Although she’s been laying low in the past few years, taking part in smaller films, American tv productions and stage plays in her home country England, actress Claire Forlani hasn’t been forgotten by audiences worldwide who fell in love with her in Meet Joe Black.
She played the delicate young doctor Susan Parrish, object of desire of Brad Pitt’s Angel of Death. That wasn’t her first role, her feature film debut was in one of the sequels of the comedy saga Police Academy, the one set in Russia; she also played Sean Connery’s daughter in the action movie The Rock
Meet Joe Black was a big production that did not live up completely to its promise, but one thing that everybody agrees on is Forlani’s outstanding performance. She even obtained a nomination at that year’s Saturn Awards. Then when she was twenty seven her mother passed away.
It happened right at the time when her name was rising to stardom. She decided to take a step back from Hollywood to cope with her loss. She says she stopped taking risks career wise and opted for safer choices that would allow her to retreat to a more private life. Family was very important to Claire. Her parents were the one support, the anchor of her life. She had been performing since she was just eleven years old, when she started studying acting and dancing at the renowned Arts Educational School in London.
At age nineteen she got a big encouragement from her parents who relocated the whole family to California, in order for their daughter to pursue better casting opportunities in American films. Claire’s father, Pierluigi Forlani, was an Italian music manager who had fallen in love with a British woman, Barbara, in Twickenham, London.
Claire grew up with family values that are deep-rooted in the Italian traditions. In fact when the opportunity came along to honor her heritage in the movie Shadows in the Sun, she didn’t think twice. It was a charming and moving story of love, loss and passion set against the beauty of rural Italy. And it gave her the chance to play opposite two heavyweights such as Harvey Keitel and Giancarlo Giannini. Her Mediterranean looks and luminous presence won her the female lead in Boys and Girls, one of many teen comedies that populated the nineties. After all the success and despite having been born in England she never lost touch with her Italian roots. When she planned her wedding with fellow actor Dougray Scott, who at the time had had a minor role in Mission Impossible II, going back to her father’s home country was an obvious choice.
During the month of June 2007 the family took over the medieval town of Pievebovigliana in the Marche region, which is where Claire’s father grew up. Pier, as he’s known by friends, helped his daughter with planning the festivities, which included more than hundred guests, while he didn’t miss the chance to visit old friends. The country house La Vecchia Fonte, a peaceful oasis in the heart of Marche, became Claire’s headquarters and the beautiful setting for the ceremony.
After the newlyweds went on their honeymoon, Pier became the official cook of the restaurant for the remaining days of summer, having known the owner Renato Calò since they were both kids. As of recent Claire has reacquainted herself with Hollywood, joining the cast of the popular tv-series NCIS: Los Angeles.
Still to this day the movie she is most proud of is Basquiat, which told the story of American postmodernist / neo expressionist artist of the same name. Claire played a waitress named Gina Cardinale, an early girlfriend of the artist, who helped him on his feet when he was homeless and deeply loved him before he reached fame and fortune.
That shoot is among the experiences she cherishes the most, primarily because she had the opportunity to get up close and personal with music legend David Bowie, who played Andy Warhol in the film. As a long time fan of his music, she describes the experience of sitting, eating and sharing the set together as unreal.
Now that she is no longer a young girl she appreciates the challenge of coming back and test herself against new parts that are not just the ones of the girlfriend or the ingénue. Hollywood only remembers what somebody did last; as she prepares for her next role, it might just be her big comeback.
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