Wearing a baseball cap and nondescript black sports attire, something gives Raoul Bova away. Is it the scarf around the Italian heartthrob actor’s neck? Is it those green eyes, or the rough stubble?
It must be his aura. The minute he saunters into the Hilton Hotel lounge in Paceville, all eyes look up and light up in recognition.
Mr Bova, 39, the, star of more than 50 Italian movie hits, settles down on the sofa, chewing gum and with a stress ball in hand.
He is in Malta scouting a location for his television series Come un Delfino. The series was a major hit for Mediaset last year and, apart from acting in it, he is its executive producer.
The plot revolves around a Sicilian guy, determined to succeed in sports. The series, Mr Bova claims, is not just entertaining – it’s educational.
“It tackles the pressures of the athletic world, it talks about the value of sport and we try to pass on messages like: don’t give up; get to know your limits; don’t do drugs.”
The production team are looking for an island setting for the second series, to contrast the greyness of the city against an opposite landscape.
Speaking in impeccable English with an Italo-American accent, his words ring of Italian flowery poetry.
“We are looking for somewhere where there is the energy of life, somewhere where colours and sounds are vibrant, somewhere close to the sea. Only nature can help us defeat the enemy of happiness.”
With the help of the Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta and Malta Film Studios, Mr Bova and his entourage were taken on a whirlwind trip around Malta, from the impressive Dingli Cliffs to the rundown Fort St Elmo.
He seems impressed by the mark of different cultures which left their stamp on the island’s architecture.
“As a location, the whole of Malta can be a set for a movie. There are all sorts of extremes here and you can be everywhere within minutes. There is no need for a stage because the streets are the actual stage.”
Should Malta be chosen as the location, filming will start in January. The theme of the series is very close to his heart – before he even thought of becoming an actor, he was a swimming champion in Rome.
“I spent all my youth in a swimming pool, waking up at 5 a.m. for training every single day. But then at 17, I lost a very important competition and that changed the whole course of my life,” he says.
He enrolled at the Italian Institute of Physical Education intent on becoming a PE instructor. To make ends meet while studying, he gave swimming lessons to children of all ages. As much as he loved doing this, the money he pocketed was a pittance.
“I couldn’t even afford a pizza and a beer for a date with a girlfriend,” he laughs.
That was till his sister saw an advert in the paper calling for actors for an upcoming movie. “I never even thought I could be an actor and I didn’t want to go. My sister was having none of it – she made me do it.”
Not only was he selected but he landed the main part for the RaiUno television movie Una Storia Italiana.
“At 19 I suddenly found myself the lead actor. I had no experience and I was very scared. I kept telling my director, ‘I have to study acting’. But the director kept saying, ‘No you just have to be yourself’.”
The movie became a hit and director Stefano Reali went on to become a very close friend of his and is even directing the Come un Delfino series. He remains down to earth about his success: “It was a very lucky break for me – and I thank God every day of my life for that. There are actors who are much better than me and didn’t quite make it through.”
The secret of his fame, he claims, is the fact that he is always sincere and never hides his weaknesses. This could be the reason why he is one of the few Italian actors who managed to break through the international film market and has starred in international blockbusters such as The Tourist and Under the Tuscan Sun.
A couple of years ago, he was even chosen by Madonna to star in a Max Factor commercial – an encounter which necessitated a passionate kiss between the two. What was it like to kiss Madonna?
He gives a why-am-I-always-asked-about-Madonna sigh: “It was just a spot.” After a pause, he decides to elaborate: “When you’re there you’re not thinking, oh I’m kissing Madonna! You’re thinking: the lights, the angle, how does this look? That’s it really.”
He says for Italian actors, like the French and European counterparts, it’s always difficult to make it big in Hollywood, because of the typecast roles: “We’re always acting ‘the foreigner’,” he says.
His wife of 11 years, Chiara Giordano is his business partner. She is in a meeting elsewhere in the lounge but halfway through comes over with a Coke, before returning to her meeting.
What does it feel like for his kids – Alessandro 11, and Francesco, nine – to be picked up from school by Raoul Bova?
“It makes no difference to them. Only now, perhaps, they are starting to realise there’s something a bit different about my job because their friends are asking them for my autograph,” he says.
He says at home they don’t watch his movies – not because he’s got anything to hide, but because he doesn’t want to make a big deal of it. He does take the kids with him on set sometimes.
“But they are more fascinated by the set trailer than the actual film work,” he jokes.
He has been married for more than a decade; how has he managed to avoid the temptations on the film set for so long?
“Temptations in life are everywhere – not only in movies – when you are an actor you probably have less temptations because everyone recognises you wherever you go and you can’t do anything,” he jokes.
So, what’s the secret of his marriage?
“I’m faithful to my family and my friends. If I say something I keep my word. It’s not that I’m a saint, but the trick is to avoid situations that place you in a weak position.”