Interview With ‘Suspiria’s’ Barbara Magnolfi: Revisiting a Timeless Classic

Best known in the United States as Olga in Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977), Barbara Magnolfi is an Italian actress who began performance art as a ballerina in Rome. Achieving the level of lead ballerina at the age of 10, Barbara eventually transitioned into film, expanding her love for performing to the big screen. PopHorror recently had the pleasure of speaking with Barbara about her career, her passion for the arts and her experience of working with Dario Argento on the set of Suspiria.

PopHorror: Hi, Barbara! Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

Barbara Magnolfi: It’s my pleasure!

PopHorror: So, unless I’m mistaken, you began studying ballet when you were 4 years old. How did you become involved in ballet at such a young age?

Barbara Magnolfi: Yes, I studied ballet very young. Basically, it was sort of an escape, because my family situation wasn’t great. I was a lonely child, and my mother put me in a ballet school for something to do. I started loving it. There was live music performed by a pianist, and this whole experience gave me an opportunity to express myself. This allowed me to express myself through movement and performing. I absolutely loved and absorbed it. So, I continued to use ballet as a form of escape from the parts of reality that weren’t so pleasant. It was also a way to fully express my imagination.

PopHorror: That’s great that you found something you loved at such a young age! Is it also correct that you became a lead ballerina at 10 years old?

Barbara Magnolfi: Yes, I immersed myself in the art, and I believe I found a way to channel a sort of communication to the public. It allowed me to really connect with my higher self! And I absolutely loved it. I knew performing was what I was going to do with my life.

PopHorror: So, you would say that this was a strong passion for you?

Barbara Magnolfi: Absolutely! And it was confirmed later on as well when I began acting.

PopHorror: That’s incredible! When and how did you make the leap from ballet to film?

Barbara Magnolfi: Basically, it was the performance that really attracted me. My purpose has always been to inspire other people. I used to watch old films, and the performances by the actors always moved me. And I wanted to do the same. I was picked up for my first film when I was about 12 years old. There wasn’t much of a difference for me, though. Performing in ballet, the theater, or performing in a film. It is all an art to me.

PopHorror: That’s a great perspective. Were you always aiming to perform in the horror genre of film?

Barbara Magnolfi: Horror was definitely not my thing when I first started. Absolutely not. The very first film I did was sort of a love story. When I started in film in Italy during the ’70s, there was quite a bit of crime drama films being made. And I fell into that, which lead me into the horror genre, beginning with Dario Argento and Suspiria.

PopHorror: I just revisited Suspiria. I absolutely love that film!

Barbara Magnolfi: Thank you!

PopHorror: Did your ballet background draw you to that project?

Barbara Magnolfi: I believed that Dario called me due to my ballet background. As a matter of fact, the scene that I trained for months prior to filming was not shot. Dario thought that it would take away from my character, and the suspense towards the end of the film. So, I’m not exactly sure why Dario called me in for the role or if he looked at other actresses. I do think that it might have had something to do with my ballet background.

PopHorror: How did you become involved with Suspiria?

Barbara Magnolfi: I did about three or four films before Suspiria as well as several advertisement campaigns. There were posters featuring me all around Rome. I was taking some time off from work, and I was in Spain when I got a call from my agent, telling me that I needed to come back to Rome immediately. I had a meeting with Dario the following morning, and I auditioned. It was like no other audition I had done before (laughs).

PopHorror: What was the audition like?

Barbara Magnolfi: Basically (laughs), he sat me down and sat in the chair across from me. He handed me the script, which was like 200 pages and told me to look up the part of Olga. I flipped through it, and I was going to start reading for the part. But he stopped me and asked me what I thought about the character. He asked how I would portray the character. I gave him my idea of who the character was, and he liked it. He stood me up in the middle of the room, and he asked me to move in a certain way. He walked around me looking at me as though he were looking through a camera lens. He just said, “Great, thank you,” and that was it.

PopHorror: (Laughs) That’s a very interesting audition! Obviously, you got the part, and you did a great job. What was your favorite part of the production?

Barbara Magnolfi: At the time, I was a working actress, but I had not done a film that was so magnificent! I remember my first day arriving on set and seeing this grand hall. It was incredible! Getting to meet and work with Joan Bennett and Jessica Harper was incredible. To me, the whole experience of filming Suspiria was magic.

PopHorror: It sounds like a great experience! What were some of the biggest challenges in filming Suspiria?

Barbara Magnolfi: Well, Dario is a perfectionist. He would not settle for anything less than his vision. That included all the characters, the costume and the sets. There were instances where he wasn’t satisfied with a detail of the set, which sometimes took hours to half a day to create. So, he would have them do the entire thing over until he was satisfied. That was testing sometimes. There was also a language barrier because not everyone on set spoke English. Other than that, it went really smoothly, and we knew the product that we would get out of Dario would be amazing.

PopHorror: That’s an outstanding level of professionalism. What was it like working with Dario?

Barbara Magnolfi: I learned quite a bit from him. His method of getting you in character was very unique. I remember the time we were getting ready to shoot the scene in Olga’s apartment. I was in the dressing room, and Dario came in to check on me. He asked me who did my makeup. I told him it was the makeup artist. He told me to do my makeup how I thought my character would do the makeup. How I thought Olga would do my makeup. And then he left. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I went ahead and changed the makeup. But as I was looking at myself in the mirror, I realized what he had done for me. He had just helped me get into the frame of mind of my character. He came back, looked at me and said, “Okay, lets go.” It was amazing! I’ve never had a director do that! He was very gentle with actors, but he knew how to get the performance out of you.

PopHorror: He sounds like a great director to work for. So, when did you relocate to Los Angeles, and what made you decide to make that leap?

Barbara Magnolfi: That actually wasn’t planned to move to L.A. I was doing fine in Italy, but at one point, I was in Australia working on a series called Police Rescue. As I was leaving Australia to go back to Italy, I decided to stop in L.A. for a short visit. I didn’t know anyone, so I called my agent in Australia and my agent in Italy to see if they had connections here. A few days later, I got offered a part in a film. So, I decided to stay longer. It turned out that this film didn’t get shot, but I began getting requests to appear at conventions. One thing led to another, and I ended up staying.

PopHorror: That’s crazy how things work out in unexpected ways. Recently, the #MeToo movement gained momentum in Hollywood and became big national news. What are your thoughts on this movement and, if you feel comfortable talking about it, have you had your own experience with this side of the industry?

Barbara Magnolfi: Yes, I’ve been asked quite a bit about this recently. Personally, I have never nor will I ever accept this sort of inappropriate advancement and behavior as a way of doing business. But I have experienced that side of the industry once, but not in Hollywood. It was early on in my career in Italy. I went into a meeting with a famous director to speak about a leading role in his film. The director in question asked me if I saw the doors behind me. I said yes. He told me that there is a bathroom on the other side of those doors and that he wanted me to go in, strip and make an entrance into the room naked. I asked him if he was kidding. I told him, “If you are going to judge my ability to act in this film by the size of my tits, then I do not want to work with you.” I left that meeting and all hell broke loose. My agent thought I was crazy, so I ended up firing him. It is my belief that my integrity and my dignity will not be sold for a career. I don’t believe it would lead anywhere anyway, because at the end of the day, it comes down to whether or not you can act.

PopHorror: That is very respectable. I think you’ve done well for yourself without selling your dignity. Do you have any upcoming projects that you would like to discuss?

Barbara Magnolfi: I do, actually. I plan to go back to Italy soon for an Italian-American project I will be working on called Strega, which is the Italian word for witch. I can’t say much, but I can say that it is a story set in modern times about a good witch that goes against the pharmaceutical industry. The script itself has already won several awards in Italy.

PopHorror: That sounds very interesting! When do you begin filming, and will it be released in the United States?

Barbara Magnolfi: We begin pre-production in May and we hope to begin as soon as possible. I believe it will be released in the United States and Italy.

PopHorror: That’s great! I look forward to hearing more about Strega in the future. Thank you, Barbara, for taking the time to speak with me.

Barbara Magnolfi: I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you!

We, at PopHorror, wish Barbara all the best as she returns to Italy to work on her next feature as well as other projects and collaborations. We look forward to seeing what she does next!