An international career after a lot of apprenticeship, from the Oscar-winning film “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” by Tornatore to the most recent roles, we think of the wonderful “Black Souls” by Francesco Munzi or “Martin Eden” by Pietro Marcello. Marco Leonardi he is one of the best Italian actors and the curriculum speaks for itself. Together with performers of the caliber of Pino Amendola and Paolo De Vita, the 51-year-old is the protagonist of “The great war of Salento” by Marco Pollini, based on the historical novel of the same name by Bruno Contini.
After World War II, while history licks the wounds of two world wars, another one is unleashed in Salento, which has the inhabitants of two villages, Supersano and Ruffano, as armies. To make her explode desires for power, delusions of omnipotence, madness and … a ball game. A little known but very important story: at that juncture, in fact, for the first time in the history of Italy a fan lost his life in a football match. “The madness of the human being continues to be what it was in the forties: despite the great tragedies, man continues to destroy everything”: Marco Leonardi, here in the role of Ernesto, spoke to the microphones of de ilGiornale.it in the round.
“The great war of Salento” tells of an Italy that tries to get up after the Second World War …
“It is the story of these two villages in the province of Lecce, Supersano and Ruffano, which have been rivals for years. There were the boys of Supersano who were the girls of Ruffano, without forgetting the different political ideologies. The president of Ruffano was a fascist, disappointed by the defeat, while my character was a partisan who had fought against fascism. The title of the film is apt to say the least: after the game, the two fans gave each other a good reason for days, with ambushes of all kinds. We are not talking about a fist fight, but a real urban warfare. At that time everyone was in possession of weapons and the carabinieri found rifles, pistols and grenades underground. This makes us reflect on the nature of man ”.
From 1949 to today, we haven’t evolved that much …
“We haven’t evolved at all. Let’s think about this war between Russia and Ukraine. After such a terrible period for the world between pandemic and economic crisis, we were missing this icing “.
After “Last minute” and “Maradona – La mano de Dios”, another film with football as the protagonist …
“When Marco Pollini called me for ‘The great war of Salento’, I immediately thought of these two films. This work intrigued me a lot, also because it is a true story. How strange, still football in my life. But as far as this story is concerned, I don’t feel like blaming football: football is a sport with rules, sometimes people’s hearts get heated, but what happens outside the stadiums is just an excuse for some moron to download the anger. Once they lead for politics, another time for another reason: they take any pretext to let off steam “.
The problem is precisely the man …
“Reflection becomes sad when we think of the human being. We have not evolved. What has changed from 1949 to today? Anything”.
Returning to “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”, Jacques Perrin died a few days ago. What memory do you have of the great French actor?
“It was a strong blow. It’s part of my life, I’ve known it. He was wonderful, a humble, elegant and polite person. I took it badly. He wasn’t even that old, it was unexpected news. I had the same sensations when the news of Maradona’s disappearance arrived (Marco Leonardi played him in ‘Maradona – La mano de Dios’, ed): after having interpreted and known him through the materials, it is as if a small piece of me had gone “.
Do you have any regrets?
“No, I have no regrets. Everything that happens in life, good or bad, has to happen. Everything that comes, I welcome it and I pamper it. We also have to go through the bad things, everything represents growth. Today I am much more careful, I often say no if I am not convinced by the character. I’m always looking for positive characters, with the right messages. From this point of view, I like the character of Ernesto in ‘The great war of Salento’ very much: he is very attentive, he has the character of him, but he does not fall into the traps of this fascist with delusions of omnipotence. He tries to convey something positive, sound principles ”.
He has worked with great directors, from Robert Rodriguez to Ridley Scott, passing through Dario Argento. Who would you like to work with in the future?
“There are many, in Italy and around the world. I have worked with many great directors. I gladly remember Nanni Loy, Francesco Rosi, Alfonso Arau. Soon the new film by Abel Ferrara, an icon, will be released. I also just finished Michael D. Savvas’ Heroes & Villains, with Eric Roberts: I am the only Italian actor in an entirely English cast. As happened to me in ‘Maradona – La mano de Dios’: an entirely Argentine cast, but Maradona played by an Italian. And I’ll tell you something: when I went to meet Marco Risi, I told him that when I was playing football they called me Maradonino. He told me about the auditions in progress, I immediately replied: ‘Yes, yes, do all the auditions you want: I can only do Maradona anyway’. Then, during the shooting, Marco told me that he had already understood that he had to choose me for the part of Diego. I asked him why, he replied with no frills: ‘Because you were sweetly cheeky just like Maradona’. The mystery, the chance, the good Lord wanted me to play the Pibe de Oro in the end ”.
Speaking of the good Lord, what is your relationship with faith?
“I am more focused on actions, on lifestyle. There are those who talk a lot about spirituality and then lead a very bad life. I think about the right actions, I try to understand what is good and what is bad, I focus on the common good. There are very specific quotes in me, like always being loyal: all this always pays off. Like Ernesto, a man of good principles without being a fool. More than talking about the church and prayers, the behavior of a person is more important ”.
“The great war of Salento” is a film strongly linked to the South, its land …
“I was born in Australia, I grew up in Rome and lived in the States for nine years. But every time I go back to Calabria I feel at home, more than any other place. We must have respect for the land, for culture: the South is my home “.
Do you have a dream?
“I am the father of two teenage children, we know the risks of the world. My dream is to transmit sound principles, I hope to be able to transfer the right values to them. I would like to teach them the right things and the less right things, I hope they have a peaceful journey in life, regardless of what they do “.