Diksha Sundriyal
Peacock’s ‘The Paper’ follows Ned Sampson’s efforts to revive a dying local newspaper called the Toledo Truth Teller. Having recently taken over as the editor-in-chief, Ned is highly motivated to turn things around for the newspaper. However, there are several major challenges in his path, one of which is Esmeralda Grand. Before Ned came into the picture, Esmeralda was the one in charge, and she loved the power and freedom the job brought her. But now Ned is above her, and he is completely rewriting the rules and making Esmeralda feel irrelevant, and this makes her attack him even more. But as the season rolls on, we discover that there is more to her than it seems. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Esmeralda Grand is a Complex Villain in The Paper
Every hero needs a villain, and if Ned Sampson wants to succeed, he has to go through Esmeralda Grand. This is not to say that she doesn’t want the newspaper to succeed. In fact, if the Truth Teller went away, she would be the one to lose the most. So, she wants the paper to succeed, but she just doesn’t want Ned to be her boss. His arrival marks an end to her tyranny, which means getting out of the big office that she had claimed all to herself. It also means that she cannot write whatever article she wants, and the more Ned encourages others to do “serious journalism,” the more threatened Esmeralda feels, because she thinks it will render her redundant at one point. This insecurity leads her to resort to unethical methods, but despite the evil genius plans she concocts, sometimes with Ken from Softees, it doesn’t really work in her favor.
While Esmeralda’s efforts to sabotage Ned might paint her as an incredibly villainous person, she is not all that bad. Even in her mischiefs, there is a childlike innocence, which makes her actions more of a nuisance than something to actually worry about. Moreover, while she may not have any experience in serious journalism, it doesn’t mean she is entirely useless. Working on a piece with her makes Mare realise that when Esmeralda sets her mind to something, she can work wonders. This presents her as a more layered person than she is given credit for, but these layers seem to be buried deep underneath her insecurities and her filterless words that do more damage to a person than she probably intends them to.
Sabrina Impacciatore Brings Esmeralda’s Eccentricities to Life
The role of Esmeralda Grand in ‘The Paper’ is played by Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore. She harboured the dream of becoming an actress when she was eight, and at sixteen, she joined an elective theater workshop and continued to work with the same theater company for two years. She also got an acting coach; by this time, her belief in making her living as an actress had firm roots in her mind. She got her first break in an Italian show called ‘Non è la Rai,’ and after working on several Italian films and TV shows, she got her Hollywood break with the role of Valentina in ‘The White Lotus.’ She was also a part of Julian Schnabel’s ‘In the Hand of Dante.’ Now Sabrina is making waves in the role of Esmeralda in ‘The Paper,’ but she hadn’t seen ‘The Office’ before she found out about the audition for Esmeralda.
She was aware of the show’s cult status and decided to give it a go when her agent told her about the possibility of getting the part. While she enjoyed the series, the audition also terrified her. English not being her first language was also a barrier. When she had the audition on Zoom, she didn’t remember her lines, so she improvised, and that eventually became an important reason for her to land the part. Before starting on her journey as Esmeralda, she also met with Steve Carell and sought his blessing. Once on board, Sabrina brought a ton of ideas about Esmeralda’s personality and background. She made up the story about her not wanting to go back to Italy and her survival instinct being the reason why she is the way she is.
Despite all the ridiculous things the character does, the actress also wanted to add an element of innocence to her actions. Sabrina also saw the mockumentary as a way for Esmeralda to get her break as a TV star. Because the character doesn’t know a thing about journalism, Sabrina avoided talking to any journalists because she wanted to remain in the dark about the true nature and demands of the job. Sabrina also helped create Esmeralda’s look with the waves in her hair (which represent her love for Rita Hayworth in ‘Gilda’), to ring light (which points towards her insecurity in front of the camera), and the use of the color gold in her dress, especially the belts. All this allowed her to make Esmeralda more grounded, even if she doesn’t appear very likable, at least, not in the beginning.
