“I hoped de died first”, Eugenia Costantini: “The sacrifices of us mothers”

Eugenia Costantini apologizes. “I have Anita with me,” he says, “She’s playing, she’s good. If you have a tantrum, I’ll put them on a cartoon. ‘ The baby, however, does not cry. Only once, from the other end of the phone, comes a scream. It is sweet, the call of a creature that will turn two in October. “Here,” laughs the actress, who as a mother found herself playing another mother. Eugenia Costantini, Cristina Burkstaller in Boris, was chosen as the young face of Fiorella Totti, «an institution, in Rome».

«I’m not a fan, I didn’t know who she was», she admits, «What I understood, working on I was hoping de died first, is that the Romanists consider her a goddess ». Fiorella Totti, who over the years has never tried to dominate the figure of his son, that Francesco Totti become a legend, she is the mother of the last king of Rome, protagonist with him of the series that reconstructs his career.

I was hoping de died first, adaptation of the autobiography that Totti wrote together with Paolo Condò, on Sky from 19 March. «The series is an alternation of temporal dimensions. There is 2016, the year in which Totti said goodbye to football, and there are his childhood memories. I am Fiorella Totti, as the Captain remembers her. Monica Guerritore is Fiorella Totti in her most recent version ».

How did you work on the character of the first Mrs. Totti?
«Unfortunately, we were unable to confront Francesco Totti. I tried to deal with it as I face any other character, doing research. I read the book, looked for some of his photos on the Internet. I asked the myriad of Roma fans around me, and I realized that, although discreet, she is the woman every true fan knows. I do not think it is possible to deepen the knowledge. She has never made people talk about herself outside of her son, she has always been discreet: a simple person who has remained so ».

Why, then, is it considered an institution?
“In part, I think it’s a biological question. She is the woman who gave life to Francesco Totti, the Captain. In part, I think it’s because of what Totti said. The impression I got, reading his book, is that he carries it in the palm of his hand ».

Explain.
«In the book, Totti says well how important his mother was. And, almost, it comes from bowing before this figure, before the sacrifices he made to raise his children, to facilitate the career of the young Francesco without making him lose his school ».

What sacrifices are you talking about?
«I’ll tell you one, above all. I can do it, because we didn’t account for it in the series. Totti, in his book, recalls how his mother committed herself to memorizing each of her school lessons. He learned it, then when he came back from training, in the car, he repeated it to him, so that he too could collect it ».

Fiorella Totti is a mother’s devotion to her children. But where is the middle ground between the woman and the mother?
“I can’t say, exactly. I believe that every mother should find a balance between being a woman and having children. It is not easy, however. As a new mother, I can say that I have sacrificed a good 85% of my life for my daughter. Anita does not go to the nursery, I have not found a babysitter, I have given up sleeping, I am always alone. I have a creature next to me who needs me and I feel I have inexhaustible strength. Rationally, I would say that no one should be canceled, emotionally, however, I know that there is no right or wrong ».

The maternity issue is at the center of the political debate. Do you feel helped by a mother in Italy?
“Not at all, zero. I feel like I live in a country that doesn’t help new mothers. I received the Mom Tomorrow Bonus, a one-off eight hundred euros. Unlike some of my friends, however, I was not entitled to the eighty euro per month of the past bonus. Anita wasn’t born at the right time, it seems. It’s very hard, even more so if you don’t have grandparents. We are far behind, and then there is a very strong cultural heritage for which it is taken for granted that mothers must be able to bend over backwards, to make do, while fathers return to work after their week off ».

An ordeal, in short.
“If you’re not rich or don’t have a supporting family, yes. Besides, I am lucky. My mother helps me a lot. Last Thursday, I had a business appointment and took the baby to my father’s wife. We have many grandparents, it is the luck of second marriages. In my family, between new husbands and new wives, there are double grandparents ».

His mother is Laura Morante, his father Daniele Costantini. Did they, like Fiorella Totti, sacrifice themselves for your career?
“I would not say. As a family, we are very different. We have always been free to all do what we wanted most, for better or for worse. My path, I found it by myself, and it took me a long time to understand what I wanted to do. I made mistakes: a wrong theater school, a job held out of stubbornness, the bookseller. I didn’t have any pressure. Perhaps, on the contrary, I had too much freedom ».

What do you mean?
“We are a non-institutional family. I did not grow up with my father, but with my mother and husband, in France. Many removals, many changes. I grew up not very framed. I enrolled in Philosophy, I took an exam in two years and no one has ever asked me for an account. I didn’t feel abandoned, mind you. I’ve always been loved. My parents simply took a different approach from other parents. This led me, at times, to make choices that I later regretted ».

Would he have wanted more control?
“I do not know. It took me a while to take responsibility, but when I grew up I had my benefits. Today, I feel helped and supported by my parents, they always give me good advice. There is an equal comparison now: we speak the same language ».

How did you identify with Fiorella Totti?
«By relying on a universal sentiment. As a new mom, I couldn’t recall the same growth experiences we tell about in the series. Anita is still too young. However, I believe that mothers are united by a love, by a universal experience. I searched for that. ‘

And did she manage to stay on set despite the commitments of a new mother?
«Yes, I was lucky enough to be able to continue working without major upheavals. I made all the auditions, all the appointments that I should have. I shot, this and more ».

Thing?
“I can’t say, talking is now a danger (laughs, ed). However, I can say that one thing will go to the cinema, another on TV. Furthermore, on RaiPlay, a very beautiful comedy has recently debuted, Sadness is a light sleeper».

And for the film by Boris has not been called?
«Boris… Boris I think I don’t know (sic). It is a project, however, that regardless of whether Cristina returns or not, I feel I can support with all of myself. The authors, the same as the television series, are well aware that they have decided to fix something that has become a cult. They will do it with intelligence and sensitivity, and they will do the right thing ».

The theaters, where you have often worked, are still closed. How did you live this year?
“These closures give me a sense of anguish. At first, it seemed like they were going to be temporary, but it’s been a long time now, too much. I think it is absurd that the state of things is unchanged, because with the necessary checks the theaters could be open. The question relating to the block of refreshment points, then, must be resolved. And I’m sorry nobody talks about it, I’m sorry there is no coherence, because without coherence and clarity the political class loses credibility. And, if the political class loses credibility, people begin to believe the hoaxes, the deniers ».

How to overcome the problem of clarity?
“It’s not for me to say, what I know is that I liked Giuseppe Conte’s lectures, his speaking as a man to other men. The political class should speak more ».

Hamilton, the Broadway show, was released on Disney +, with incredible success with audiences and critics alike. Can digital also be an alternative for the theater?
“I have nothing against television coverage, but it cannot be said that it is theater. Theater is a living thing, done live, together with an audience. It is a continuous dialogue, between spectator and actor. Television is something else, and theater cannot be killed like this ».