You do like "beautiful" and uplifting. Is your show, likeLife Is Beautiful, in keeping with that?
Oh yes, it is my style. The goal of my comedy is beauty. Many times I have been told to do the sequel to Life Is Beautiful, and I always say, "No, please." Or to act in some movie again in a concentration camp with Nazis, or about Jews or Shoah. This was a special and unique thing I did which I cannot repeat.
Is there any anger in your show?
Anger? About what? I don't think angry is the right word. I am angry because there are some people I don't like, some things I don't like in politics, especially in Italy. Everybody knows that I don't like very much Mr. Berlusconi. They tell me, "You're very lucky you have Berlusconi — you can make people laugh very easily." All I have to do is just repeat what he is saying in interviews.
I must ask about your acrobatics at the Academy Awards. Some people loved it, some hated it. Any regrets?
I did what I did because, frankly, I wasn't expecting such wonderful prizes for a non-English-language actor. When I was jumping on chairs, it was not acrobatics, really — I tried to fly. When Sophia Loren said, "Roberto!" . . . What can you do? It's not enough to say, "Thank you." I want to demonstrate the gratitude and the joy. This is my character. I am Italian. I am a comedian. So it was a demonstration to say thank you in my way. It was the truth.
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