The voice actor Gino La Monica, 80 years old
Everyone remembers the scene (and the joke). «Mrs Robinson, you are trying to seduce me!», She awkwardly tries to fall back The bachelor Dustin Hoffman faced with the explicit proposals of the mantis Anne Bancroft; a useless self-defense that was in our rooms Gino La Monica to resonate almost sixty years ago.
Winner in 2011 of the Male Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dubbing Grand Gala and in 2021 of the “Claudio G. Fava” Lifetime Achievement Plaque at the “Voci nell’ombra” Dubbing Festival, La Monica in his sixty-year career as a dubbing actor has the voice of actors like Christopher Walken, William Hurt, Sam Neill, Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman neither The bachelor And David Hemmings in Deep red. The list goes on with Martin Sheen, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, Michael Caine, Alan Rickman, Jack Nicholson, Jonathan Pryce in the trilogy Pirates of the Caribbean and in the television series Game of thrones. On television he voiced Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan in Law & Order and in that of Peter Florrick in The Good Wife and Mr. Big in Sex and the City.
A prestigious CV which has now been enriched by an exceptional character: Pope francesco. Together with Paolo Foschini, in fact, La Monica is the narrator of the audiobook (here an extract) from the Audible catalog LIFE. My story in History, the first story of the life of Jorge Mario Bergoglioborn from the book published by HarperCollins Italia and published in March simultaneously in Europe and the United States.
Monica is in her second acting role as the Pontiff, after the recent film The two Popesa 2019 film directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Anthony McCarten, based on McCarten’s 2017 play The Pope with Jonathan Pryce in the role of Francesco e Anthony Hopkins in those of Benedict XVI.
Monica, what was it like to have given the voice of the Pope in the story of her life?
«A great emotion. It wasn’t the first time I read a book and in the last fifteen years I have read everything: from the two thousand pages of Tolstoy’s War and Peace to Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, just to name a few titles. When for my 80th birthday (turned last March 14th, ed) I was asked to read the Pope’s autobiography, my legs were shaking. It was a wonderful birthday present but I also felt an enormous responsibility. I was very excited but the emotion seemed to dissolve when I discovered that his was the life of a man and not of a Pope, of an extraordinary man who went through joys and difficulties like all of us and who it would be nice to have as a friend. ».
What struck you most?
«The fact of being a man even before being a Pope. This book is a long conversation in a restaurant in front of a good dish between two people who meet at the table for many hours and one listens to the life of a father, a brother, of a friend. I don’t read the books first, I always go off the cuff, and I’ve read dozens and dozens of them. I go to the recording room, open the pages and start scrolling through the pages. In this case, after reading the first three lines I understood the tenor and moved on. For example, when he talks about the Jews and the concentration camps I felt like crying, I had to stop, I was struck by the intensity of the love of what he says and what he transmits, I am really happy that he is the Pope.”
Among the various biographical anecdotes, is there anyone who intrigued you more than others?
“Many. For example, his whole life in Argentina, his relationships with his family, the way he approached religion. I hope a lot of people listen to it. A real, intense, profound life, with an impressive coherence since childhood.”
Are you a believer?
«No, I abandoned religion at 12 years old. But I am happy that there is a Pope who is not hieratic but a man. A real man with a passion for the weak, the poor, the sick. I almost say I might become religious for him. His message is so strong and comes clear and direct, it makes you understand that being close to Christ is beautiful. The other character that I really like in the story is Saint Francis, I have great admiration for him because he defended and loved the poor , the derelict, the little ones. There are many religious people who have committed horrible crimes, such as child abuse, but figures like that of Pope Bergoglio, who is also fighting hard against this and other plagues of the Church, are a great example even for those who do not believe.”
What character is the Pope for a voice actor?
“Particular. It gave me a lot of emotion. If they asked me to dub such a character it means that I have an authoritative, deep voice and, I would say, also animated by a religious spirit, even if I am not a believer. As a person I try to be close to the poor, the sick, the derelict and, like Francis, war deeply hurts me. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift for my 80 years of life and 60 years of career.”
You also dubbed Bergoglio in the film The two Popes.
«The set is different from the audiobook. In the film you follow the actor, the book allows you to enter the story you tell and, in this case, the very life of the person being told.” How many books have you given voice to? «I started fifteen years ago and I have read so many. I met authors I didn’t know like Lorenzo Licalzi. I have read almost all of Giuseppe Genna’s books. I had a great time with The Neverending Story by Michael Ende because there were characters like dragons, birds, and I had to dub them too (he makes the sound of a little bird, ed)”.
Has Pope Francis met him?
«No and I’m making an appeal through you and Christian family to meet him in person. I know that he has many commitments and the agenda of a Pontiff is busy and unpredictable but even just five minutes would be enough for me to hug him.”