Deva Cassel And Saul Nanni On Netflix's New Adaptation Of ‘The Leopard'

Forbes

30-03-2025

Deva Cassel and Saul Nanni, 'The Leopard'
Netflix
The Leopard, the classic novel written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and published in 1958, was recently adapted by Netflix as a miniseries, 62 years after Luchino Visconti's famous adaptation for the big screen.
In The Leopard, we follow the life of the Prince of Salina and his family in Sicily during the 19th century and the wars of Italian unification. This new epic adaptation has everything a historical drama needs, from magnificent locations to lavish costumes, a stellar cast, a love triangle and a sublime original soundtrack by Paolo Buonvino.
Created by Tom Shankland (Rogue Heroes, The Serpent, Les Miserables), the series stars Deva Cassel, Saul Nanni, Kim Rossi Stuart and Benedetta Porcaroli, who all respectively take over Claudia Cardinal, Alain Delon, Burt Lancaster and Lucilla Morlacchi, who were the stars of the 1963 adaptation.
Deva Cassel portrays Angelica, a young woman who comes from a modest social and economical background, but raised to become a fine, charismatic and powerful young woman, who will eventually marry into the Prince's nephew, Tancredi, played by Saul Nanni.
While the movie has become a cult classic, meaning that fans might be quick to draw many comparisons, I spoke with Cassel and Nanni about how creatively, they knew how to draw the line between the novel and the film, and how they wanted to bring their own unique interpretations.
Cassel said, ' I had read half the book a really long time ago, I had seen parts of the movie, but I was really young and you know, it's really hard to grasp all of the undertones, the concepts, and read between the lines at that age. So when they asked me to be Angelica, for me it was a great opportunity because the story is already so well-known, that I think the best way to go about it, is to bring most of what you have inside of you, your own touch to the character, and it was by reading the script and understanding the point of view of the director.'
Deva Cassel as Angelica
Netflix
She added: 'It was six months of shooting, but after a few weeks, you start to really embody the thoughts and the actions of the character. You understand everything that they do and why they do it. But to get there, I had conversations with Tom Shankland, and he was really able to show any actor in this series, how important it was to not focus on that we already knew, but to kind of take it as a starting point and build it up from there.'
Nanni said, 'That's a really beautiful question! I guess that on screen, even if there's a book, if that story has already been told, you always have to find something else to give to the story, in order to give your own version of this beautiful character. I remember after a month of shooting, I started feeling like I was really enjoying the character and his life, that was a turning point for me. When I started enjoying his movements, his way of saying things, the way he carried himself, that was a turning point for me. I started feeling like I was giving something that was mine, my own version, to the character.'
Cassel added that it was important that the characters' backstories were explained, so that their actions and their way of thinking were justified. She said, 'Working with three different directors, you were able to see all the different parts of the characters and how they evolve. You start internalizing the justification for each part of the story.'
We meet Angelica at the end of the second episode, and the built-in suspense of her arrival and the consequences for the Prince's family, when she hides behind a door, feeling anxious to be introduced to them. When she finally enters, the whole room goes silent as they are captivated by Angelica's magnetic charisma.
I asked Cassel how she tackled this scene, knowing her character and the huge impact she would have on the Prince's famaily, but also as an actor, knowing she was about to enter the world of such a classic and celebrated story. She said, 'It's such an iconic story, there was a lot of this stress in me already, that I actually kind of used, as a tool to perform the anxiety that Angelica has. The way we shot that scene, we actually did the diner scene that follows this one a day before, then we shot the entrance the next day. It was great because I could take her thought process and her stress from afterwards, to attenuate and show her mental preparation for something I already knew was going to happen when entering the room.'
'The Leopard'
Netflix
She added: 'For me as an actress, it was just being able to show all of the different emotions and states she was going through before that specific moment, that would change the course of her life. It was about the duality between her emotions and the way she was going to hide it.'
If you're currently craving for sunshine, The Leopard might be the perfect excuse to book your summer holidays in Sicily. The series was shot in real locations only, no studios, and it truly is a spectacle to witness the beauty of the scenery. I asked the two actors which of these sets had the biggest impact on the way they were going to portray Angelica and Tancredi.
Cassel said, 'That's actually a great question. It was a very immersive process. For me personally, it was where we shot the dinner scene, an hour and a half from Rome. It was very impactful because it was the introduction of my character. Angelica comes from a very humble background, but she had been raised to become this very beautiful, engaging, charismatic woman to be able to, in a way, manipulate her way into the bourgeoisie. So this place represents a lot of stress for my character, just because she had prepared for this moment her entire life, and I really felt this vibe, because the pressure comes from the other side of the wall, you know, before her entrance.'
She added: 'Turin also had a big impact, there is a huge narrative arc for my character there.'
Saul Nanni as Tancredi
Netflix
Tancredi is part of the Redshirts, the volunteers who followed Garibaldi during the conflicts for the unification of Italy, which led Nanni to travel to many different places.
He said, 'For me, it would be Palermo, the old city where Tancredi was fighting for Garibaldi, the place was really important for my character, and to see Palermo being rebuilt like it was at this time, it was amazing. I always remember Piazza della Vergogna, it's something that I will never forget.'
At the end of the first episode, Tancredi rides to join Garibaldi's army and he arrives on a breathtaking beach, as Buonvino's music resonates in the background. Nanni added: 'It was San Vito Lo Capo, one of the most famous beaches in Sicily, there were more than 400 extras I think and riding on the beach, it was just an amazing day.'
The Leopard is now streaming on Netflix.