One of the longest-running TV series immerses us in the nature of the San Vito di Cadore Alps, between ecological battles and crimes to be revealed. One step from heaven returns to Rai 1 from January 9th with six new episodes. The male protagonist is again Nathan, a solitary man who chose to live in the middle of the woods, where he was found as a child and raised by a she-bear. He has the face of Marco Rossettian actor with charm but also capable of intense interpretations and who from January 14th we will always see again on Rai 1 also in the second season of Blackout 2a dystopian thriller still set in the mountains.
How much affinity is there between you and Nathan?
«He is a shy man who never becomes too familiar with civilization. Every time I play him I find a part of myself that I have forgotten. Partly because the mountain makes you feel so small, it downsizes you. And partly because he is someone who only speaks when necessary and I find myself in this. Unfortunately, this historical period, with the intrusiveness of social media, does not allow me to isolate myself as I would like.”
Nathan is also a hunter. In the first episode, we see him aiming his bow at a hare. Were there any animal rights protests?
«Nathan sees hunting as in its infancy, out of necessity. I hunt the animal because I need to eat, but I respect it and thank it. The exploitation of animals in intensive farming is different. His attitude is, in my opinion, very noble.”
You have a dog…
«Yes, for four years. Her name is Nata, short for Fortunata. He’s a stray mixed breed that I found in a kennel in Abruzzo. A life partner.”
In one episode, a group of researchers arrives in Cadore looking for a method to stop the melting of the glaciers. A very urgent topic.
«The death of a glacier is an irreversible phenomenon and it pains me that the environmental issue is so ignored by those who determine political choices. In my own small way, I try to have an eco-sustainable lifestyle: I don’t turn on the heating or air conditioning, I use the car as little as possible, I go around Rome by bicycle.”
Two series made in the mountains. Is it a place that you also love in your private life?
«As soon as I can I go to the mountains to recharge from the tiredness of work and the chaotic life of Rome. My favorite place is Val di Fiemme, where I spent my holidays as a child. My mother has lived there for ten years.”
In the series he exhibits a very athletic physique. Are you a sportsman?
«I practiced water polo and boxing at a competitive level. I’ve also been on horseback so much that I had to ride and it was as good as riding a carousel.”
In the docu-series I was hoping he would die sooner on Francesco Totti he played the Roma footballer Daniele De Rossi. Did he also play football?
«Yes, but I was in the Lazio youth team and my brothers made fun of me a lot when I had to wear the Roma shirt. But to testify that my faith did not change, on the first day of filming I showed up on the set with the Lazio shirt under the Roma one.”
As a teenager he was a rebel. Did acting save her?
«I’ve done a lot of things, in fact, and my encounter with theater at school at 16 was decisive. Thinking about it still gives me shivers. It was a form of self-knowledge, where I also channeled my anger, finding so much positive energy. First I attended the Scaletta school, then I entered the Experimental Cinematography Center. Already after the first year of assiduous attendance, I became part of the cast of the series RES., but I managed to reconcile both paths and in the end I graduated. I consider myself privileged and every day I thank Heaven. I absolutely believe that something exists above us, and I feel it most strongly when I find myself in the middle of nature, in the mountains.”
