With Hollywood heavyweights Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman and Donald Sutherland, The Undoing was certainly not short of star power, but in the wake of this week’s series finale it is the relatively unknown Matilda de Angelis, that has everyone talking.
The 25-year-old Italian actress, who grew up in a rural town on the outskirts of Bologna, captivated audiences with her ‘exquisite performance’ and ‘menacing beauty’ as murdered mistress Elena Alves, in what is being hailed as one of the ‘biggest breakthrough roles in recent years’.
The role required Matilda, who has no formal acting training, to appear naked, share a sex scene with Grant, 60, and initiate a kiss with Kidman, 53, in a penthouse elevator. Her bloodied face also appeared in haunting flashbacks throughout the six-part series as viewers waited to discover who was responsible for her violent death.
It is difficult to believe that de Angelis, who originally dreamed of being a singer, only started acting five years ago when she was plucked from obscurity at an open casting call in Rome.
The Undoing marked not only Matilda’s first foray into American television but was also her first time acting in English, her first time in New York (where the show was filmed) and her first on-screen kiss (with Oscar-winner Kidman, no less).
Not bad for someone who only has a handful of credits in Italian TV shows and Indie films under her belt.
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Breakout star: Matilda de Angelis, pictured, Italian actress, who grew up in a rural town on the outskirts of Bologna, captivated audiences with her ‘exquisite performance’ and ‘menacing beauty’ as murdered mistress Elena Alvesin in The Undoing
Bright future: The actress, who learned English for The Undoing, will star opposite Aidan Turner in her next TV project
Captivating: In the aftermath of this week’s series finale it is the relatively unknown Matilda de Angelis, who played murdered mistress Elena Alves (pictured), that has everyone talking In one scene in the first episode, Elena approached Grace (Kidman) while naked
Before becoming an actress, Matilda dreamed of being a singer and – like many hopeful stars – shared videos of herself performing songs on social media.
She was discovered when a friend encouraged her to travel from Bologna to Rome for an open casting call.
The director was specifically looking for a non-professional actress with a ‘specific accent from a specific region in Italy’. Matilda fit the bill and was cast.
She has appeared in a string of Italian film and TV projects since, including Tutto può succedere, The Prize, The Big Other and Youtopia, but nothing on even close to the scale of The Undoing.
Matilda, who is now based in Rome, was staying in her hometown when she recorded a taped audition for The Undoing, after her agent sent her information about an upcoming HBO show.
‘After reading the scene I was pretty much sure I wasn’t going to get the role, because it was such a big scene and I was doing it on my own,’ she told Interview magazine.
Unexpected: The characters also shared a brief kiss in a lift after a school fundraising event
Steamy embrace: Matilda and Grant’s characters had sex in the moments before he killed her
‘So I thought, “okay I’ll just try, and I’ll do my best”. When they told me I actually got the part, I could not believe it.’
The rising star celebrated by getting ‘really drunk’ and going out dancing with her friends. She also took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Madrid with her mother.
To prepare for The Undoing, Matilda signed up for English classes before jetting off to the States to join Grant and Kidman in New York.
‘It was the first time I visited New York in my life,’ she told W. ‘I was very excited; New York is perhaps the most iconic city in the world. It was so exciting for me to walk around and get lost in the city. I kept thinking, “Oh, here was that scene from that movie!” It was my favorite game.’
Matilda starred as Elena Alves, a young mother who caused a stir when she arrived at the gates of an Upper East Side private school and meets Grace Fraser (Kidman) and her circle of WASP-y friends.
Unbeknownst to Grace, Elena was having an affair with her paediatric oncologist husband, Johnathan (Grant), which came to a violent end when he bludgeoned Elena to death in a violent late-night attack in her art studio.
Rising star: Matilda, pictured, has no formal training and only started acting five years ago
Plucked from obscurity: Matilda landed her first film role after attending an open casting call
Candid: Talking about the scenes, Matilda revealed that she now sees Nicole as her ‘first on-screen kiss’ and that filming nude was ‘liberating’ (pictured in March)
The rest of the programme dealt with the fallout from the crime and saw viewers question who was responsible for the killing. Johnathan admitted to the murder in the season finale, which aired in the US on Sunday and the UK the following night.
The prospect of such a complex, sexually-charged role would be enough to make even seasoned performers feel a tingle of nerves. But not Matilda.
‘Kissing Nicole was the least of the things I was intimidated by,’ she said in an interview with W Magazine. ‘I know I’m a good kisser, so I don’t care about that.
Meanwhile the idea of acting in the nude was ‘liberating’. ‘Whether it’s my eyes, or my mouth, or my boobs or my vagina, my body is just another tool to express myself. It’s still me,’ she told Interview.
‘As long as the goal is to communicate something complex, then nakedness can be a powerful way to express and persuade.’
Breakout role: Italian actress Matilda de Angelis starred opposite Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman in The Undoing. It marks her first US production and her first English-speaking role. Pictured, Matilda cuts an elegant figure in a sherbet pink gown at the 2018 Venice Film Festival
Bright future: The actress recently graced the cover of Italy’s Grazia magazine and wrapped another project about Leonardo da Vinci, costarring Freddie Highmore and Poldark’s Aidan Turner. Pictured, at an event in Rome in October 2019 and another engagement that month
Big dreams: Matilda, pictured in 2018, hopes to land more English-speaking roles
Viewers have been bowled over by Matilda’s performance and the show has led to a string of high profile interviews.
The actress recently graced the cover of Italy’s Grazia magazine and has spoken to W and Interview, among others.
There are already exciting projects in the pipeline for the rising star.
She recently wrapped a mini series about Leonardo da Vinci, co-starring Freddie Highmore and Poldark’s Aidan Turner and will appear in film Across the River and Into the Trees, opposite The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson and actor Liev Schreiber.
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