Simona Cavallari. Her job, passions and filmmaking

Roman actress, also known as the television face of the Squadra Antimafia

Simona Cavallari is a Roman actress, best-known for her role in TV series Squadra Antimafia as deputy police superintendent Claudia Mares. Passionately fond of psychology, she loves her job because it allows her to get to know herself better. She also loves the sea, which is the reason why she chose to live in Fregene, from where she can see the horizon every morning. She has three sons aged 17, 16 and 7, with whom she spends every moment of her time away from work and for whom she even took several breaks from her acting career.

When did your acting career begin?

It began by chance. When I was seven years old, my mother’s cousin babysat the daughter of a film director who had noticed me and hired me for commercials. And so I began working  and had an agent. I went to high school at Liceo Classico Virgilio, but as a young girl I dreamt of becoming a ballet dancer.  I was never obsessed with the idea of becoming an actress, it was never something I had to fight for growing up. It was rather pure chance in the beginning and then, by studying, it became my job. I followed many courses to work on myself and be a better actress. 

What films have really left their mark on you?

I played my first role at the age of fourteen in the film Pizza Connection by  Damiano Damiani, as a young prostitute. That was the first time I realized that the deeper you go with the character, the more you are able to convey emotions. At the age of twenty-three, I took part in the Cannes Festival with the film Il sogno della farfalla by Marco Bellocchio and I felt all the director’s energy converging on us actors, realizing that, sometimes, theimportance of human experience. 

What do you love the most about acting?

I’m fond of psychology and, by acting, I’m able to dig deep into the character’s psyche and bring out hidden issues. 

What are your passions?

I’m an amateur artisan. I enjoy making candles, lamps, necklaces, clothing. It’s my personal form of meditation. I do not sell my creations, but I always make a gift of them to someone, and they are usually very much appreciated. 

What is your favorite place in Rome?

I love Rome’s fountains, I‘ve always been very much intrigued by them and I usually stop to listen to their sound.