“I took off some of my masks. Coming out? Now I am calm »- Corriere.it

The other day, Marilyn Monroe was waiting for him outside the gate of the house. Things that happen if your name is Gabriel Garko. “I have to admit that it often happens that I find someone outside my home. A few nights ago I was returning and I saw this very blond woman, with showy clothes, right at the entrance. So I went straight and called the police but she told the officers this, that it was Marilyn Monroe. ‘ The actor’s story is not one of the most common, just as his beauty has never been, capable of making him not only very popular but revered, with people willing to do anything to be able to touch him even for a moment. «I lived the queue of stardom, which with social media is a bit dead. I confess that people are always looking for me a lot, but certain evenings, certain events no longer exist. Once, on one of those occasions, they even threw a baby at me. Luckily the security person next to me caught him on the fly. “

He is one of the competitors of «Dancing with the Stars», where he proved to be very good on the track, even if he was injured.
“It was 17 years that Milly (Carlucci, ed.) he asked me, now the right time has come, also for a matter of timing: before I was always on the set. They criticize me by telling me that I had already studied dance, but that’s not the case. I only made a film, Valentino, in which I danced, but that doesn’t make me a dancer, also because in my career I’ve shot anyone and that doesn’t make me a killer. The fact is that when you do something wrong they are all ready to attack you, but even when you do it well, it seems ».

If it is also a question of commitments, what effect does it have on you, after so many years, having found the time to do this show?
«I have celebrated 30 years of career and I think that in each one there is an ascent and then, after a while, a decline. Before that time comes, you have to be able to maintain altitude, and that’s the hard part. For me the rule of Nutella applies: if you eat it once a week you will like it for life, if you finish a jar in one go you don’t want to see it anymore. Exposure must be known how to dose and I have been very exposed. So, for a while, I decided to take my time and got out of the spotlight. Now I wanted to test myself, giving something of myself and not being behind a character ».

When did you feel you were too exposed?
«After Sanremo, in 2016. I couldn’t be more popular than that. I remember getting the call from Carlo Conti while I was on the highway and I was thinking about a joke. I asked him how much time I had to think about it and he replied: five minutes. On that occasion I tried not to think about what people expected of me, not to be blocked by the idea of ​​saying something thinking it was what others wanted to hear and I started to be myself. If I’m wrong, I thought, at least it will be for something I believe in. The pact with those close to me in those days was not to read me any comments, no criticisms ».

It was a success.
“Before, I was very worried about having to prove something. Over time I have learned to abandon this thought. I am shy but I think that everyone, always, wears some mask, in every job and even unconsciously. Over the years, however, I have chosen to abandon some of them ».

A very strong choice, in this sense, was his decision to come out on TV, during “Big Brother”.
«At a certain point I detached myself from everything: I needed to clarify everything and everyone and therefore I preferred it this way. Even in that case, I wouldn’t have done it before or even after. “

Wouldn’t he really have anticipated?
“No, it was the right time. From there I made a change of pace in general: I wish I had the head of today at the age of twenty. Some things happen with maturity, it’s normal ».

So are you happy you made that decision? No repentance?
«Yes, I’m happy, very happy with everything. Indeed, even better, I am calm and satisfied, especially with the people around me today ».

Do you feel that you have been included in your talents in general?
“Absolutely not, but I don’t have the presumption that I need to be understood. I am noticing that more and more people today tell me: ah, but you are also a good actor … I was lucky enough to experience that very formative phase of the mess, which teaches you where you come from and does not make you forget it. But if today I were to give advice to people who want to pursue this career, I wouldn’t know what to say: it’s another world ».

Did the fact that you have made so many fictions a little distance you from a certain cinema?
«I don’t deny anything and I don’t feel like playing the part of someone who complains, not even about beauty: I needed it and I exploited it. Of course, you risk ending up in a stereotype that is not easy to get out of. I was judged first for that so I always had to demonstrate a little more, but then someone realized that I could do something good ».

He acted for Ozpetek, for Zeffirelli … and then?
«And then they let go – he laughs -. After The ignorant fairies, a path with different films was probably waiting for me, this did not happen for many factors but the main one is that I was always engaged in fiction. And you don’t even notice the time that passes in the meantime ».

When did he realize he was beautiful?
“In time. In my house it was never a theme, my parents never told me. And even after the success, for them I remained the same as before. Sometimes I was also disappointed, because maybe they hadn’t even seen one of my films, one of my series. But then I realized that they considered mine as a job, which I liked but they didn’t. More than anything else they were proud that I had made my dream come true. I remember a time when I was with them and there was a crowd around us, so much so that we had to escape from the back of a shop. My father told me: “Well, I just don’t understand what people find in you … it will be that I have seen you since you were little …” ».

Are there any new projects after «Dancing»?
“Two very big ones, then a third in the theater. Also in a few months my new book will be released, a novel after my autobiography, which I would like to become a film as well. I love my job and I like challenges, the bigger they are the more I prefer them ».

After seeing her dance, it is said that she could make a musical …
“I’d like it because I should test myself. After I dreamed of flying military aircraft as a child, now I’m getting my pilot’s license, so to speak. I’m a perfectionist, in fact, my favorite compliments are those of those who tell me I’m a hard worker ».

Would you like to be a dad?
“I’ve thought about it many times and instinctively I’d say yes, but I really don’t like today’s society, so no, at the moment the idea scares me a little.”