Monica Bellucci, calm before the storm
Source: Philadelphia Daily News ()
Monica Bellucci exudes a peaceful calm that's contagious. It's impossible not to be instantly relaxed by her serene disposition and soothing voice.
This aura translates on screen as well, even when she's running through a hail of bullets, pursued by professional killers, as in the case of her latest film, "Shoot 'Em Up."
The unapologetically violent adventure flick, from writer-director Michael Davis, stars Clive Owen as a mysterious man named Smith who delivers a baby in the middle of a shootout, then rescues the child from dozens of gunmen after the mother dies.
And that's just the first five minutes.
The rest is nonstop action, involving Smith and prostitute DQ (Bellucci) on the run. Though the film is mayhem, Bellucci said she brought her tranquil attitude to the set.
"I'm a Libra, so I work much better when I'm at peace," she explained. "There are people who need the complete opposite: To give the best, they need to fight. But in order to do my job, I need to be relaxed."
She is probably best known to American audiences for her roles as enigmatic ice queens in such films as "The Brothers Grimm" and the two "Matrix" sequels. But long before she came to Hollywood, she was a major star in her native Italy and in France, where she was nominated for a Cesar Award (the French equivalent of the Academy Award) for her breakthrough performance in 1996's "L'Appartement."
Growing up, she adored Italian film stars Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren but had no idea how to break into acting. Modeling, however, came easy to her.
"To model, you just go into an agency and tell them, and they either hire you or they don't," she said. "There's no one way to become an actor."
Fortunately, the stunning Bellucci found that her career a model soon led to offers for acting auditions. Even more fortunate: When these opportunities arose, …