Sabrina Impacciatore, the Italian actress known for her role as the manipulative yet childlike Esmeralda Grand in the Peacock series The Paper, has opened up about the creation and evolution of her character. Esmeralda, the managing editor of the fictional Toledo Truth Teller and TTT Online, was initially conceived as a Halloween-inspired antagonist meant to clash with the show's idealistic new editor. Impacciatore revealed that she auditioned with her natural Italian accent, falsely claiming she could adopt an American one, only for the producers to later decide they preferred her original accent. She described how the character developed organically, drawing inspiration from Tweety Bird's survival-driven mischief to infuse Esmeralda with a deceptive innocence despite her ruthless behavior. The actress emphasized her deliberate choices in crafting Esmeralda's appearance, including styling her hair like Rita Hayworth's and performing a vamp-like hair toss during improvisation that initially confused the showrunner, Greg Daniels. Impacciatore admitted she avoided researching journalism to maintain the character's authentic ignorance, though she once considered becoming a journalist herself while studying communication at university. She holds onto a book titled The Basics of Being a Journalist in a Season 1 scene, subtly underscoring her character's lack of real journalistic knowledge. Now finishing the second season, Impacciatore said she continues to be inspired by the role, describing her performance as playful and instinctive. She also reflected on her early struggles in acting, including being insulted during a film audition, studying marketing instead, and training under a coach from The Actors Studio without financial support from her parents, who opposed her career choice. Her friendship with Jennifer Coolidge from The White Lotus was briefly referenced, with Impacciatore recalling their chaotic on-screen chemistry.
Sabrina Impacciatore built a character who thrives on deception while admitting she lied just to land the audition. Her portrayal of a woman faking journalistic competence mirrors her own path—studying marketing while secretly training as an actress. The role celebrates illusion, but offers no insight into the real crisis facing newsrooms beyond caricature. It's performance as survival, both on screen and off.
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