Hollywood legend Sophia Loren has been pictured looking very different from how she usually does while acting in a new film.
The 84-year-old actress is confined to a wheelchair for her part in the film, whose Italian title is The Life Before Us.
In a crimson dress with a gold floral pattern and a red shawl or huge scarf covering it, she was seen filming in Bari, Italy. She hardly resembled herself, her hair messy.
Huge audiences gathered to see the celebrity in action on the new movie, which is being directed by her son Edoardo Ponti.
In the Romain Gary novel-to-film adaptation, Loren plays a woman who looks after prostitutes’ kids.
She will reportedly also film sequences over the next month at the Pane e Pomodoro beach and on the San Nicola pier, with production anticipated to wrap up in August.
Although she produced a one-woman short called La Voce Umana in 2014, this will be Loren’s first film appearance since she voiced a character in Cars 2 for non-English speaking nations.
The performer, who hails from Hollywood’s Golden Age and is one of its last remaining stars, started her cinematic career in 1950 when she was just 16 years old.
Her career took off after signing a five-picture contract with Paramount in 1956, which got her roles in films including The Pride and the Passion, Houseboat, and It Started in Naples.
Thanks to her performances in Two Women, she became the first actress to receive an Oscar for a performance in a foreign language in 1962.
She has also received recognition from the Venice and Cannes Film Festivals, five special Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and a Grammy Award.
She said to W magazine about aging in Hollywood in 2016: “You are always amazed. Actually, I didn’t believe I’d live to be 80 when I was 20, but you do.
“You reflect, ‘My god, all this time has passed,’” I’m in disbelief.
“Of course, the roles vary; at my age, you cannot portray the story of a lady in her 30s or 40s. It’s not feasible.
Being in movies all the time and switching roles is fairly common. Sometimes things get a little harder, but if you believe in yourself and what you do, you may still find what’s right for you after some time has passed.
Regarding her approach toward working into her senior years, she added: “There needs to be a chance for a part that I like that is authentic to me now. I also think I look great. I feel wonderful!
Everyone is laughing, but I’m not. Everyone agrees, Despite the fact that I don’t always trust them, they are quite persuasive. “Oh no!”
