Isabella Rossellini Talks Returning to Her Native Rome for 'Conclave'
Her Instagram profile describes her as an "actress, filmmaker and farmer." The Roman-born daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, two titans of 20th-century cinema, Isabella Rossellini made her first film in Los Angeles at age 25 — directing a documentary about an Italian animal herder-turned-bodybuilder. She has gone on to star in projects including 1986's Blue Velvet and 1992's Death Becomes Her, wrote the quirky 2005 short My Dad Is 100 Years Old and wrote and directed the Sundance Channel series Green Porno. Here, she discusses her latest role, as Sister Agnes in the psychological thriller Conclave (released by Focus Features); her ex, Martin Scorsese's priesthood aspirations; and why she won't drive in L.A.
Q: Is your new film Conclave your first role playing a nun? A: I played Athena in [1997 NBC miniseries] The Odyssey. I played a goddess, but this is the first time I've played a nun. I've been downgraded from goddess to nun.
Q: I read that you attended Catholic school. A: In Italy, most people are Catholic, so my grandmother went to church and was practicing, but not many other people in my family. We went to the church school partially because the nun schools were girls only. You don't want to send the girls with the boys when they're teenagers. The boys overwhelm them, and they have sex. The nuns don't have a family, so they have time to tutor you. They can keep an eye on you and encourage you.
Q: Is it true that your friend Mr. Scorsese planned to join the seminary? A: Scorsese wanted to be in the priesthood, but he got married five times, so he failed at that one! You can see in his films there is a societal concern. He didn't become a priest, but he's searching deep into human hearts to see what dictates us to be good or bad. Is it our nature or our choice?
Q: Your character Sister Agnes operates in the shadows. A: We were supposed to be shadows. The nuns are not submissive. They cannot speak but they can give glances that freeze you. When I speak, it's a bomb — and I have that beautiful line: "I know my role is to be invisible; nevertheless God has given me eyes and ears," and that tells all.
Q: How was filming in Rome? A: [Co-stars] Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow are very good friends. Stanley knows Rome even better than me. I took him to one restaurant that he didn't know anything about, a restaurant run by nuns. It's called L'Eau Vive, which translates to "holy water." I went there with my mother; Ingrid Bergman was very well-known and she couldn't really go out without people talking with her and asking for autographs and asking for papa [her father, Roberto Rossellini] — and the nuns hardly knew who she was. They serve food and they sing, and so I went with John and Stanley to astound them with this secret of Rome.
Q: Where do you hang out when you come to Los Angeles? A: I go see the [Los Angeles County] art museum that's being made bigger. I don't drive in Los Angeles. I'm afraid, so I'm grateful the museums are together, including the Academy film museum. They had a small Casablanca exhibit and we lent them mother's diary. The Getty is on the opposite end and it's beautiful. Hollywood is so enormous. It's terrifying to be on the highway in Los Angeles if you're not used to it.
