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At its peak, Covid-19—for everyone in the world—meant a stop to ‘real’ life. A pause in the game. Forced to stay inside our homes, the pandemic transformed our understanding of time—deepening our value for the outdoors, for strangers on the streets, for the feeling of fresh air on our faces. For Italian actor Alessandro Borghi, coming off of three nonstop years of hard work, those several months in quarantine were a period of reset. “It was an opportunity to take time and talk about everything,” he reflects, “to talk about our future. It was a great opportunity to have a reset—mentally, physically, and related to my work.”

Borghi traveled to Los Angeles this November to attend the major Gucci Love Parade fashion presentation on Hollywood Boulevard, as well as the annual LACMA Art + Film Gala presented by the fabled House on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. Atop the celebrations, Borghi carved out some time to shoot the images herein in the sunny hills of Hollywood—his first editorial shoot outside of Italy. “This time in LA has been special,” Borghi shares, “because of Gucci, Alessandro Michele, and his team of talented, kind, and hardworking people. I have been given the chance to admire a show without precedent and to sit next to people I love, but also next to people I grew up with as an actor, people who have been my inspiration.” Of his relationship with Gucci, he says with a smile, “This connection is much closer to love than work.”

Borghi has graced our screens since he was 20-years-old, taking part in his first TV series, Distretto di Polizia, in 2006, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that he realized what his job actually meant to him. “You are playing a character,” he considers. “Play is a beautiful verb. You are playing.” And he has played a lot. In fact, since quarantine ended, Borghi hasn’t stopped doing projects that he loves. He returned to Italy’s countryside shortly after our conversation to shoot The Eight Mountains (Le Otto Montagne), a film based on the 2016 novel by Paolo Cognetti. “I was so lucky to get the opportunity to do [the film],” says Borghi. “And doing it with Luca Marinelli, who is one of my greatest friends, and one of the best actors we have in Italy. I am very lucky.” Directed by Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, better known for their Oscar-nominated film, The Broken Circle Breakdown, The Eight Mountains tells a beautiful story about the friendship between two boys from different backgrounds, and its evolution throughout their lives.

Prior to his trip to the mountains, Borghi had finished filming The Hanging Sun by Francesco Carrozzini, another close friend of his. Based on the novel by Jo Nesbø entitled Midnight Sun, the film is, at first glance, a thrilling spy movie, but then it turns into something deeper, focusing on the emotional connections between people and the idea of personal redemption. Also, currently in post-production, is Delta, directed by Michele Vannucci. “Vannucci and I made a movie together [six years ago]—his first movie,” adds Borghi, referencing the film I Was A Dreamer. “It was great. It was a real story, where the main actor was not a real actor—it was his story, for real. It was a mix of reality and fiction. It was very interesting.” Vannucci’s second feature depicts a clash between poachers and fishermen in Italy’s Po Delta National Park, ending in a duel which boasts no heroes.

In fact, Borghi’s filmic timeline is almost dizzyingly prolific. His last pre-pandemic project is a film that released this December called Superheroes, “But it’s not a Marvel movie, unfortunately,” Borghi smiles. The film, in fact, is more closely related to real superheroes than those in Marvel. “It’s a movie about a couple, about the phases of love, and a whole relationship during 20 years of complicated moments.”

Nevertheless, after all these projects and filmic journeys, Borghi still feels like his career is just starting. “My sensation is that I am at the beginning of a very long road,” he shares. “And it’s great to have the possibility of being surprised.” Borghi explains that the genesis for his actions came about from sheer passion for cinema—he fell in love with watching movies long before starring in them. “I am always an audience first, then an actor. I am sure about that.”

Borghi shares that the inspiration he feels from people—by their stories, by human connection—is limitless. He adds that a film still has the power to change his mood for days and weeks, despite whether he finds it good or bad. “People are the most interesting thing about this job,” he affirms. As for the contemporary thespian landscape? He summarizes with advice he was given by director Claudio Caligari six years ago: “You have to do this only if you have something to say—if not, you can stay at home. Because nobody wants to talk to you if you have nothing to say.”

And Borghi has things to say, but there is also so much he wants to listen to. “If I have to say something to people in their 20s,” he advises, “it’s that the biggest error to make is to pretend to be something that they are not.” Borghi shares that he learned to be free from a very young age, understanding that the biggest achievement people can make is to be themselves— and that whoever that is, it’s good. “My father, since the beginning, taught me how to handle a relationship with your child without putting any kind of pressure, any kind of judgement,” Borghi explains of the best teacher he ever had. “And that is why I always felt so free.” Judgment is completely useless, and the ego is the greatest enemy in this world, he attests.

Looking back at that 20-year-old kid just starting out, Borghi reflects, “I was obsessed with being the best. I wanted to show the people what I could do, and prove to them that I was good. Right now, I really don’t care about that anymore and it is great. Because I feel so light about my work.” Transforming his work into play, Borghi can finally see what is most important about his beautiful job. And what he expects after this trying pandemic isn’t all that different: “I can’t wait to feel free again.”