“There were moments, absolutely. But you
have to consider Montalbano is based on
novels that were written by a man who died
a couple of years ago, at 90 or 92 [the novelist
Andrea Camilleri]. So his vision was a bit old,
an ancient vision. And certainly women and
women’s roles were something from the past,
a bit obsolete. Today, clearly, it is obsolete. We
tried to sometimes soften these attitudes, but
certainly there were some elements that may
be sexist, or may be [macho].”
While we’re on the subject of objectification,
what of Zingaretti’s status as a sex symbol?
This is another one of those times when he
doesn’t need the interpreter to intervene.
“Sì! Yes!” he says. He grins. “Being a sex
symbol, which means everything and nothing
at the same time.”
But it must be fun.
“I like it because the people who are my
fan supporters are mostly women. The female
audience, it’s much more attentive, much more
selective. It takes more time to get the trust of
a female audience, but once you’ve got the
knit, it’s more loyal. It’s warmer. And at the
same time, this type of audience raises the
expectations. You cannot give them something
which is less than authentic. You can’t.”
The interpreter chips in to tell me that
one of Che Guevara’s daughters is a fan,
that she recently informed the Italian press
Montalbano is very loved by Cuban women.
Zingaretti chips in to tell me he once met
“Lord Buckinghamshire” in Prague, who
told him he was also a fan and had regular
weekly screenings of Inspector Montalbano
in his castle.
Zingaretti isn’t sure if there will be any
more Inspector Montalbano. “We haven’t yet
made up our minds. In 2019, we lost three of
the most important people: the writer, the
director and the one who had chosen those
locations, those places. So it would be
extremely sad to go back and play again the
character. There are still two novels that
Camilleri wrote that have not been adapted
into a movie. On the one hand, it would be
a good idea to turn them into a TV show to
honour these three people. On the other hand,
it would be extremely sad and maybe better to
leave them as they are.”
We finish the official portion of our
interview, but chat on over infinite delicious
fish courses. Zingaretti tells me he just flew
back from Los Angeles, where he’d attended
the Oscars with his wife, the actress LuisaRanieri, one of the stars of Oscar-nominated
The Hand of God and mother of his two young
daughters, Emma, ten, and Bianca, six. Gosh,
I ask, breathlessly, did he see The Slap? He
did, he says, and thinks it was just a slap, that
America is a violent society and should
perhaps be more concerned that its children
bring weapons into school. He tells me he
loves The Crown and Ozark, but hasn’t yet
watched the second season of Bridgerton,
“because all my family was in love with the
girl, but in this season, I know they tell the
story of the brother. But surely we will get
there.” And he chastises me gently over Brexit.
“You desert us!” he says. I’m sorry, I say.
Eventually, the fish courses stop arriving
and I am dispatched, off into the streets of
Rome, so Zingaretti can do a phone interview
with someone else. I fly home to assure all
those who care that, though Luca Zingaretti
may not quite be Inspector Montalbano, he’s
nevertheless a delightful lunch date. nThe King is available from April 19 on
Sky Atlantic and streaming service Now‘There were moments, absolutely, when Inspector Montalbano
was sexist or macho. Today, those attitudes are obsolete’