Movie Ferrari, interview with the actor Giuseppe Bonifati: 'The movie is shot like a sculptor behind the camera'

Ferrari is the movie by Micheal Mann that will be released on December 25. It tells the story of the founder of the famous car brand and his relationship with his wife and team, up to the conception of the Mille Miglia. The cast includes Penelope Cruz and Adam Driver, while actor Giuseppe Bonifati plays Giacomo Cuoghi, Enzo Ferrari's manager.  

Your character is Giacomo Cuoghi. How does he fit into the story of Enzo Ferrari? 

The fact that Michael Mann decided to have me at the table read alongside Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz certainly helped break the ice before filming began and was also an indication of how much he considered this role and how close Cuoghi was both to Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) and Laura Garello (Penelope Cruz).

Michael gave me some material and interviews that same day; these were about Giacomo Cuoghi. There were details, like his relationship with Enzo Ferrari. Cuoghi was one of Enzo’s closest friends and confidants. Routinely, Enzo would go get a shave, go to Cuoghi’s office, they’d have an argument, and they’d shout at each other. So they built a second door so people couldn’t hear. Then he’d go on with the rest of his day.

What is the most special aspect of their friendship?

The excerpts allowed me to better understand the relationship between Enzo Ferrari and his manager, but there was no documentary intent on either side. I'm not a lawyer for the “Drake” in the movie, but I am more his manager and business adviser. The two were very good friends, but they always addressed each other formally.

I also had to discover on that occasion that Giacomo Cuoghi was a short, limping man because he had polio when he was young. And this was immediately very important to build up my character from the very beginning, and through the whole movie, my way of walking influenced everything concerning my lines, my way of thinking, and, I guess, the perception of the audience, as I am bringing news as an ominous bird. At the same time, my character gives very important inputs to the movie; he is a sort of key figure in starting the engine of the story and the decisions Enzo will take concerning finances and the Mille Miglia. 

You are from Calabria and you have worked with an international cast, with a movie that is now being released in more than 21 countries. How did transition happen?

I left Calabria when I was 18 to further my acting studies in Italy and abroad. I had already been introduced at a very young age, first to dance and then to theatre, by Giuseppe Maradei. I never considered living in Calabria; I needed to travel and see the world. Though my first debut as a movie director could be focusing on that region in a few years.

Returning to my travel around the world, many countries are still missing; for example, we recently returned from a happy tour in Iceland with the risk of an ongoing volcanic eruption. My life is incandescent; I have wings on my feet and a thousand plans for every return. An actress in my company told me I should have stayed in Italy after a happy start to my career, but I was attracted to Costa Rica, and then, I don't know how, I ended up in Denmark. Or rather, it was for another great master, Eugenio Barba, from Odin Teatret, where I have been an artist in residence for 10 years. Later on, together with Linda Sugataghy, we founded in the south of Denmark “Det Flyvende Teater,” or The Flying Theatre, the very first theatre with a base at an international airport.

Ferrari is my second time working in a Hollywood film (after All the Money in the World by Ridley Scott) and a BBC US series (starring Tom Hollander), and it was an enriching experience with a meticulous director like Mann, who pays attention to every detail: the poses, the tension of the gestures, and the way objects are grasped in a discreet way.

 How is Michael Mann on set? 

Michael Mann is like a sculptor behind the camera; reaching after so many takes a sort of "artistic exhaustion" from you, and I say this in a positive way. He is a director who manages to get what he wants. Being a director myself, seeing a sacred "monster" like Mann working was a great lesson. He leaves room for the creativity of the actor, but at the same time, he drives you, just like on board a sports car. He is the one behind the wheel, and together you are moving in the established direction.

Is it true that there is a curious anecdote about a little horse?

Among the many walking canes that were given to me at the beginning as an option, there was one with a little horse (cavallino), a clear sign that I should choose that one, but it was of a very hard shape; I think it was steel or brass. On my first day of shooting, I remember around 50 takes were done with numerous extras under the sun. Michael asked me to place the cane on the other hand and leg, which worked better. By repeating the scene and pushing on the hand with the shape of the animal, which is less easy than, for example, a sphere on top, a callus forms on my hand. That was the callus, Michael Mann. I immediately understood that the key to the character was all in a physical approach, and the rest would perhaps come by itself.

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