In Haiti & Louisiana, family informs Maria Bello’s acting, service
A week after an earthquake decimated Haiti, Norristown native Maria Bello traveled there to join forces with Artists for Peace and Justice.
“I saw the most devastating things you could imagine,” said Bello, star of “The Yellow Handkerchief.” “Amputations with no anesthesia, children with no pain killers and spinal cord injuries.”
In a recent phone interview, Bello expressed concern for the 75,000 displaced people living under sheets at the camp where she worked, and stressed the importance of getting them tents before hurricane season.
She said that her activism is, in part, due to her active and compassionate family.
“We were taught from an early age that being of service is one of the most important things in the world – that you only have one life to live and you better use it right,” she explained.
Bello also attributed her acting success to her family and upbringing.
“My parents were always supportive of the idea of doing what you love,” she said.
Raised in Norristown, Bello attended Archbishop Carroll and Villanova. Today she lives in Venice, Calif.
Philly is “still such a big part of my life,” she said. “I love my Philly roots.”
For “Handkerchief,” Bello traveled to Louisiana shortly after Hurricane Katrina.
She was inspired by the people’s resilience and noted that Louisiana is “like a foreign country almost – such a rich culture and such a different way of life.”
“It’s really an exciting place to be,” she said.
When producer Arthur Cohn approached Bello with the film, she jumped at the opportunity to work again with William Hurt, a co-star on “A History of Violence.”
The script drew her attention as well.
“It’s such a mature love story,” she said. “It’s so gentle. You don’t see films these days like that.”
Bello said she learns from every role she plays. In “The Yellow Handkerchief,” her character taught her about second chances and trusting again.
“I think as you get older, it’s easy to get jaded about love,” she explained. “You’ve been hurt and you’ve hurt other people. It’s easy to sort of back up instead of jumping in, and I feel like May had the courage to jump.”
Bello did not do any research or backstory for May. Instead, she said, “like in life, you just put one foot in front of the other, and one moment leads to the next.”
In the coming months, Bello will be seen in Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups,” her first major comedy, and the John Wells drama “The Company Men.”
But in the next few weeks, she plans to return to Haiti.