Benedetta Porcaroli, who stars in season two of Netflix's The Gentlemen, has revealed that her first day on set with director Guy Ritchie nearly ended in murder. “I wanted to kill him!” the 28-year-old Italian actor said. “And he knows that I did.”
The show marks only the second English-speaking project of Porcaroli's career, following her 2024 role as Sister Gwen in the Sydney Sweeney horror Immaculate.
Last-minute script changes
Porcaroli arrived on set having meticulously memorised her lines, aware she was the only non-Brit on the call sheet that day. But just two minutes before shooting, she was handed new pages. “I read the scene, and it was completely different — completely different! Like not even one single word,” she laughed.
Fortunately, co-star Kaya Scodelario came to her rescue. “She was so helpful,” Porcaroli recalled. “We went outside to have a cigarette together, and she was like, ‘Babe, listen, I was like you for the first two weeks last year, because nobody knew this. So don’t worry, everybody’s in the same boat.’”
From chance audition to Netflix stardom
Porcaroli's path into acting was unconventional. At 15, a family friend starting a talent agency spotted a role they thought suited her and encouraged her to audition. A month later, having forgotten about it, she was offered the part.
She cut her teeth on Anything Can Happen, the Italian series loosely based on US show Parenthood. “After a while I understood that it’s not always as easy as it happened the first time,” she said.
A brief attempt at a “Plan B” career studying philosophy at university made her realise acting was calling her back. “It’s true that it is unpredictable, but at the same time, I knew I should really try [just] acting. Otherwise, it’s even harder,” she explained.
Her breakout came with another Netflix show, Italian series Baby, in which she played teenager-turned-sex worker Chiara. Porcaroli plays down the success with an almost British humility: “And it was a success blah blah blah,” she said, waving her hand.
What's next
After The Gentlemen, Porcaroli is keen to continue honing her new English skills and wants to tackle a British classic: a spy film packed with action. “There are actors who are terrified of everything and I’m not one of those,” she said. “So I want to see what I could do.”
