Spoilers for all episodes of The Decameron ahead. Lou Gala makes her U.S. debut in the first episode of Netflix’s newest miniseries The Decameron as a character who shifts between two extremes: At the start of the premiere, she’s bent over fervently praying, and by the end she’s pleasuring herself while spying on a shirtless doctor. Based on Giovanni Boccaccio's 1620 story collection, the new dramedy from creator Kathleen Jordan is about a dozen aristocrats and servants quarantined together in a Florentine villa as the 14th-century Black Plague ravages the outside world. Gala’s Neifile, one of the many characters who are not all they seem on the surface, is a pious wife whose faith is shaken by the apparent end of the world, but at the same time it gets harder and harder for her to ignore her physical urges.
The French actress, who has appeared in the French series Secrets d’histoire and Les Chamois as well as a small role in the Max drama Julia, is one of the delightful surprises of the crowded series, holding her own among TV veterans including Zosia Mamet, Tony Hale, and Derry Girls alum Saoirse-Monica Jackson. Speaking with Marie Claire ahead of The Decameron’s late July premiere, Gala recalled “craving” such a complex, demanding role. “It's hard to imagine this kind of project,” she says. “It doesn't happen often, even to read a script that's so funny, but at the same time critical...Everything was incredibly powerful.”
