Shades, faces, colors, and transparencies, resonances, fragilities: these are the characteristics of a prism and a human being. On the other hand, what are we if not angular and multifaceted figures, radiant when light hits us, brutal when we end up in the wrong hands?

This is the metaphor on which Ludovico Bessegato’s Prime Video series “Prisma” is based, available this month with its second season, “Prisma 2”. The first season was a great success, introducing us to the Gen Z of Latina, a group of friends and enemies grappling with stereotypes, searching for and defining an identity in an era where conformity reigns supreme. In the second season, twins Marco and Andrea (Mattia Carrano) seriously question their bond, strained by a series of events and people that disrupt their balance; Daniele is foremost among them: a character who, in this chapter, is particularly fragile and indecisive, and as Lorenzo Zurzolo, who portrays him, defines, more a victim of the context than a real villain. Raised on the set and intensely passionate about his work, Lorenzo is as profound as the roles he plays, devoted to the causes he firmly believes in.

Lorenzo is our June Cover Story, appropriately representing a month that celebrates the value of diversity: with “Prisma 2”, he discovered the beauty of opening up and communicating, of “not caring” and “simply being yourself”.

What’s your first cinema memory?

One of my earliest memories is when I watched “Life is Beautiful” with my family. We were all together on the couch, and I remember being deeply moved. I was so emotional that I fell in love with cinema, for the first time.

“Prisma 2” seems to have darker tones, perhaps a bit less lightness compared to the first season. Naturally, because the characters are growing, going through new and complicated situations, and getting out of them won’t be easy at all. In particular, the relationship between Daniele and Andrea is at the center of the new season. How would you describe Daniele’s growth and evolution? In which direction is your character heading?

Daniele is growing, and in this season, he is in a phase where he is questioning all his certainties. He is somewhat a victim of the environment he grew up in, a bit of a victim of the image everyone wants him to embody, but that is not the one he wants to have. Thus, he is going through a growth journey made up of leaps, accelerations, halts, blunders, decisive choices, and less decisive ones: he will come to terms with the difficulty of accepting himself and understanding what he wants. As he progresses, a real dismantling of the toxic masculinity that the environment has imposed on him takes place.

Daniele, therefore, finds himself facing different kinds of conflicts (internal and external). How did you prepare to get into the mind and heart of such a “closed” and contradictory character? What emotional nuances did you find most difficult to explore?

Actually, it wasn’t that difficult to get into Daniele’s mind and heart because he is a very well-written character.

I immediately understood his state of mind and his difficulties due to the context in which he grew up and lives. One very stimulating thing for me was the fact that “Prisma” isn’t one of those series where the characters yield to their moods; there’s never a line where Daniele explicitly says, “I’m struggling because I feel judged”, but you understand it from what he does, how he does it, and what he experiences. It was interesting because I had to empathize with him first to make others empathize and understand what Daniele was going through.

‘”Prisma’ isn’t one of those series where the characters yield to their moods…”

Sure, and then it’s a very “visual” series, where what happens inside the characters is understood more from how they express themselves and the overall staging than from what they say or don’t say. For you, what is the most interesting or unique aspect of the relationship between Daniele and Andrea, and how does it influence the development of the characters and their intertwined stories?

Yes, true. I believe Andrea represents for Daniele what he would like to try to do, that is, not care about others’ judgment and simply be himself.

So also a stimulus for other characters to do the same, to have the same courage. “Prisma” indeed addresses current and relevant themes for young people: gender identity, privacy, even cyberbullying in this season, and much more. Is there a particular theme or topic that you think is important to highlight or that is important to you?

More than a theme, I find important what is a focus of the series, which is that it talks about people with different characteristics. Then, of course, there’s the LGBTQ theme, which is central for obvious reasons, but actually, in the end, it’s always about individuals, each made in their own way, and no character is a victim of their characteristic or stereotyped for that characteristic.

“INDIVIDUALS”

They are all very strong characters. I always think about how much I would have liked to be like them at their age.

During the production of the second season, was there a moment or a scene that struck you particularly or taught you something special?

Daniele and I are very different, but in some ways, I relate to him, for example, in being very reflective and sometimes closing myself off, and being a bit introverted. This series and this character have taught me to grow, to take the time to do so and to not care about what others think.

Daniele says that “sometimes no one seems to really understand him.” Have you ever felt misunderstood or misinterpreted in the same way? How did you handle the situation? What advice would you give to Daniele to solve his?

Yes, it has happened to me, of course. The advice I would give to Daniele would be to open up a bit more and talk to the people close to him, because then, as the series explains very well and as I mentioned earlier, no character is a victim of their stereotype. Everyone, even his friends who seemed the least willing to accept a different sexual orientation of Daniele, eventually turned out to be the most open to accepting it, while sometimes people who seemed more in favor of LGBTQ rights are the least open. “Prisma” delves well into this theme where no one is inherently bad, but everyone is the villain for someone else, or the hero, depending on the people.

So, I would advise Daniele to open up more and talk and say what he feels.

“No one is inherently bad, but everyone is the villain for someone else”

“Prisma 2” in one word?

Well, it’s no coincidence that the series is called “Prisma”! [laughs] Inside, there are all the shades, all the colors, precisely because each of us is a prism full of different facets.

One of the central themes of “Prisma” is self-discovery and acceptance. Is there or has there ever been something about yourself or the reality around you that you found hard to accept?

There are many things in the reality around me that I find hard to accept, especially in this period. But I believe that in the end, everyone has to come to terms with reality and grow and accept it because there’s nothing worse than not accepting things as they are.

Usually, when you act or prepare a character, do you tend to be more rational or instinctive?

Both. Generally, I am a very rational person, I always think a lot about things, and I overthink a lot, whether I have to do a film or an audition: I always think a lot about the best way I can possibly take. But at work, I think it’s also important to rely on instinct sometimes, especially in the more emotional scenes, where you need to bring out the most powerful emotions. There, it’s important to know how to let go. But generally, in life, I am a very rational person.

“it’s important to know how to let go”

What is your must-have on set?

Actually, I tend not to bring anything personal to the set; instead, I always look for objects that belong to the character. So, for each character, even if it never shows up on the screen, I always try to have something with me that in my mind can belong to that character, which could be a lighter or a pair of socks, something that helps me get into the role.

And for Daniele, what did you keep with you?

For Daniele, I took a kind of keychain that was part of the set decoration [laughs]. I had it from the first season, a silly object found in Daniele’s house that made me think of him. It never shows up in the series, but for me, it was a sort of mental exercise.

Your greatest act of courage?

Maybe not having a plan B, but focusing on this job, which is not very secure, but has always been my plan A, B, C, D, E… Since I was very young, I knew well what I wanted and what I wanted to do, and I invested a lot of time and a lot of things in general to achieve it.

What has been the best “fuck you” of your life so far?

Well… I’ve said a few to some people! [laughs]

At work, I’ve never really had the occasion, rather it’s happened with people I didn’t really like.

When do you feel safest? And when do you feel most confident?

I love being at home, maybe also because of COVID, so the place where I feel safest is on the couch with the dog and a movie [laughs]. I really like staying at home reading or watching things.

The place where I feel most confident is definitely the set: I just love the set, I am a set animal, it’s the place where I feel best. I miss it a lot when I’m not filming, I like being on set for hours and hours, I never complain about being there, because I feel very lucky. I was also lucky to start very young when I was 7, and more or less since then, every year, albeit at the beginning with much smaller projects, like a commercial or a leading role in an episode of some series, I have always worked. So, I grew up on set, got used to it, and I love it.

What is your biggest fear?

I am very scared of violence.

Connecting to Daniele’s musical background, who is a trapper with potential hits in his pocket, let’s talk about music. What is the song that describes this exact moment of your life?

Let me think… Well, I spent a month in Los Angeles and just returned yesterday, so I’m kind of in a Red Hot Chili Peppers mood [laughs], “Scar Tissue”, “Californication”, that kind of thing.

The book on your nightstand?

Right now, I’m finishing reading a book on acting methodology, “The Power of the Actor” by Ivana Chubbuck. As for “bedtime” books, I’m currently reading a lot of Dostoevsky, “The Gambler”, “The Crocodile”, which is about a man who gets eaten by a crocodile and continues living inside it [laughs]. Then I really like Steinbeck, “Of Mice and Men”, “The Pearl”, Camus, “The Stranger”.

What does it mean to you to feel comfortable in your own skin?

It means not being afraid to be yourself, not feeling judged by anyone, and basically being happy.

The last thing or person that made you smile?

Today, the cast of “Prisma”!

Even though I suspect your answer… What is your happy place?

Eeeh, the set, obviously [laughs].

Photos and Video by Johnny Carrano.

Makeup by Simone Belli using Gucci Beauty.

Assistant Makeup Alessandro Joubert.

Hair by Silvia Massucci.

Total Look: Gucci. 

Thanks to The Rumors.