Beginning her professional acting career in college, Italia Ricci steadily built a career in film and television, taking on larger, more in-depth roles. A talented actress with a wide range, Ricci began with smaller parts in films like 2007’s American Pie Presents: Beta House, and she steadily built a resume with roles on many television series before starring in acclaimed series such as Chasing Life, Supergirl, and Designated Survivor.
Continuing to find exciting opportunities over the years, Ricci has worked across a plethora of genres, and now, in 2026, she stars in the new Horror film The Confession. A film that evokes an ominous mood, it reveals a whole new side of the actress to audiences. Proud of the work put into The Confession, Italia Ricci sat down to chat about the experience, her love for Horror cinema, balancing family and work, plus more.
Cryptic Rock – You have been involved in film and television for a couple of decades and have been involved in many interesting projects. How would you describe your journey in film and television?
Italia Ricci – Very lucky. Everything I’ve worked on has been with a majority of great people. I’ve been pretty proud of the stories I’ve told, whether it’s one that really resonated with me, or one I knew my mom, my brothers, or my dad would love. I’ve crossed paths with some really great people, and I’ve learned so much. I also think I’ve managed to stay relatively normal, meaning I’ve had success, but not so much that it’s impeding on my life or anything like that. Overall, I’m very grateful and lucky.
Cryptic Rock – Not having it impede your life is a very good thing, because sometimes things can get a little overwhelming. With that said, you have built a balanced career in both film and television. Do you enjoy working in both mediums?
Italia Ricci – Yeah, definitely. Especially now that television isn’t typically as long as it used to be, where you’d be shooting 16-hour days for eight months to make a season, and being a mom, having a family, and wanting my son’s life to feel more normal than that kind of schedule would allow. It’s nicer, too, because you can pick if a movie comes along, and it’s going to be that little window of time. If you’re doing a show, my husband and I have been able to take turns so that somebody is always home with our son. I love the balance.
Also, I love movies because of the whole story before you start shooting. So that’s just a little more understanding you’ll bring into it. Then there’s the excitement of a show, getting to tell it in greater depth and for longer. You get to dive in a little deeper, typically, from my experience. There are definitely positives to both.
Cryptic Rock – Very interesting. It is good to have flexibility to be home with your family, too. One of your latest feature films is The Confession. How did this project come about for you?
Italia Ricci – I was sent the script to read. If I responded, I was going to meet with Will Cannon, who wrote and directed it. I read it, and thought it was twisted and so well written. Before I took the meeting, I watched one of his earlier films, Brotherhood (2010). I thought he was a fantastic storyteller and knew he could do with The Confession what I would hope to do with it if I were to take it on. So we met, chatted about it, and connected really well. I kind of knew that he’d be a good team captain for this, and I trusted him.
I think I made the right call because I’m pretty proud of it, and I think he is. I think it definitely did what I thought it was going to do as far as how people are responding, especially to the ending.
Cryptic Rock – It is definitely an interesting idea. You have this plotline of hearing someone you love confessing to something horrific. It is a worst nightmare.
Italia Ricci – Yeah, especially when they’re not around for you to, I feel like I have questions or any sort of explanation or anything at all. The way Will had written my character, Naomi, I thought, was so grounded and realistic: she didn’t immediately believe everything she was being told. She was as grounded as she could be for as long as she could, until there was literally no other option. I really liked that because that’s not something I read a lot in the sort of Horror genre movies that come my way.
Cryptic Rock – Right. The film also has an interesting undertone of questoning faith. Was that something you felt as well?
Italia Ricci – I did, yeah. And I grew up Roman Catholic. So I was surrounded by the faith, but I didn’t respond to it quite as much as my family or my friends in the church did. I really connected with my character on that level. I respect it, and I understand why it is what it is, but it’s just not my cup of tea.
Cryptic Rock – Understood. You can grow up with something, respect it, but it may not be something you follow later in life.
Italia Ricci – Exactly. Yeah.
Cryptic Rock – Another aspect of The Confession that stands out is the chemistry between you and the rest of the cast. What was it like working with the rest of the cast?
Italia Ricci – Everybody was wonderful. A couple of the actors Will had worked with before, so he already had confidence and a rapport with them. They just came in guns blazing, ready to go. All the different characters added such different vibes and energies to the movie. It was really nice to juxtapose Naomi’s skepticism, groundedness, and empirical way of thinking with these supporting characters, who brought a little more color, energy, and perspective to the story. The actors themselves were all wonderful. Everybody was so cool. Unless I was the only annoying, terrible one to work with, I don’t think there was a bad one in the bunch.
Cryptic Rock – Well, it all came together well and is a solid Horror film. Seeing you have not worked in Horror much prior to The Confession, would you work in the genre again?
Italia Ricci – I did a movie ages ago, in 2014, oddly enough, another sort of religious horror one called The Remaining. It was interesting because, sort of like what if the rapture happened the way the Bible lays it out, what would it look like on film? The Confession was a little bit darker and more thrilling, and that sort of thing. So I had a great time doing it. I just shot another, darker movie recently, too. I’m kind of on a dark movie run at the moment. So I never say never.
I grew up loving Horror films. My dad showed me The Shining (1980) when I was way too young. Any time a Horror movie comes across my email, I instantly think, “Is this something that my dad would like?” Originally, in the script for The Confession, I think a hook went into my leg and was dragged down. It was so gory. I just remember the first thing I told my dad was, “Dad, I’m doing this movie, and I get to have this done. I have my head smoked off a sink and all this.” He said, “Oh, I can’t wait to see it!” My dad loves me very much, but we are twisted, and we just love that stuff. So yeah, I would totally keep doing Horror movies!
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