There are two options before Luca Argentero’s smile. You either suddenly feel happy or you get mad because how can you have it all? Handsome, kind, polite, intelligent and even incredible to say sincere. While the first choice is already being made, he doesn’t skimp on the low blow, the final one. Like? He lowers his eyes a little and apologizes for his joy: «I feel guilty for saying this, but to tell the truth, I didn’t live this time in sync. Both on a personal and professional level, these last few years have been incredible». In Best Days, the new film by Massimiliano Bruno and Edoardo Leo (in cinemas January 1st with Vision Distribution), Argentero is an old-fashioned man, many lies, no courage and a marriage kept going thanks to the force of habit will. Then the processing of the third Doc is waiting for him, but above all he will be a father for the second time in 4 months and his eyes light up as soon as the statement is made.
In “Best Days” it’s Gianni, a badass male specimen, who deals with the anniversary of Valentine’s Day. Why does it happen so often that men become like this?
“It’s not a problem that only affects men, there are a lot of people like that, just like there are a lot of dysfunctional couples. In the film we talk about people who have lost sight of happiness, who keep going out of indolence. Gianni doesn’t care about celebrating Valentine’s Day, but since he’s been doing it for 25 years, he keeps it up. What strikes me as dramatic is that he and his wife need a Valentine’s Day dinner to tell each other the truth.”
He’s a character far removed from how she appears in that moment. Has it ever happened to you that you look a bit like Gianni?
“I married young, I’ve always made clear decisions, that doesn’t mean it can get better or worse, it’s part of life. Honesty with myself and with everyone in front of me is part of me, that’s who I am, so no, I don’t see myself in Gianni’s character.”
As always in comedies, mobile phones are very present in the “best years”. What relationship do you have to social media and co.?
“I’m a “Pippa”, I could never keep the rhythm of my character. I would be incompetent, I would be caught immediately, I’m someone who can’t make things up, hide… I’d make a mess and I’d be exposed. I know I’m not capable and that’s why I avoid putting myself in certain situations in real life.”
We are coming out of a difficult period, Covid, the war, the Iranian regime’s appalling violence. How did you experience this time?
“That’s the wrong question for me. It’s hard to say, but I’ve lived against the trend, I haven’t suffered any particular consequences, although I feel the crisis around me well».
What does it entail?
«I have a degree in economics, I like to read the moment society is in. I think that we have not yet seen the really ugly, that the macroeconomic consequences of what we have experienced have not yet manifested, we will see them in the next few years. The emergency has an impact on the system that looks like a long wave, now the recession is starting, a time horizon of a few years, the difficult is yet to come.”
What are his obligations?
«In the next 4 months I have to be a father and a husband, that’s my most important obligation. Then in spring season 3 of Doc starts, until then I intend to have this wonderful moment. Children are so beautiful, every difficulty seems surmountable to me».
How different do you feel compared to back then?
“I’ve never taken myself too seriously, I’ve always played this job, there was a moment when I put all my time and resources into the job and that’s when I really started to believe in it. It’s different today, the balance has shifted and I live my job with a great deal of distance, like perhaps never before, because life has given me incredible gifts. All the time I spend away from home and my family feels like stolen time for what really interests me. In fact, I find it more and more difficult to stay outside, I imagine how it will be when there are two small children … it’s a beautiful, fun, privileged job, but it also consists of distances».
La Stampa has launched a major campaign to collect signatures to stop the horror of executions in Iran. Do you think this kind of initiative can be useful?
“I certainly cannot deny the value of these necessary and just gestures. It is important that there is a little awareness of what is happening in the world, also to better appreciate the freedom that we have and that we sometimes take for granted.”
It’s Christmas, what do you wish everyone?
“After the long storm we’ve been through, another political upheaval, the change of government, the social shock of Covid, the war, we need some peace of mind. I wish everyone a peaceful 2023».