«The songs born in the shower. This season I show the fragility of an evil hero»- Corriere.it

The fact is that throughout Italy, with more or less disastrous results, more and more people venture to hum in Neapolitan ‘O mar foran acronym which is basically also the mantra of the record-breaking TV series, set in a juvenile prison, Sea out (over one hundred million views on RaiPlay). And to say that the author, Matthew Paulillo, he composed it while in the shower. “That’s right,” he admits. I was thinking about my character, Edoardo, and while I was washing I started singing that refrain».

Did you imagine that the series and, in parallel, also the song, would have had this success?

“Absolutely no. I had no idea she could turn everything upside down. First, apart from Carolina Crescentini, there weren’t any famous names in the cast: we were all kids. The project went beyond expectations, no one could predict what happened».

The fourth season has already been announced: a lot has happened since its debut in 2020.
«It was my first leading role, the first time I could delve so much into a character. I realized that I was experiencing something I had never experienced and the same thing happened to all my companions».

But she has a parallel career: actor and singer. The video of her new single, «Origami all’alba» was recently released and we are already at 13 million streams.
«Music is a passion that I discovered late compared to acting. At home we watched a movie together every night, a sort of family tradition. But with music it was not the same: for me something clicked after watching 8 Mile, with Eminem. From that moment I got into rap music and during high school I started freestyling. A second revolution took place on February 5, 2016, the release date of Hellvisback by Salmo: it gave me the inspiration to start writing».

There are not many artists who manage to be credible both as actors and as singers.
«It happened to me a bit: I didn’t think about how the industry was doing. I simply pursued my two passions. I have cultivated acting more, having started attending theater workshops at the age of 13. But I didn’t ask myself much whether it was possible to reconcile the two things».

It seems so. Do you have an inkling of all the success you are having?
«I realize that, series after series, everything has spread. When we went to Sanremo with the cast and sang the song, my father cried. I recently returned to Salerno, where I grew up, and I see how proud everyone is of me. I made sacrifices: I did well in school but I didn’t want to go to university to act. They were all worried about the precariousness, but my mother supported me: now they are happy».

How do you explain such a large response?

«I think the fact that it’s a great work of collective creation that made everything more “real” paid off. I observe the work that each of us has done and it seems to me that there is a lot of truth, in fact. It is no coincidence that many thought and still think that we too are boys released from prison. I find it the most beautiful of compliments.

It was a reflection that was also made with Gomorrah: what do you think of the fact that so many young people see your character – a criminal – as a hero?
«With Gomorrah we have the criminal world and Naples in common. For the rest, I think our series is very different, because it deals with youth issues and focuses on the social and psychological difficulties of the adolescent boys who live there. Their suffering is shown, what lies behind the evil. I find it very important.”

Do you feel you have a responsibility towards the public?
“Yes. Over time, I have increasingly felt the responsibility of communicating a correct message, in fact my character is undergoing a metamorphosis. In the third series, seeing that there was all this fascination around him, I tried to demonize him rather than mythologize him: I wanted to make sure that the public would stop thinking “I would like to be like him” but rather realize what is behind his wickedness. Before he was seen as a hero of evil, who is not afraid, who takes revenge, who has power. Now I wanted to show all the fragility that he hides. Showing the suffering behind evil is important.”

Will he play Edoardo much longer?
«I haven’t heard anything about the new season yet. In general I can say that I am 27 years old, so I can play a boy who is part of juvenile detention up to a certain point. I feel a circle closing around him. Afterwards, I’ll devote myself to something else: I dream and desire new characters. I know I’m also able to tell different things».

Would you return to Sanremo but in the race?
«Well, surely it would be a very important thing but I don’t know if I’m ready yet. Tomorrow would be nice.”

Do you feel more comfortable singing in Neapolitan or Italian?
«After Origami all’alba there will be a record that will be a hybrid, between Italian and Neapolitan. It’s actually with Sea Out words in Neapolitan have started buzzing in my head, absurdly I find they have a more international sound»