Warning: this article contains spoilers from Sunday’s episode 6 ofThe White Lotus.
It was a very happy birthday indeed for Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) onThe White Lotus.
SABRINA IMPACCIATORE:I didn’t watch it yet.
Sabrina Impacciatore on ‘The White Lotus’.Fabio Lovino/HBO
Do you normally watch the episodes on your own or do you watch with other people?
I don’t like to watch it alone because I would feel too upset.
But I don’t like to watch it with people that I don’t know.
I’m watching it with people that I care for.
And now we’re trying to get all together for the finale.
That makes sense, especially in this episode where Valentina goes to a very vulnerable place.
I remember very well what I felt and everything I was feeling was real.
I was not acting.
I really was feeling it.
Until this moment, she didn’t know enough about herself.
She’s like, until this moment, frozen.
She was not living her nature.
She was trying to ignore and avoid herself.
She was so scared to live her inner nature.
She was a workaholic trying to have control of her life, through work, through her job.
She’s a very lonely person with no private life.
That scene helped me a lot to understand the character.
She feels safe, because she’s wearing an armor.
It’s a life-changing moment.
I was thinking about that moment like the volcano Etna erupting.
It’s very, very important and it’s going to affect her future for sure.
And it’s connected to another thing that I don’t want to spoil accidentally.
And that was very moving to me.
Tell me more about how it felt bringing Valentina’s journey toward self-acceptance to life onscreen.
In Italy, to be gay is a big issue, still.
I think it’s my responsibility as an actress to bring awareness to that [issue].
I’m grateful that an artist like Mike White has such a big voice in the world now.
What can you tease about where everything is heading in the finale?
[Laughs] I feel uncomfortable talking about the seventh episode.
I still haven’t even watched the sixth episode!
So I cannot really tease about what’s going to happen.
The White Lotusairs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
