Sophia Loren felt “confused” when she arrived in Hollywood for the first time.
Sophia Loren has recalled her arrival in Hollywood
The 90-year-old actress began her acting career in Italy in the 1950s – but when she finally made the switch to Hollywood, Sophia was shocked to discover that Hollywood wasn’t “a fairytale city”.
She told Deadline: “I’ll never forget looking out the window as I was landing in Los Angeles for the first time and being confused by what I saw.
“Coming from Pozzuoli I pictured Hollywood like a version of Oz, a fairytale city filled with fantasy and colour but what I saw was fields of orange trees and desert.”
Despite this, Sophia was ultimately wowed by the people she met in the American film industry.
The actress – who is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema – said: “It took me a while to reconcile the Hollywood of my dreams with its city but as soon as I met the actors and the filmmakers that I so admired, I once again found the Hollywood of my dreams for that dream lived in the great talent and hearts of all those wonderful artists.”
Sophia starred in the 1960 war drama ‘Two Women’, and that film proved to a turning point in her career, as it proved her versatility as an actress.
Sophia – who became a sex symbol in the 1950s – said: “Playing ‘Two Women’ was a turning point in my career, no question about that.
“But it wasn’t so much about defying that label as it was proving to myself that I could be the kind of actress that I had always aspired to. An actress who could immerse herself in a character in as authentic and real a way as possible while at the same time speak a truth of emotion that was universal.
“That film showed me that my emotions, if authentic and heartfelt, could travel the world.”