Sidney Rome: “Julio Iglesias saved me in Syria, it doesn’t work with David Bowie. But if you follow love you’re never wrong”

Sydney Rome There is a 72-year-old Alice who has known not only miracles in life. A coiffure of hair, slender legs tucked into leggings and trainers, she’s pioneered aerobics and it shows. “They’re making a German documentary about aerobics, jane fonda In America and I here in Europe, a few months after that I started with videocassettes. I bring a circle of 65 to 80-year-olds into my classroom to explain the benefits and evolution of the discipline”, she says, sitting at an outdoor table at one bar per district in Rome. Cinema still in her Hai Zindagi we saw him in a small role in the film Pupi Avati, fourteenth sunday in ordinary timeAnd we’ll see it at the Venice Film Festival (maybe) Palaceby new movie Roman Polanski,

He made many films with Avati.
“He calls me often, even when I am not in Italy, he tells me about his pains, his difficulties. He is lovely. I do a scene on the set, he gets nervous I was worried that I would have difficulty with the Italian language, but went very well”.

And how did it go with Polanski?
“They called me from the casting office, they said, ‘Let her audition.’ Me: ‘Half a century’ we only met at his wedding Emmanuel Signor, Roman is still the same, only has white hair. It was Pygmalion, he changed my existence, finally I gave him a book, history of jews, with a beautiful dedication. I play a small role, one of many rich people who arrive at a hotel on New Year’s Eve 1999 that many thought would be the end of the world. A comédie à la fédeau”.

in 1972 He? This changed his career.
“That’s why I speak of Roman as the Pygmalion that changed my existence. For four months he was looking for the hero of his film all over the world. I auditioned, but I didn’t hear anything. Suddenly He called me.” : Tomorrow we’ll pick you up to go to Cinecittà I had to re-do the same scene from the audition, but with Marcello Mastroianni, Good thing I remembered the lines.”

The film featured bizarre scenes of Mastroianni, half-naked in fur…
“Marcelo was an actor for an actor’s sake. It was his meat to play these kinds of roles. Every scene was very serious for him, you don’t play with him and Polanski. I wasn’t in awe because I did all my studies in America a Life to become an actress I thought: We are two actors. Roman was serious, every day I was afraid of being kicked off the set, not being up to it. Off the set, Marcelo was a teddy bear, a teddy bear. Professional and adorable, anything but a seductress”.

was the first film some girls do by Ralph Thomas.
“Yeah, filmed in English, a Bond kind of thing, I was a Russian spy, one of many girls. I was twenty and on summer break from university”.

Years later a film shot this in Russia: 10 days that shocked the world,
“A crazy adventure. The story of John Reed, which also inspired the film Warren Beatty, reds, The world’s first international war journalist, the only foreigner buried in Red Square. He was a hero to them. Washington Post They asked me to write an article, it was still Iron Curtain time, curious to know how it was going, but my article was too ironic for the Russians, who didn’t invite me to the preview. I was just telling the truth.”

Which movie are you most proud of?
,just a gigolo Together David Bowie, He was famous when I met him, but not in Italy. I knew immediately that this was special. We were all attracted to him because he had a great sweetness and an honesty that you cannot expect. We met to talk about the film, he was very polite. He gave no importance to money, only his art, his talent, his relationship with himself and the world, the changes he was experiencing, counted.”

Best memory together?
“I can’t tell you the best. But I can tell you about the dinner we had together at the premiere of the movie the man who fell to earth, We left the hall, went to eat at a Japanese restaurant, a common passion. i love japan i did many commercials but above all they invited me through distribution of the film i made alain delon, At that time he was an absolute star of the Japanese who did not know the Americans. Some Japanese guides showed me a lot about the country, this was the custom of the time. We started talking to David the whole evening. He told me that he was definitely reincarnated from a Japanese, so he would FuryoAmazing movie. We talked late into the night, he was ironic but also deep, he told me strange things. She was beautiful, ephebic, an elf, she was also male… she was mixed. I will never forget the English irony with which he looked at life. They parted ways after the film. He was so focused on his talent, it was great to know that, but he just couldn’t make a life partner.”

Who is your favorite co-worker on the set?
“I like actors who prefer to be invisible off the set. Like donald pleasures, And terence hillJoe is a great actor but would like to disappear and I love it.”

Less wonderful memories?
“95% of auditions go wrong, by nature I weed out the bad stuff. But I’ve never had a problem with harassment.”

How was the story with Iglesias?
“I was not a fan of his, even though he was very nice. It was my first contact with someone who had had immense success in show business. The audience, the women, they were all crazy. A different fame than Mastroianni Or a favor, something I never wanted. I don’t know how they do it Beyoncé, Madonna, My very favorite Lady Gaga, what is life?”

The Iglesias story was a brave one.
“I’m telling her about an adventure. I was filming in Barcelona, ​​she sang in Beirut. We started this story remotely, we wanted to meet. ‘Are you coming?’ ‘. I had to leave for Argentina to sing the song.” , With a trunk full of evening dresses I’m leaving for Greece. Gone are the times when you could come to the airport, buy a ticket and leave. In Greece they tell me I don’t have a visa, they put me on a visa plane and I end up in Syria, which was at war with Lebanon. But on the flight I meet Fuat, an Arab doctor, who was on his way to an acupuncture conference. We land in Syria, I’m all blond, in white Armani trousers. There they are all dressed in black, Fuat says he is my husband, we take a taxi with eight chickens and three chickens and we go to Le Meridien Hotel, which is a French chain and therefore neutral. Only the next day I realize what a mess we got myself into. He hitches a ride in a van full of newspapers, we wrap ourselves in carpets, I take him to the most expensive hotel in Beirut. I phone Julio’s agent: ‘I’ll send you a car but lie down, if they stop you they’ll stone you’. Finally, trembling, I arrive. But I was rewarded: when Julio sees me he falls to the ground”.

Iglesias’ best quality?
“He treated everyone from the great host to the porter with extraordinary kindness and attention. I learned this from him.”

His best friend on the show?
,don lurio, He was the greatest choreographer and director of diversity, full of culture and insight. Always nervous, he used to quarrel with many, he used to smoke a lot. He died in my arms. Five minutes ago he was copying our song ‘Head, Shoulders 1, 2, 3…’. He is the person from the show whom I miss the most. Friends of the environment are different from friends of the capitalist class. True artists never judge anyone, they are open, relaxed.”

Have you felt judged by the capitalist class?
“Too much”.

In What plea? di nichetti did an amazing striptease i like love Who used to dance by themselves with gloves. Very innocent, even if it was a dream.
“It was a product for everyone, even children. Innocence is a quality I identify with.”

His best friend?
,romina power, We are very close, we share a common past. We’ve been friends for thirty years, we met at the pool. He had problems, I a lawyer friend. We talk about everything, about existence, about the past, about how we have become. We don’t have arrogance, which makes friendship easy.”

She said that she is afraid of being alone. He has a large family, children and grandchildren.
“I love family life as much as the show. Even if it’s not easy. In his last interview before his death, Bowie said ‘Now I take care of my family, that’s the most important thing’. This truth Is.”

Her husband Roberto Bernabeu is the personal physician of Pope Francis.
“It is a source of pride for our family. But we know Roberto’s qualities, are happy that the Pope has adopted his skills and culture. I have never met the Pontiff, being a Pope’s doctor is a secret role, family Not included. It became public only because whose son is my husband ettore bernabei, Del Papa told me ‘it’s very simple and honest'”.

Do you miss USA?
“No. I love Rome, the Italians, my family”.

What was it like when you started acting and what does it mean to you now?
“Initially it meant that they chose me and paid me. Now I would like to do weird roles, now I have a lot of freedom and can apply what I have learned as an actor.”

regret or regret?
“None. I have built my life after love every time. And if you follow love you are never wrong”.

desires?
“Watching my two grandchildren grow up, ages six and eight, who live with me. I’ve been taking care of them since they were born, their parents are very ‘millennial’, delicate They are finding their way. My mother is 98 years old, she has seen the four of us grow old. I would like to live long enough to lead my grandchildren on the right path.”