From longtime collaborators such as Toni Servillo to newer faces like Marlon Joubert, Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino is known to reuse the same actors across multiple films.

His latest film, Parthenope, is no exception. In addition to Joubert and Luisa Ranieri, who both starred in his previous film, The Hand of God, his new coming-of-age story from A24 reunites the director with the likes of Silvio Orlando (The Young Pope), Peppe Lanzetta (Man Up), and Isabella Ferrari (In the Mirror). Even when Sorrentino strays from his familiar players, newcomers to his circle, including Italian legend Stefania Sandrelli and Oscar-winning English actor Gary Oldman, often have résumés that speak for themselves.

But he’s also not afraid to take chances with unproven talent. Just as he cast young Filippo Scotti to lead the autobiographical Hand of God, when it came to choosing the titular star of Parthenope (in theaters now), the filmmaker selected a virtual unknown: Milanese actress Celeste Dalla Porta. A film school graduate, she had previously starred in a short film and two TV miniseries.

While Parthenope features a star-studded cast, Dalla Porta is the sun around which her more experienced colleagues orbit. She appears in almost every scene as the film follows her from the moment of her birth to her retirement when Sandrelli briefly takes over the part as her character’s older self. Not only does she carry the film, but she also breathes life and gravitas into a complicated, unknowable character. Parthenope is inscrutable yet expressive, insolent yet heroic, magnetic yet unattainable, loving yet selfish. Her stunning beauty opens doors but also leads her peers to underestimate her intelligence and wit. 

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Below, in an interview conducted through interpreter Lilia Pino Blouin, Dalla Porta speaks with EW about the audition process, her close bond with costars Dario Aita and Daniele Rienzo, what she learned from working with Oldman, and why she thinks Sorrentino took a leap of faith in casting her.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you first get involved with the film?

CELESTE DALLA PORTA: I got this role after several auditions with Paolo. This audition period was very interesting because, basically, each new audition was an acting class that I was following, and it was a time for research that allowed me to delve deep into the character. So I started studying this character and started to approach it many different ways, going beyond the script throughout the entire audition process because it was very long.

What was your first impression of Paolo?

Before I went for my very first interview, I was very emotional, and I was shaking. I was literally shaking. But then I stepped into the room, and I started talking to him, and I saw the man beyond the filmmaker, the artist, a man who’s a lot of fun to be with. He’s very open. He was interested in getting to know me, in understanding who I was. So it was a very beautiful meeting, and I remember that we started chatting right away, and we didn’t talk about Parthenope. He was always very discreet. He didn’t give me a lot of information about the character. I was very pleasantly surprised.

What was your reaction when you learned that you had gotten the part?

Well, naturally, I was so emotional. It was one of the most emotional moments of my entire life, the strongest emotion I ever felt. I was coming off such a long and drawn-out audition process that, on the one hand, when Paolo told me that it was going to be me, there was a sense of relief. But on the other hand, I also immediately realized the greatness of the project, the high responsibility that Paolo was giving me, and the huge amount of trust that he had in me. Therefore, I was overwhelmed by such conflicting emotions. There was happiness but then anxiety and fear.

Having said that, I want to point out that even if I had not been selected as Parthenope, all of that long audition period for me was so educational. And what I kept telling myself was, well, even if it’s not going to be me, thank you, Paolo Sorrentino. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to delve deep into such a beautiful character. For me, as an actor, one of the most important goals is to be able to study that way, even if you don’t end up really playing that role but just being exposed to such a fully fledged character, such a complex character. Well, that’s great enough for me.

What do you think Paolo saw in your audition that he chose you for the role?

Well, I don’t know. I really don’t know what he saw in me. I’m still wondering myself. What he says is that he saw in me the ability to play both a very young girl, like an 18-year-old, and at the same time, a 35-year-old. So he saw in me this ability to cover that range. And also the fact that I devoted myself to the study of the script so deeply. I really put a lot of effort into it. Also, the fact that I did not have any film experience before I went to film school. I’d never acted in a movie. I thought at first that that could be a limitation that wouldn’t lead him to pick me. But on the other hand, I think Paolo liked the fact that it was my first movie because of the freedom that I had in my approach to this character. Having said that, this is a question for him because I can just come up with theories. All I can say is that I’m very grateful, and I’m still deeply emotional when I’m asked to talk about this.

How would you describe Parthenope, and how do you relate to her?

I tackled her by reading the script and then by talking to Paolo. And then, when I saw the movie after it was finished, what comes across is a story of a woman who’s extremely complex, extremely layered. A woman who loves life and who is involved in mystery. And she is detached. So, she’s a woman who protects her feelings and her thoughts. And in this way, she manages to wiggle across situations. It’s as if she went through in a slalom-like fashion, wiggling across the people that she meets and at the same time absorbing what they have to teach her. 

I want to ask about your relationship with Dario Aita and Daniele Rienzo, who play your childhood love Sandrino and brother Raimondo, respectively. When I was talking to Paolo, he said that you three had a very close bond, and during filming, it almost became too close, to the point where he had to separate you a bit.

Well, let’s say that the relationship that I had with Sandrino and Raimondo was a relationship that was born on the film set through the audition process. And we immediately looked for and found a very, very strong connection, a very special connection. And yes, Paolo did push us to hang out with each other and to get to know each other and love each other, but up to a certain point because then if you become too close, too familiar with each other, you risk sort of not staying within the parameters that were set for the characters and going beyond the emotions that were at play in the movie. For example, the chemistry that needed to be there, the desire that needed to come across among the three of us, that mystery. And so I felt, yes, that Paolo was trying to increase some distance among us at a certain point to sort of separate us because we did run the risk of being too close, and so going outside the perimeter of this particular triangle the way it was supposed to be.

What was it like working with Gary Oldman and some of the other legends in this film? What did you learn from them?

Having the opportunity to meet and work with actors of that caliber is something that I will never forget. It’s just grand. Gary Oldman is an extraordinary actor, and he’s always listening to his fellow actors. He has the ability to sort of take you with him and never make you feel insecure or shy. It’s as if he envelopes you in his way of acting, which is master-like. And he has a level of being humble and such an inner beauty, which is so astonishing.

Working with him and the other high-caliber actors who were involved in the project was so incredible. In this respect, I feel that I can see myself in Parthenope because, just like her, I went through a journey, a parallel journey to hers, because I had the opportunity to meet incredible people and characters who taught me so much. Great maestros. And Gary Oldman was, of course, one of them. He’s such a well-known figure in the acting world, and likewise, Parthenope comes across [novelist] John Cheever, who was a myth in terms of writing, which was what she was studying or reading. And that’s definitely something that bonds us, something that we did together, the character and I. That’s one more reason why I will always be grateful for this adventure. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.