«When I’m not on the set I go back to the fields to sow»- Corriere.it

When an actor isn’t exactly a talent, it’s among the first things he’s told: arms stolen from agriculture. A rule that does not apply to Andrea Gherpelli, a peasant actor: for years he has been combining a rising career in cinema with his work as a farmer, in his family business in Prato di Correggio. «We are in the fourth generation: mine are arms given back to agriculture – he jokes -. In reality there are many connections between the work of the farmer and acting». Recently at the cinema in Carrisi’s latest film, I am the abyss and on the set of the second season of the Rai 1 series hearts, tells: «Both in agriculture and in culture, the concept that anything goes goes by now: you just need to offer something and everyone buys it. In reality, in both of these realities, if you sow well you will achieve infinitely better results».

For this, Gherpelli started to cultivate ancient cereals, recovering them, treating them with care and talking about them with passion to the consumers he meets in the agricultural markets. “I often get autographs on my bags of flour. When I’m not on set I go back to the fields. Both acting and working as a farmer are two urgencies for me: I feel the call and the responsibility». Of course, it’s not such a usual combination. «But now when I go to shoot I can’t not bring my products… both my colleagues and the directors expect it». Both of his passions start from afar. «I grew up in the fields, my parents never loved the theater so much that my father wrote plays and my mother made the costumes for the shows that went on stage in the village theater, next to the church. My brother and I were often on stage, but no one had ever thought about professionalism. I had enrolled in engineering. And I graduated even though I didn’t care that much. But during college I started going to the faculty theater company.’

A game. “At the beginning. Then I started to make an extra in some operas, in Bologna, and there I felt a powerful blow go through me». Meanwhile, the world of agriculture was moving towards horizons that it no longer recognized: «I didn’t like that general flattening whereby one no longer thought of quality but of mass production. So I had decided to move to Rome, teaching middle school scientific subjects to support myself. It was a profession that I loved very much.” Then, the first auditions for the cinema. “And I started making mistakes. Some bad roles arrived, some very bad ones, but I was building my career. I soon realized that I was preparing my ground badly: I didn’t pay attention to the field on which to then throw the seed of my talent».

What his family said of this change of course towards the cinema? «My mother was happy, my father, seeing the first films, kept his eyes downcast. Now he watches what I do much more willingly ». Over time, many characters have arrived, almost always disturbing, «but my effort was to go beyond appearances and not just make them villains: I wanted to explore their mental dynamics. A bit like I do with my doctor Mosca in Hearts: I tried to understand why he had become a man without scruples. Even a television personality can become a source of nourishment». Certainly so are the ancient wheats that he has chosen to cultivate again: «When I’m not on the set, every Saturday I go to the farmers’ markets, where I sell our products but also entertain people by talking about the cinema. After all, it is always nourishment».