite happy to play it.
Your educational background is very rich. You attended Academy09 and studied dance and theater with Jamie Breor in Texas. You first took part in the workshop with Lola Cohen, then the Michael Rodgers Acting Studio, where you also study to this day. Besides technique, what awareness do you think you have gained? And what would you still like to improve in?
Definitely the fact of measuring yourself and the importance of never stopping learning. I realized how every day you can go home enriched because of this work. It is no accident that one of my acting teachers used to advise me to read numerous books, even one a week and at least one a month, often reiterating the many opportunities that reading can offer us. Getting to know different characters, for example, and then being able to interpret different types of emotions, behavioral characteristics, etc., is a great opportunity.
Every time I go on stage, it’s like the first time; you can never settle in. There is always room for improvement and I am constantly super critical with myself. When I see myself again there would be three hundred things I would like to improve and that is why I keep studying.
Martina Lampugnani: «Theater opens the mind and offers a much deeper preparation than characters precisely because of the expressive effort one is called upon to make»
How much has theater helped you on your path?
Theater and being on stage put you in a position to experience characters in a more real, immediate way and with the ability to improvise more easily on stage. Every expression and action takes on a more pronounced and evident connotation, and the interpretation in this case, takes on a much more vivid, expressive character that is then reflected in the actor’s direct ability to live the character intensely, succeeding in conveying all its nuances. Hats off to those who, today, manage to act in TV series and films without having had a background in theater studies.
I think theater somehow opens the mind and offers a much deeper preparation than characters precisely because of the expressive effort one is called upon to make.
Acting aside, another great passion of yours is music. Where does it come from? What genre do you like to listen to?
I listen to everything. If, however, I had to name one genre I favor, I would tell you rock, and primarily Motley Crue and AC/DC are among my favorite bands. Then when I’m in the car I like to space out a lot, listening to all kinds of music.
The passion for music was passed down to me from my family. Acting, on the other hand, was an interest that I cultivated independently from early on; it is something that started right from me and that I have tried to pursue with such determination.
«Yorgos Lanthimos succeeds in creating characters with extraordinary depth, allowing us to explore and reflect on ourselves as well»
Your favorite movie?
Moulin Rouge is a film that I really like. Then Closer, because it succeeds in telling everyday stories of love, seemingly trivial, that actually hide their own depth and strong meaning. Finally, the film Jia – The Family.
Who would you like to be directed by in Italy and abroad?
Matteo Garrone to name one at random (laughs ed.). Internationally, I would say Yorgos Lanthimos, who I find fantastic; films like The Lobster and The Sacrifice of the Sacred Deer are exceptional precisely because of the director’s ability to put characters in stories, sometimes dystopian, in which, however, the human and acting component takes over. And this is one of the reasons why I really, really like his directing style. Yorgos Lanthimos manages to create characters with extraordinary depth, which allow us to explore and reflect on ourselves as well.
More generally, I would like to work with both Italian and American directors. Speaking English I think it’s more than natural and it would definitely be a great challenge for me.
Martina Lampugnani: «With Sabrina, who is a great professional and has envy-inducing experience, everything was easier from the beginning»
And now let’s talk about Gloria, a TV hit in which you are one of the main actresses. How did you find out that you were chosen for the role of Emma, daughter of the main character, played by Sabrina Ferilli?
I didn’t expect it. I remember when my manager called me and asked if I had an
support to stay in Rome for a while. “And how” I had answered her, and she, in a completely nonchalant way, let me know that I had been chosen for the character of Emma. I was struggling to contain my joy, partly because when I audition I always try not to create too many expectations. I know perfectly well how difficult the world of acting is, so not being chosen after an audition can be the order of the day.
Working with Sabrina Ferilli, who takes on the role of your mother in the series, must not have been easy. Expectations must have been high and, on your part, there must surely have been a desire not to disappoint in the role. Nevertheless, in Gloria you demonstrated chemistry and chemistry. What was it like?
Certainly some initial apprehension and fear was there on my part. Mostly because you never know who you are dealing with from a human point of view. With Sabrina, who is a great professional and has envy-inducing experience, everything was easier from the beginning. She was able to put me at ease right from the start. In the breaks we often found ourselves chatting with each other, getting to know each other better and creating that human bond that then somehow reflected onstage and behind the camera. In the end, the relationship that came between us was also a bit of what the viewer could see between Gloria and Emma.
Sabrina is a professional who could play any role; watching her act, alongside and with me, was certainly a great lesson. Her ability to read the nuances of the character in advance and turn them into naturalness with every line is truly amazing.
«Inevitably a part of me enters the characters because, in some cases, I may happen to identify with them»
How much of you is in Emma’s character?
I must say that Emma and Martina are very different however in some things they are similar. Definitely the fact of not having many friends, of being a bit closed in their own world. I was dedicated from the beginning to my passions, my interests; sometimes I was pointed at as the “loser” on duty for not building broad social relationships and preferring instead to study and document myself.
And then there is the passion for music. I play piano, she is in a band. Let’s say the love of music unites us.
What do you try to leave in each of the characters you play?
I try to get carried away. Inevitably a part of me enters the characters because, in some cases, I may happen to identify with them. It may happen that I have had a similar experience to the one being staged. I don’t usually leave with the intention of leaving something of my own in the characters I play; I just try to stay myself and totally enter, mentally and emotionally, into a connection with what the character is, with his humanity, his everything.
Do you have a lucky object that you always carry with you before every shoot?
I don’t have any lucky objects. One thing I do enjoy, however, is taking time for myself. Yoga and meditation relax me and allow me to focus before I have to shoot scenes and/or undertake any acting projects.
Martina Lampugnani in three words.
It is hard to find three words to tell me 100% about myself. If I had to choose I would say journey, goodness – because i am a good person -, and research.
Credits
Photographer Davide Musto
Stylist Martina Antinori
Photographer assistant Valentina Ciampaglia
MUA & Hair Cotril
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