Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Breaking news: The second season of Netflix’s Master of None is brilliant, and you should watch it (but not binge it) immediately.
One of the many reasons the mordant series is such an immensely enjoyable delight is the introduction of Italian actress Alessandra Mastronardi, who portrays Dev’s charming new love interest Francesca. Adept at the intricacies of pasta making, the Duane Reade-adoring Francesca embarks upon a strong friendship with Dev that eventually turns complicated. Francesca is engaged to another man, but the connection (and chemistry) she shares with Dev is impossible to ignore. As the season progresses, both Dev and the viewer become more enchanted with Francesca the character and Alessandra the actress.
Born in Naples, Mastronardi began her theatrical career at a young age. The daughter of a psychologist, the future Master of None star shared her father’s interest in psychology and grew up “studying people and characters.” It’s difficult to imagine the second season without Mastronardi’s presence, but as Vanity Fair reports, the actress was only able to audition for the Netflix series after Aziz Ansari missed a flight from New York from London.
While Alessandra has appeared in dozens of Italian television shows and movies (even playing the role of Juliet in the TV movie Romeo & Juliet), you may recognize the starlet from her work in a number of American films:
To Rome with Love
Mastronardi was introduced to a larger audience in Woody Allen’s 2012 comedy To Rome with Love. Featuring a star-studded ensemble that includes Alec Baldwin, Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, and Ellen Page, the actress portrays Millie, a young bride who gets separated from her husband for a day.
The film was Mastronardi’s first movie to be released in America.
Life
A few years after her mesmerizing performance in To Rome with Love, Mastronardi appeared in the 2015 bio-drama Life. Based on the friendship of Life photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) and Hollywood actor James Dean (Dane DeHaan), Alessandra portrays Dean’s girlfriend Pier Angeli.
In addition to her prolific career in Italian cinema, the actress has also appeared in the 2013 film AmeriQua, the 12-part television series Titanic: Blood and Steel, and Evan Oppenheimer’s 2017 romantic drama Lost in Florence.
While we enjoyed many of Francesca’s quirks on Master of None, the one we can’t stop thinking about is her obsession with Duane Reade. Turns out that particular fixation was a little bit of art imitating life.
“One day I was talking to Aziz, and I said that the first time that I arrived in New York, I went to Duane Reade and I went crazy,” Mastronardi told Vanity Fair. “I have never seen something like this before in my life. He was so shocked that he put it in the script.”
Watch the beautiful relationship between Francesca and Duane Reade (and we guess Dev) develop during the second season of Master of None.
