GABRIELLA PESSION — A BOOK OF MAGAZINE

Gabriella Pession is no stranger to transformation—whether it's immersing herself in the visceral world of ancient Rome in Those About to Die, or balancing life as a working actress, producer, and devoted mother. "Antonia is the role I’ve been waiting for. She’s strong, complex, and deeply flawed—finally a character who doesn’t exist purely for a man," Gabriella shares with a palpable passion that underscores her remarkable journey through film and television. From studying historical figures like Messalina to working alongside German, Swiss, and Russian actors, Gabriella’s globetrotting career has nourished her both creatively and personally. "Traveling has been the most rewarding part of my journey. You don’t just read about different cultures—you absorb them, you live them," she says, reflecting on her unique approach to acting.

In Peacock’s “Those About to Die”, Pession embodies Antonia, a mature woman at the center of a brutal and unforgiving world, all while drawing from her own life experiences in Italy’s rich history. But beyond the screen, she’s a woman who finds joy in life’s simplicity. "I love taking my son to school, cooking for him, helping with his homework—it’s the little things that fulfill me," she admits. Whether she's navigating the highs and lows of a demanding acting schedule or embarking on a new chapter as a writer, Gabriella Pession continues to balance her dynamic career with a deep sense of gratitude for the quiet moments of family life. Get ready to be swept away by the electrifying stories behind her latest roles and her heartfelt reflections on motherhood and life in the spotlight.

Gabriella, you've had such a dynamic career spanning multiple countries and industries. What has been the most rewarding part of your journey so far?

The most rewarding part of my journey so far has been traveling. Getting to know so many different people and explore different places and eras through my characters and projects that I probably wouldn’t have if I wasn’t an actress has been amazing. I have been able to really travel the world with my job, which I think has been really nourishing for me.

I’m an obsessing reader – I love reading about different places – but what you absorb by actually visiting different countries and places is so different. Also, working with actors from all over the world is amazing; obviously I work with Italian actors, but I have also done a couple of movies in Spain. I've met some German actors, Swiss actors, Polish, Russian – the list goes on. To get to know the different approaches of my colleagues towards acting in different countries is really wonderful. Everyone has a very different take; it’s amazing to be inspired by their own perspectives and to be constantly nourished by the actors I am working with.

While the constant travel and instability can be a downside in this career, the upend is that we can have some amazing learning experiences.

Can you tell us about your character, Antonia, in Peacock’s new series "Those About to Die"? What drew you to this role?

Antonia is the role I have been waiting for, for many years; not only because it’s an amazing international project and I got the chance to work with so many wonderful people, but also because she is a mature woman. Finally, I got to play a role that wasn’t overly girly – Antonia doesn’t exist purely for a man. She is the wife of Marsus, but she is really the one who is in control of her journey and pulling all of the strings – she is the paradigm of a woman that can be in control. She has her own thoughts, her own voice – she has courage, basically.

Now the character obviously has a dark side – she makes some terrible mistakes and has to pay the consequences of them. The role is very epic, visceral, electric, dangerous, and unpredictable; I was really drawn to her.

“Those About to Die" explores the dark side of ancient Roman Gladiator Games. How did you prepare for such an intense and historically rich role?

I had the amazing experience of studying women from the past, like Messalina or Livia Drusilla, amongst many others. There are so many amazing, controversial women from Roman history. So, while Antonia didn’t necessarily exist, I took these women’s stories and carried them on my back on set and used them as guidance. Then, I also got to work with Roland on putting all of these pieces together and fleshing out Antonia.

Plus, I live in Rome, and one of my friends is an art historian who specializes in Ancient Roman history. She gave me a lot to research, and I spent a lot of time around the Palatine and the Colosseum. I spent a couple of weeks really immersing myself into Roman history.

You've just wrapped filming for "The Count of Monte Cristo" and are involved in Disney+'s "Tell Me Lies". How do you balance such a busy schedule with your personal life?

I’ve been very busy this year, which is great – I’m very happy about that! At the same time, it was great because I actually haven’t had to be on set everyday. In the past, I’ve done many television shows in Italy where I have had to be on set every single day, which makes it incredibly hard to manage anything else. Fortunately, working on these huge projects, I actually spent less overall days on set! My husband and I trade off looking after our son, Giulio; Those About to Die actually shot during the summer in Rome, he got to come on set a few times. He also made it out to see me shoot The Count of Monte Cristo with Sam Claflin!

Sometimes the schedule is intense, but that’s part of this business. I’m lucky enough that I typically have pauses between projects, so I can really live a very simple, normal life when I’m not shooting. I love taking my son to school, following his tennis journey, helping him with homework, cooking for him; it’s really the little things in life that fulfill me.

This job is really unreliable – you never quite know what is going to happen or where it will take you, but nowadays I have the proper emotional distance from it to not take every outcome of every project or audition so seriously. I always put all of my energy into delivering a quality performance every single time, but that is really all I can do. Maturity has really allowed me to compartmentalize my work from my normal life – I really do love my normal life a lot.

You’re also a writer and producer. How does your process differ when you're writing or producing compared to acting?

I’m working on my very first script right now, which I’m working alongside some three very talented writers; developing that story straight out of my imagination has been a blast. I also produce some theatre shows that I work in (Hedda Gabler, directed by Patrick Marber, is in the works!).

I love coming up with ideas and conceptualizing different stories. When I’m not shooting, between projects, that’s when I really explore and study different ideas. I was able to buy the rights to After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber, then The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh, amongst others. I like to work dynamically; I’m not the kind of actress who just wants to audition and book roles. I have done that, but I really also want to be in control and more creative in what I do. And luckily, after so many years in the business, I have a lot of people who know and trust my work that they are willing to work alongside me in developing my ideas. It’s amazing to work with such a wonderful team of writers and producers who really help to bring everything to life.

The series I am working on for Rai Uno is about a very successful chef; she seems to have everything she could possibly want in life, but she is lacking a true sense of warmth or affection in her life. After a turn of events in her life (which I cannot spoil), she moves back home to Tuscany – my favorite place in the world – and is forced to get back in touch with the most vulnerable parts of herself she had been avoiding. She has to focus on the simpler things in life, which will ultimately lead her to love herself and her life completely and not measure her worth in terms of career success. It’s a dramedy; it’s quite funny, but also quite touching.

How do you and your husband, Richard Flood, manage to keep your family life balanced amidst your busy professional schedules?

Richard is amazing at helping me while I am working – and I am amazing at helping him when he is working! We are a proper team. Somehow, we’ve managed to rarely overlap on our projects in the ten years since our son was born. We really look at every project and determine what is most important to support at that moment; when Richard booked Grey’s Anatomy and was on it for 3 years, I left my entire career behind in Italy and moved to Los Angeles to support him. Last year, when I was shooting Those About to Die, he dropped everything to support me and look after our son.

We make sure that one of us is always with our son; only once, when I was shooting in Atlanta and Richard was shooting in New Zealand, we had a nine day overlap, but luckily my mom looked after Giulio. That was a lot for us, being in three different continents!

We really take our turns; he is an amazing supporter, and allows me to concentrate. We are both actors, so we know exactly what the other needs when we are working. There is zero ego involved; we are each other's biggest supporter, biggest fan, and sometimes provide tough love when one of us needs to move on and be strong in any given moment.

It’s really amazing when your partner at your side is also your best friend and biggest fan.

Can you share more about your upcoming television series for Rai Uno and the screenplay for your first feature film? What inspired these projects?

I’m super excited about this one – it’s my first project as a writer! The idea came during COVID when I was stuck in Los Angeles and couldn’t go back to my country. I really love Italy so much – I am in love with Tuscany, that’s where I really want to spend the rest of my life. So, this project really started out of nostalgia and homesickness for my country.

Initially, it was a love letter to Italy. But then it became a story about a very successful single woman, a chef, who thinks she has it all before she realizes she truly has an empty life, living just to perform and pursue success. Through something that happens (that I can’t spoil), she’s going to be obliged to go back to Tuscany (where she is from) to go back to her roots and make peace with her past. She will learn how to love herself, and build a life and family. It’s a journey, really, about going back home; both the place, and also discovering home within her inner self. The human relationships and importance of family are really the core of the story, and the frame is Tuscany (the most beautiful place on earth).

I am also trying to write my first feature, which is a bit more delicate because it’s a personal story. It isn’t autobiographical at all, but it is inspired by my relationship with my father. It’s about a daughter who doesn’t fully know who her father has been; it’s a bit similar to Big Fish – one of my favorite movies (I cry every time I watch it). It’s a very delicate process that I am really trying not to rush.

I work on a lot of projects at once. You have to plant many seeds so that some will grow into trees – they won’t all, but it’s always worth the try.

Having lived in various parts of the world, how has your international upbringing influenced your career and personal life?

Living around the world has completely shaped me into the woman I am today. I have a view of things that is more open – when I am in Italy, which I adore (I choose to live here), I can also look around and see the things that are a bit old-fashioned and provincial than they are elsewhere. I like to travel!

When you travel, you get the best (and the worst, sometimes!) of any given place and its experiences. You are a puzzle of all of those different experiences! I gave birth to my son in Ireland and lived in Ireland for a while; I’ve lived in London, Australia – a lot of these experiences shaped me. The way I think is a bit out of the box, because I feel like I could live anywhere in the world and not be scared of it; I’ve really been doing this since I was a kid. I was born in Florida, brought back to Italy, and then traveled all over the world as an ice skater. I’m a true globetrotter!

Overall, I think living all over has opened my mind up to different cultures and made me far less judgmental. I love to embrace the culture of wherever I am living; when I lived in LA, I totally left behind any expectations based on my life in Rome. I love LA, even though it is so different from Rome! I can really change skin, like a chameleon, depending on where I am living.

Which actors or filmmakers have inspired you the most throughout your career?

I’ve been influenced a lot by a lot of very famous Italian filmmakers and directors like Federico Fellini and Lina Wermüller; they taught the world how to make movies, really. Fellini is probably one of the best directors ever to live, probably; but I started my career working with Lina Wertmüller and was really influenced by her kind of cinema as I first began. I could really talk for hours about all of the amazing Italian cinema – I love my country!

You're an active supporter of WeWorld Onlus. Can you tell us more about your involvement and why this cause is important to you?

I had the privilege to work alongside WeWorld Onlus for many years now, and they have always incorporated me in their campaigns. I would like to be even more involved moving forward; especially as a mother, this is really one of my goals in the next few years. Really, the privilege of being an actress is being able to be heard – you can really be a vehicle of change.

We did a lot of campaigns to spread awareness and reduce violence against women, relieve the effects of poverty here in Italy, and more. It has been very touching for me, because when you are an actor it is easy to get stuck in the bubble of “the business” and it becomes your world; but when you step outside and see reality, you realize how privileged we are. I think that when you are privileged, you are called to be useful; even if it is a tiny grain of sand in the ocean, it is worth it to try to get out there and do something that can help. We can all do our little part.

Looking back, what role or project are you most proud of, and why?

The roles that I am most proud of and influenced me the most are “Antonia” in Those About to Die, and “Tosca” in Oltre la soglia (which translates to Over the Edge). Tosca was a psychiatrist who suffers from schizophrenia; mental illness is still a very taboo conversation in Italy, but it was amazing to push the taboo and bring this discussion to TV. I wanted people to know that even though mental illness can’t always be seen, it can be just as dangerous as any physical illness, and there shouldn’t be shame surrounding it. Tosca was a really touching and vulnerable role.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?

Learning to not have any expectations about the outcome of what you do has really been the biggest challenge in my career. Learning to live in the present moment is so important for any actor, both while acting and also for life in general – to not have to depend on success in general, or the success of any specific project. I think life is a marathon; you don’t really get anywhere soon enough. So, I have just learned to focus all of my energy into the performance. You have to be truly patient, resilient, and strong.

Both "Those About to Die" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" are set in historical contexts. What do you enjoy most about working in historical fiction?

The thing I enjoy most about working on historical fiction is that it does really give you the chance to study history; not from school, but from a different, more personal perspective. Being able to immerse yourself into a different era is really magical. For example, in Those About to Die, the locations were really magical – my house was truly like an ancient Roman Patrician home, and so different from anything you would find today.

It’s really fun to live the way they lived, and explore a different time where people were entirely different. We say that actors “play” a role, and that’s really what is is – playing! It’s really fun – it feels like you’re in a theme park, in a way.

Same with Monte Cristo, we shot in some amazing historical buildings and palaces. A lot of those places are not generally open to the public, so it is really great to see and live in them in character; not just as a tourist, but you can really immerse yourself in the locations.

How do you approach developing a new character, especially one as complex as Antonia in "Those About to Die"?

I approach any role by starting with the script. The first thing that is most important to me is to see if I respond to any of the material; some roles can be amazing, but I just don’t feel anything towards it. Some other roles are just so right, you know it in your gut – that’s how Antonia was for me. I read the script a few times to start, but I always lead with my instinct before incorporating in my instinct and rational mind. I let my instinct do its job when it comes to the actual performance.

Then, obviously, there is the historical research that has to do with a historical character. I am so lucky to be living in Rome, where I could really explore those things.

Are there any genres or types of characters you haven’t explored yet but would like to in the future? How has your career in the entertainment industry shaped you personally over the years?

I am really obsessed with comedy. I would love to do more comedies, if I could; sadly, they don’t write many comedic roles for women in Italy – that’s why I’m working on one for myself. I love comedy more than anything – it’s actually probably the thing that comes the most natural to me. Even if I am in a very dramatic scene, there is something silly or funny that just comes up in the scene that I don’t even notice until people tell me that I was really funny in it later. I guess it’s a good thing! I try to avoid it, but it just comes natural to me.

I would also love to do a movie set in the Middle Ages – King Arthur, Camelot, those years. I’ve done the 1700s, 1800s, 1900s; I’ve done a lot of different eras, but not the Middle Ages just yet.

What advice would you give to aspiring actors, screenwriters, and producers looking to break into the industry?

I hate lecturing – but really, the easy thing to do is to act. The hardest thing to do is to put up with the instability; the ups and downs and the uncertainty and illogical aspects of this job. Nothing is really completely sure, ever. Constantly being up in the air sounds great when you are 18; you really only see the upside, sure that you are going to make it work and have a great career.

When you really get into the job, though, you really realize how difficult it is to keep your feet on the ground. You can’t get too down or too excited based on how things are going, because it’s all an illusion, really.

The only advice I have is this: Be really sure you love this job. You really have to love every aspect of this in order to sustain a career like this. If you don’t love it that much, it is probably better to do something else – it is far too frustrating of a career to handle unless you are blinded by your passion and love for it.

Finally, what are your aspirations for the next chapter of your career? Are there any new ventures or dreams you're looking forward to pursuing?

I’m looking forward to keeping my childish outlook on the world alive. I want to stay constantly excited and curious about new things, both life and career-wise; it’s not really a specific project or job to look forward to, but an attitude towards life that I hope to keep and pursue. Life is up and down, but I really hope to maintain the same serenity that I am able to have these days; all of it comes from a lot of lessons learned and life experiences. I really look forward to staying like a child who still likes to play and have fun.

There are a couple other fun writing projects in the works, but nothing I can spoil just yet.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

I would be a female Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, because he really gets to experience everything in life, and in the end gets to experience true peace and joy – he learns how to live in the present. This prince goes through many things in life, from wealth to poverty and much more, and in the end he discovers the truth about being happy with what you have in the present moment. It’s an amazing, classic book that I read in school that has really stayed with me.

Otherwise, I’d love to be Lyra in His Dark Materials.