Luca Marinelli and Alissa Jung, a love born on the set of Mary of Nazareth: “There is no person in the world where I have as much confidence and with whom I share so much” “

She debuts the direction with Paternal Leavehe is the protagonist. But Alissa Jung and Luca Marinelli do not only share the set: they are also a couple in real life. However, it is not the first time they work together. They met in 2012 during the filming of the miniseries Maria of Nazarethin which they played Giuseppe and Maria, as they recalled to Deejay calls Italyguests of Linus and Nicola Savino together with Juli Grabenhenrich, to present Paternal Leavealready welcomed to Berlinal 2025 and out of theaters today.

From that first meeting on the set, their complicity has grown day after day, until the wedding, celebrated in 2018. Today they live in Berlin. Alissa is German, but it is spoken of Italian at home. “It’s the only way to communicate,” he says. She replies: “I thought:”So I understand his head better“». In reality, in the meantime, Luca has learned German: “After 13 years, yes, I speak it.” In Berlin, they tell, they are well, and the cold is no longer a problem, as Alissa stresses ironically: “because of climate change”.

Born on June 30, 1981, Alissa Jung has a degree in medicine but also boasts an artistic career that ranges from dubbing to acting, between theater, cinema and television. He has two children born from the previous marriage with the conductor Jan Hahn, who passed away in 2021. With Marinelli he undertaken a new phase, also professional, who now sees her behind the camera.

In Paternal Leave, Luca Marinelli (which we saw at the beginning of the year in the Netflix series M – The son of the centuryin the role of Benito Mussolini) plays Paolo, an immature father who finds himself dealing with a bond never built with his daughter, a young woman who suddenly falls into her life. Alissa thus described the essence of the film: “I wanted to tell a story about the parent-child relationship, which is a very intense, complicated relationship sometimes, very beautiful and full of love but also full of wounds”.

Marinelli, speaking of his character, underlined how central the scene of the first meeting between father and daughter is: “The moment is quite particular for Paolo, he knows about the existence of this girl, however, from the day he was born he was no longer showed. He will then explain in the film why. But that moment is very strong and it will be a very important moment for his character ».

Accustomed to intense and dramatic roles, Marinelli does not give up the self -irony: “Maybe they are the others who see me very dramatic. But I like to make you laugh, a lot».

Working with Alissa, for him, was a special experience: “We behaved according to our roles, an actor and a director. There is no person in the world where I have as many trust and with whom I share so much, including tastes, “he told CinecittoveNews. “I knew that with Alissa we would reach beautiful heights and I knew it was impossible to hide in front of her.”