A very young actress, yet already able to move between delicacy and intensity, Caterina Ferioli speaks with the same sincerity with which she approaches her roles. From her first memories tied to Audrey Hepburn and the revealing encounter with Gaspar Noé, to her journey through fashion, film sets, and new awareness, Caterina shares without filters her relationship with cinema, with herself, and with that creative “bubble” that makes her feel alive. A dialogue that intertwines passions, fragilities, and small daily rituals, portraying an artist in growth, unafraid to fall — literally and metaphorically — only to rise stronger than before.

What is your first cinema memory?

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” I think I watched it every day, on DVD, for two weeks.

When I was 10 years old, at Carnival, I dressed up as Audrey Hepburn [laughs]. So, the interest in cinema was born very early. By chance, later, I discovered Gaspar Noé.

And you grew up all at once!

What was the moment when you realized that acting would not only be a passion, but a true professional vocation?

Actually, before I started working in the world of cinema, I didn’t really have a passion for it. I studied fashion; for me, that’s what I was supposed to do in life. Then, when I was about 18, there was a friend of friends who was an actor, and whom I really liked, so that’s when I began to get interested in acting also from a professional point of view.

Right then, I got the opportunity to audition, for my absolute favorite director, no less.

And how did it go?

Terribly! [laughs] On the other hand, it was the first audition I ever did, without ever having studied acting. From there, I decided to start studying. Then, actually, a week later I got a role in my first film!

So, it was in the air.

Yes, it was in the air.

And later on, was there a role, a character that represented an artistic or personal turning point for you?

You know, I’m just at the beginning, I don’t have much experience, and I still don’t know what will come that will change my life. But for now, surely, the character of Antonia in “Belcanto” was very beautiful and important for me, because it’s my first “grown-up” role.

Usually, when you act, do you rely more on your instinct, or do you think it through a lot, being more rational? How do you manage to balance instinct and method in your work?

That’s a good question, because you know what they say? The more you study, the more you take away from your gut, from instinct. Actually, I study a lot, and the truth is we study so as not to lose instinct, because when you go with your gut, you win everything. Technique obviously serves to prevent you from going into crisis with yourself.

“…we study so as not to lose instinct, because when you go with your gut, you win everything.”

So it’s a balance you learn.

Yes, and in my opinion the hardest thing is precisely not to lose instinct. In fact, child actors are the best, because they don’t think about it.

Exactly! People often talk about the invisible work behind a performance. What’s in your creative process off camera, behind the scenes, that the audience doesn’t see?

It depends on the day. When I’m in the midst of a very creative moment, I study a lot before I start working.

The preparation of the character is fundamental for me, and it happens in a moment when I feel like I have so much energy to let out, but I can’t yet because I’m not working yet. So I fill notebooks with notes, and in that moment I feel aligned with myself, with what I want to do, with my universe. You’re in your own world then, in your bubble.

Have you ever seen the Pixar film “Soul”? It explains perfectly what you’re saying, that artists in those moments, when they’re doing what they were born for — and maybe don’t even realize it — are in their bubble.

Yes! Then, on the other hand, what stresses me out a lot is the opposite, when I have a day where I don’t want to know anything about it. But it’s normal, it’s right, and in those moments you can’t overload yourself with energy, with thoughts, with work. Because then comes a day when you don’t want to feel anything anymore.

And do you usually feel more comfortable in roles that resemble you, in characters close to you, or in those that force you out of your “comfort zone”?

Let’s not lie, it’s easy to play yourself. So it’s a bit frustrating when you realize you’ve been cast because you are you, and not for the work you could do on the character. For me, however, it’s much easier to play roles radically far from me, because you can’t really go wrong, right? You can’t judge yourself or feel judged too much. And then, often, it’s all so exaggerated and so much fun. Thinking about Antonia, for example, for me it’s much easier to enter dramatic stories, rather than having a banal conversation, for example.

“Let’s not lie, it’s easy to play yourself.”

I get it, it’s certainly more satisfying, because you also get to explore sides of yourself you didn’t know you had, that emerge in those moments. So, what do you look for in a project, and what’s the secret for an acting performance to be a success, in your opinion?

Surely, right now, I need to do something I really love. I need to feel the desire to do it, to satisfy the hunger I have. I need to feel it’s a project that can do something in the world, that can help me, that can say something and, consequently, when you see that the whole team is full of passion too, the result is always an incredible job.

And what’s the secret to success?

Personal satisfaction is success, for me. When I watch myself and recognize that I was present in the moment, I was aware. Having studied so much, that for me is success: when I’m satisfied with my work and feel that the whole team did something beautiful, useful, committed.

“Personal satisfaction is success, for me.”

Is there a project you’ve already done, or maybe just imagined, that you’d like to tell, a story that feels particularly yours?

I would really love to do something of my own. So far I’ve never written anything cinematic, but I’d really like to. For example, I’d love to write something about my grandparents, though the idea makes me a bit uncomfortable — the thought of exposing myself that much.

Does the idea of trying something you’ve never done scare you?

More than anything, what scares me is putting my personal things in the hands of the public, not invented ones. Anyway, I’ll think about it, because I’ve always written a lot, and I’d like to create something of my own.

And as a spectator, what kind of stories involve you the most, and how does what you watch influence your choices as an actress?

I watch a lot of films, and I have a bit of a taste for the grotesque. If I had to describe what I like, it would all lead back to Gaspar Noé. You know, right now I want and need committed films, to see meaningful works that make you feel that cinema speaks — even in Italy — that we have something to say, and I’d love to work in such films too.

I really want to say something.

What’s the last thing you saw that struck you in particular?

I saw “Bird” in the cinema. I loved it so much. I cried like a little girl. That film felt like a fairy tale, one that could easily have been Disney, but adapted and “made for adults”: it made me dream, like being a child again watching a cartoon in the cinema.

What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself who is just about to enter this world?

Do it without thinking. Go, and don’t listen to others’ judgment. I was judged a lot, but luckily now I’ve learned to let everything slide off me, even though at the beginning it was very difficult.

It’s hard to go straight ahead, learning not to care about others’ judgment in any field of life, but obviously you actors are much more exposed and therefore susceptible to these rather debilitating situations.

Yes, I think so too.

What’s your must-have on set?

If my production friends read this answer, they’ll laugh a lot. It’s my water bottle.

Which, however, I lose ten times an hour [laughs]. Every time, the saints who work with me have to look for it everywhere when I can’t move much on set. I’m capable of leaving it anywhere, the bottle — in the fields, in the bathrooms… So there’s always this “water bottle hunt,” which is very funny. I’m sorry, but it’s stronger than me to leave it everywhere and forget it.

The water bottle is your signature, people know you’re on set when someone finds a bottle in the most improbable places! [laughs] An epic fail on set you’d like to share?

I fall a lot! [laughs]

Once there was a scene where I had to run, escape down a corridor in a long dress. The camera was framing me from the waist up, and at a certain point I fell. From behind, from the directing room, I hear them say, “Why isn’t she in frame anymore?” I had fallen out of frame, flat on the floor like a sheet of paper. With a beautiful dress on [laughs].

That’s great. Now, picking up again from what we said earlier, I imagine that you actors, from project to project, confront a new life, a new person. Acting means stepping into new shoes, sometimes far from yourself, sometimes closer, and by challenging yourself you discover new parts of you that you didn’t know you had. What’s the last thing you discovered about yourself through your work?

It happened to me, during a somewhat “heavy” project, to tell myself, “I love you.”

I discovered that maybe I love myself much more than I thought. The only thing I could think, in certain scenes or when thinking about the character, was exactly: “Don’t treat yourself like this, I love you.” It was very beautiful.

Beautiful, and it’s not easy to say such things to yourself, especially when you feel very judged, criticized. Is there a ritual or routine that helps you stay grounded, to reconnect with yourself, to recenter when you feel lost? Because I imagine acting can also lead to this, to feeling a bit lost.

Yes, it’s important to disconnect. Unfortunately, I tend to see things in black and white: I binge on energy, stay awake because I want to live, but then I burn out and can’t even open a book, I can’t watch a film, I need to do nothing. So my ritual is to disconnect a little before reaching the limit, maybe go for a walk. You know, I paint, I read a lot, and when I feel the need to paint 40 canvases, that’s when I realize I need to stop — before it’s too late and I start the “binge,” as my mother calls it.

You said you read a lot. I’m curious, what are you reading right now?

At the moment, I’m reading 200 things I can’t finish, in line with what we were just saying. I’m reading “Sylvia” by Leonard Michaels, and I’d like to read “The Great Bob” by Simenon.

So far, what has been your greatest act of courage?

When I was 19 and I dropped everything.

You know, I’ve lived a bit of a strange life: when I was 15, I started working in Milan, but I lived in Bologna; so I basically commuted every day, Bologna–Milan. Then, I’ve always had a particular relationship with Bologna, I never really felt good there; when I started university in Milan, though, I already felt at home, I had my friends, I made new ones at university; I had my circle, my little home, my things, the gym downstairs, the supermarket. So after the first film, it was easy to pack up and drop everything. Then, I moved to Rome, which was very hard: I suffered a lot, because there I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t attend academies, I was there for work, so I didn’t manage to build a group of friends like I had in the other cities. It took me a long time to find my place again.

And what is your greatest fear?

Disappointing everyone.

What makes you feel safe? And what makes you feel confident in yourself?

Keeping my feet on the ground, my habits, calling people, feeling them close. For me that’s fundamental.

I’m very solitary, so what makes me feel safest of all is being in my little home, cleaning it: it makes me feel like I belong to something. Just like feeling all the people I know close. That’s really my bubble.

What makes me feel confident, instead, is my satisfaction index. I feel confident when I’m satisfied with what I’ve done. In general, in life, in relationships, in work, I need to tell myself, “Well done.” When I tell myself “Well done”, I feel secure, proud, and I don’t care how things go, because I did my part.

 “In general, in life, in relationships, in work, I need to tell myself, ‘Well done’.”

The last person or thing or event that made you smile?

I went on vacation after two years without one. Smiling with all my teeth every day.

What’s the view you’d like to see outside your window?

Right now, an island, any island. I don’t want cities anymore. I’ve always been a city girl, but lately I can’t take it. I’d like to see people barefoot outside the window, dancing, and nothing more.

Are you a night owl or a morning person? What’s your favorite moment of the day?

I love the night. My favorite moment is before going to bed, before brushing my teeth. I sit on the couch, listen to music with headphones, and do whatever I feel like: reading, painting, calling someone.

What does it mean to you to feel comfortable in your own skin?

It took me 10 years to get there. I had so many problems with my body, which makes it “ironic” that I worked as a model. Surely, you begin to feel good in your own skin when you’re you, when you stop disguising yourself and creating a character, being someone else who doesn’t belong to you. Then, when you’re aligned with yourself and where you need to be, appearance doesn’t matter so much anymore. When I reached that point, it was a big step. I left outside everything that had nothing to do with me, also thanks to my psychologist, to whom I owe a lot.

What’s your happy place?

My space, my home, my bed, my floor, my nest. Wherever I go, I need to make a nest. My things are my happy place.

Photos & Video by Johnny Carrano.

Makeup and Hair by Sofia Caspani.

Styling by Ilaria Di Gasparro.

Thanks to Carryover.

Thanks to Stars On Field.

Look 1

Skirt: Etro
Bra: Fleur Du Mal
Shoes: Prada via AP archive
Bracelet: stylist’s archive
Earring: Voodoo jewels

Look 2

Skirt: stylist’s archive
Body: Fleur Du Mal
Shoes: Stella McCartney via AP archive
Bracelet: stylist’s archive
Earrings: Voodoo jewels

Look 3

Swimsuit: Festa Foresta
Dress: Gio Giovanni Gerosa
Earrings: Voodoo jewels

Look 4

Dress: Oh Carla
Earrings: Voodoo jewels