Michele Morrone in Dubai: From gardener to ‘365 Days’ Netflix star
Flying to Dubai from Rome, he spoke to Gulf News at the Palazzo Versace on July 23, during a visit to promote a new locally based platform called HalaHi, where fans can pay to receive a personalised video shout-out from their favourite celebrities — himself included. (Some fans might be surprised to know that the father-of-two, formerly married to a Lebanese designer, can speak basic Arabic, which he demonstrates during our video interview.)
Italian actor and singer Michele Morrone has become an international star, to the point where he can’t go out for a drink with a friend without being stopped. Even with a hat on and a protective mask over his face, people spot his tattoos from a mile away.
The reason for his sudden rise to global fame is Netflix’s adult drama ‘365 Days’, where he plays Don Massimo, the head of the Sicilian mafia who abducts a Polish woman and gives her a year to fall in love with him.
The film, compared to ‘50 Shades of Grey’, has courted controversy for its storyline, which many found harmful, and even prompted a petition to remove it from the streaming platform. However, it is also being touted as one of Netflix’s most-streamed films to date, regularly finding itself in the Top 10 most-watched list.
How did Morrone, who had given up on acting in the midst of depression and moved to a village to be a gardener, find himself at the centre of this storm?
Morrone discussed reactions to his film, donating parts of his HalaHi proceeds to an orphanage, and why he nearly said no to the role that changed his life.
Tell us about your partnership with HalaHi, and why you wanted to be part of it?
The concept of HalaHi is that you are doing something good for people who love you. Fans that would like to receive a personalised video from their idol can just go and book the video, with their name and everything. At the beginning, I thought, I don’t like people to [have to] pay for a video. I don’t want to make business with this. Because I think that an artist should be kind and just send videos for free. But then I thought that I could take this love and put [it into] something else … which is charity, because part of the money that I personally make — I don’t know [about] the other artists — will go to charity.
What kind of charities are important to you, personally?
The first one that I love is, how do I say in English? Orfanotrofi. All the kids, they don’t have families, for example, they are in this kind of house — an orphanage. In Italian, we say orfanotrofi. I’d like to put my attention especially on them … Because I’m a dad, and I know what does it mean not to have that, because I grew up without a dad.
