Maybe one day I’ll be a tour guide at the Vatican,” ponders Simona Tabasco, relaying an eclectic list of interests with a megawatt smile and absolute earnestness over our Zoom call. “Or work on a farm, because I love animals. Or perhaps I might go into styling, because fashion is a big passion of mine. I’d also like to be a DJ, because I love electronic music and maybe, also, um, a rock star?” Unfortunately, the world’s smallest country and the agriculture sector will have to wait, because the Italian actor is currently enjoying the most high-profile moment of her career as the breakout star of Mike White’s second season of The White Lotus.
For those who have yet to watch the award-winning black-comedy drama, The White Lotus follows the sordid and salacious private lives of several disgustingly rich Americans who are vacay-ing at the titular five-star resort in Taormina, Sicily. Joining an outstanding ensemble cast led by Jennifer Coolidge and F Murray Abraham, Tabasco plays Lucia Greco, a local sex worker who is hired by one of the arrivals (The Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli) to spend the week at his beck and call. When things don’t go to plan, she ends up working her way around the rooms of the salubrious hotspot with her best friend, Mia (played by Beatrice Grannò), in tow.
