LOS ANGELES – If a character makes an abrupt exit from a TV show, it may not be because he or she wanted to go.
It could be something as simple as availability. Matt Baker, who writes “Hotel Portofino,” says logistics could dictate where a story is headed. “From a creative point of view, though, it’s really about potential.”
Mark Umbers plays Cecil Ainsworth in "Hotel Portofino."
After the first season of “Hotel Portofino,” it looked like something bad might happen to Cecil, the caddish husband of an Italian hotel owner. “Two or three weeks into the shoot, it was kind of decided he was quite entertaining and that he should stay,” says Mark Umbers, the actor who plays the role. “At the end of season one, there was a rape scene, which we filmed, which was horrific but, mercifully, that got cut and Cecil stayed in the show.”
Natascha McElhone embraces a world of change in 'Hotel Portofino'
Now, at the start of season three, Cecil is seeking a divorce from Bella, played by Natascha McElhone. She wants to stay in Italy and continue running her hotel; he’d like to return to England to flex his political muscles.
“The great dilemma that she faces in this story is that she can’t quite escape from him because of the legal restrictions in Italy and the social restrictions back home in England,” Umbers says. “Divorce is socially frowned upon and she can’t own the business in her own name, so she’s really kind of serving a prison sentence. I don’t know whether Cecil is exploiting that or he’s just seeing his own benefit.”
Bella, however, is becoming more liberated, Baker says. “Her ability to stand on her own feet is the theme of the story.” In the third season, she takes to wearing pants (a real shift in the 1920s) and starts an aromatherapy/perfume side business.
Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone) has new goals in the third season of "Hotel Portofino."
Cecil, meanwhile, begins to see the storm clouds of fascism growing.
“She’s an individual caught up in her own story rather than worrying about the broader politics of Italy,” Baker says.
“We leave season three in a place where it’s clear that some characters are coming to the end of their arc and some characters are starting a very distinctive new arc.”
While season three occurs two years after the end of season two, “Hotel Portofino” could take broader jumps in subsequent seasons. “We can move it forward a few years or a couple of decades,” Baker says.
Mark Umbers stars in "Hotel Portofino."
“A hotel is going to be there in different circumstances and it’s about moving characters around in that precinct and having fun doing it.”
Thus, the “availability” clause.
When the pandemic hit, “I remember thinking I wasn’t ever going to work again,” Umbers says. “It was such a dark time and then, out of the blue, I got this. I didn’t tell anyone I had this job because I was sure it was going to get canceled. I’ve never been more grateful for a job in my life.”
To hedge his bets, Umbers also writes and has been working on a film about British composer Vaughan Williams. “It’s an examination of fatherhood, but with incredible music,” he says. He created that between seasons one and two of “Portofino” and now, he’s working on a stage musical set in the 1950s.
Writing, he says, keeps him busy during the down time and helps him deal with shyness. “I’m quite introverted in real life. I find that when I’m acting, I can do all sorts of things that I can’t do in real life. It gives me the courage to experience things I would never like.”
A port in plenty of storms – COVID, strikes, the economy – “Hotel Portofino” has been a fun venture for its actors. “I think we have to get closer to the crunch period before fascism rises before we think about this ending,” Umbers says. Baker “really enjoys writing for Cecil, so as soon as I read the scenes I can hear him.”
Availability, then, won’t be a problem for the show’s star. “When you’re lucky enough to be in the Mediterranean,” he says, “you don’t want to leave.”
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