Matilda De Angelis

The Accidental Casting of a Folk Singer

Matilda De Angelis had no intention of becoming an actress when she auditioned for Veloce come il vento in 2014. That day, the production team was looking for a young woman who could drive and had the thick accent of the Emilia-Romagna region. She was simply the lead singer of a rumba and folk band touring Europe in an old van.

And director Matteo Rovere saw in her eyes a spark of truth that he didn't find in traditional acting schools.

Her debut in 2016 earned her a nomination for the David di Donatello awards and changed her career irreversibly. Matilda went from sleeping in roadside hostels while touring with music groups to gracing the covers of Italy's most prestigious film magazines. But her training as a violinist and singer never faded, because a very distinctive internal rhythm still shows in the way she commands the frame.

In 2018 she took the lead role in Youtopia. She played a young woman who auctioned her virginity online to save her family from financial ruin. It was a raw, brave performance that moved her away from the typical naive ingenue of European cinema.

The bet on risk paid off.

The Anglo-American leap and full exposure

Her big break in the American industry came in 2020 with the HBO miniseries The Undoing. Sharing high-voltage emotional scenes with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant can intimidate newcomers, but she held her own with striking ease. Appearing nude on screen was not an obstacle for her but a narrative choice, meant to build a character who was both magnetic and tragic.

That project opened the doors to the global market for good. But instead of moving to Los Angeles right away, she chose to return to Rome to shoot L'incredibile storia dell'Isola delle Rose that same year. In this Netflix film, she showed she could handle historical comedy with the same skill as psychological drama.

Because Matilda understands that today's industry demands a presence on streaming platforms without losing the flavor of Italian auteur cinema.

In 2021, she joined the cast of the big-budget production Leonardo, playing Caterina da Cremona. The shoot was complex, and her chemistry with Aidan Turner kept much of the audience's interest in a story that blended historical facts with detective fiction. Her per-episode salary began to rival that of the continent's biggest stars.

Real skin and the future of action

Away from the film sets, Matilda has made a name for herself on social media by breaking the taboo around adult acne. She posted unfiltered photos during severe breakouts to show that actresses' flawless looks are often the product of makeup and lighting. This brutally honest approach has helped her connect with a young audience that values truth over polished advertising aesthetics.

The series Lidia Poët's Law arrived in 2023 to confirm her status as the leading face of Italian fiction worldwide. Playing Italy's first female lawyer required balancing nineteenth-century elegance with a very contemporary rebelliousness. So she approached the character through irony and sarcasm.

In 2024, she took on the most demanding physical challenge of her career while filming Citadel: Diana. She trained for months in martial arts and weapons handling so she could perform her own high-risk stunts without relying too heavily on action doubles.

Physical training is now her new creative obsession.

The production of the first season of Citadel: Diana had a technical budget of several million euros per episode to ensure a world-class visual finish.