Emanuela Postacchini Was Always Ready For Hollywood — Now “Riff Raff” Proves It

By Andres Fabris

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“For years, people would ask me if I was ready to quit and go back to Italy, and I’d always say, ‘Not yet.’ Now, I’m so glad I waited. I've had moments of doubt, of course. But even when I wasn't booking big roles, I could feel myself moving forward. The industry is slow to open doors, but I never let them close on me.”

- Emanuela Postacchini

If you had told Italian actress Emanuela Postacchini that, after eight years of living in Los Angeles, she would be debating 90s Versace campaigns with her idol, Bill Murray, on the set of her first leading role in a feature film, RIFF RAFF-she wouldn't believe you. But RIFF RAFF isn't just another crime comedy about a dysfunctional family led by Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Pete Davidson, and more powerhouse A-listers. For Postacchini, a former ballerina from the breezy coastal region of Marche, Italy, this film marks her long-awaited arrival in the Hollywood big leagues after years of rejection.

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"For years, people would ask me if I was ready to quit and go back to Italy, and I'd always say, 'Not yet.' Now, I'm so glad I waited," Postacchini tells AMAZING Magazine, reflecting on how the Dito Montiel-directed film is her Hollywood breakthrough- despite being in the industry for over a decade. "I've had moments of doubt, of course. But even when I wasn't booking big roles, I could feel myself moving forward. The industry is slow to open doors, but I never let them close on me" With Montiel at the helm, RIFF RAFF follows a former criminal (Harris) whose ordinary life is turned upside down when his old family, led by his kooky ex-wife (Coolrige) and gangster son (Lewis Pullman), shows up for a long-awaited, awkward reunion and a life-threatening emergency.

At the center of it all is Postacchini as Marina, the son's pregnant Italian girlfriend- who, over the film's 103-minute run, becomes the undeniable nexus of the problem. "There's a moment in RIFF RAFF where my character realizes she's in over her head- and honestly, that's how I felt my first day on set," Postacchini reveals her initial timidness around Hollywood royalty. However, as the ensemble cast found their rhythm, their on-screen chemistry became a fixture of early reviews following the film's debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. "But then, Jennifer [Coolidge] made a joke, Bill [Murray] nodded at me, and suddenly, I felt like I belonged."

On set, she bonded with Murray over vintage fashion magazines, described Coolidge as "hilarious, warm, and completely in her own world in the best way," and studied her seasoned co-stars like a sponge. "Watching actors like Gabrielle Union work was a masterclass in itself. I saw how they prepare and how they carry themselves on set. It changed the way I approach acting."

Ironically enough, Postacchini had almost forgotten about her RIFF RAFF audition until receiving the call months later. "The role [of Marina] was initially scripted in French," she says, noting that she submitted self-tapes for Marina in both French and Italian to show her passion for the character. The effort paid off-Montiel was so impressed that he rewrote Marina as Italian specifically to fit Postacchini's strengths. "Dito [Montiel] saw something in me, and I'm so grateful he took that chance."

Postacchini, who welcomed her daughter Bianca last October, admits that balancing work and family has been an adjustment. "Being away from my daughter is the hardest part of all this. I'm so lucky to do what I love, but I also want to be the best mother I can be," she says from Milan, where she recently attended Fashion Week. Her new perspective on life has also influenced the roles she's drawn to- she dreams of playing complex, dynamic women, maybe even tackling a role like Mila Kunis' in Black Swan, one of her favorite films.

"One day, I'd love to work with Luca Guadagnino. His films capture something so raw and beautiful-it would be a dream." Finally landing her first leading role after almost a decade in Hollywood, Postacchini is now letting her hair down. "Success used to mean booking a role. Now, it means playing characters I actually care about, working with people I admire," she says, practically glowing as she talks about promoting her new film. "I'm so happy and incredibly proud of myself," she adds. "I'm also so grateful to Dito Montiel for taking a chance on me; in a cast full of well-known names, I was one of the few who wasn't-he believed in me, and that means everything."

Eight years ago, Postacchini left Italy chasing a dream. Now, she's standing beside some of the biggest names in Hollywood, sharing the screen with actors she once admired from afar. Who would've thought that the little ballerina from sunny Marche would one day be thrifting fashion magazines with Bill Murray on the set of her first leading role? Maybe she always did. "I feel like I've finally arrived. But at the same time, I know this is just the beginning," Postacchini says, smiling ear to ear about her hard-earned "rising star" status. "I spent eight years waiting for a moment like this. Now, I just want to see where the next eight years take me.' From Italy to Hollywood-Emanuela Postacchini has arrived. Watch her shine in RIFF RAFF, now playing in select theaters.

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Though Postacchini diligently trained from a young age to be a ballerina, calling it "a beautiful language without words," her love for the stage slowly expanded beyond movement. Growing up in Marche, she spent hours in the theater, not just perfecting ballet but watching playhouse actors rehearse. "Ballet taught me discipline, and, in a way, ballet was my first form of acting-it taught me how to become someone else," she says. Determined to explore acting further, she moved to Rome to study film, but Italian entertainment wasn't enough.

"In Italy, I was comfortable. I had work. But something in me always wanted more. I wanted to see how far I could push myself." That ambition led her to Los Angeles, where she faced a "trial by fire" breaking into the American film industry. "Acting in America and acting in Italy are so different. In Hollywood, it's an industry. In Italy, it feels more like a passion project. Both are beautiful, just in different ways," she explains. Adjusting to the Hollywood machine meant learning not only a foreign market but an entirely new culture. Postacchini hired a dialect coach to perfect her American accent and took an old-school marketing approach-going door-to-door with headshots in hand, searching for an agent.

" had my headshots, my resume, and my determination," she recalls how she got her first meetings in Hollywood. Slowly but surely, Postacchini built a name for herself, earning small but significant roles in prominent projects like TNT's The Alienist (2018) with Dakota Fanning and Luke Evans, Sacha Baron Cohen's Who Is America? (2019), Hulu's miniseries Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019), and the star-studded action film The 355 (2022) alongside Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz.

"I had to learn to advocate for myself. No one was going to hand me a career-I had to show them why I deserved a shot." Now, finally getting her Hollywood stamp-of-approval with RIFF RAFF, all the pieces of her life are coming together-including her newest major role: motherhood.

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