In this interview, Nando Paone, a stage and screen actor, discusses his deep connection to theater, family, and Neapolitan tradition. From the Teatro Sala Molière in Pozzuoli—an independent theater founded and built with his wife, Cetti Sommella—Paone retraces over fifty years of career spanning film, stage, and the training of new actors, championing the value of a free, private theater rooted in its local area. During the conversation, memories of his childhood emerge, marked by the early loss of his parents but also by the aromas of home cooking: Sunday ragù, cozzetiello in sauce, family dinners, and the cuisine passed down from his sister, which still today brings back the flavors of childhood. Food becomes memory, identity, and tradition, but also a cultural symbol deeply rooted in Neapolitan culture. Paone reflects on the actor’s craft as a “continuous rebirth,” recounting his training at the Fersen Academy and his intense relationship with each character he plays. Among his most significant works, he cites Vincenzo Salemme’s “And Outside It Snows,” “Welcome to the South,” and the films starring Bud Spencer, works that brought him great popularity without ever distancing him from a personal and rigorous exploration of his character. The interview also explores the relationship between nutrition and artistic practice: for Paone, the actor’s body is a tool to be preserved through discipline, balance, and daily care. He also reflects on the social value of cooking, which can tell the story of local communities and, at times, bring different cultures into dialogue, as in the short film “Panicure Bomb.” Finally, the actor discusses fatherhood, the birth of his daughter Giada, and the difficulty—but also the wonder—of being a parent, describing himself today as “a serene man, a happy man,” still driven by the same calling he had as a child.
Interview by: Giulia Brocca
Video by: Alessandro Di Napoli, Ludovica Saliceti, Amedeo Esposito
Video Editing by: Alessandro Di Napoli e Vincenzo Iaccarino
Document by: Alessandro Di Napoli e Giulia Brocca
Subtitle ita/eng by: Alessandro Di Napoli e Vincenzo Iaccarino
Translation by: Ciro Guasco
MedEatResarch – Center of Social Research on the Mediterranean Diet of the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, head by Marino Niola and Elisabetta Moro
Realized: 23/04/2026
