Playing Enrico: A Personal Reflection - Coco Prada

There are roles that challenge you as an actor, and then there are roles that change you as a human being. Playing Enrico Aquino in "Breathtaking" falls into that second category.

When I first read the script, I thought I understood grief. But this was different. This wasn't just about losing someone you love - it was about losing them in inches, through a screen, standing just metres away yet unable to reach them. Every scene outside that hospital felt like a punch to the gut.

The hardest scene to film was the final video call. I had to get it right - not just for the drama, but for every husband, wife, and family member who lived this nightmare. The way Enrico tries to keep his voice steady, forcing a smile while his world crumbles. The moment when he realises the call has frozen, and that might have been his last chance to say goodbye. I still can't talk about filming that scene without getting emotional.

What really broke me was wearing Enrico's wedding ring throughout the shoot. Between takes, I'd find myself twisting it, just as he would have done, standing alone outside that hospital. Thinking about his wife inside, the same halls where she'd cared for countless patients, now keeping him from her side.

People ask me how I prepared for this role. Truth is, the weight of it was already there - in the real stories we carried with us on set, in the consultants who lived through it, in the memories still raw for so many NHS families. My job wasn't to act grief, but to honour it.

To every family who lost someone this way, who had to say goodbye through a screen, who knows exactly what Enrico's face looks like when that video call fails - I hope we did your story justice. I hope you feel seen. Most of all, I hope you know you weren't alone in those moments, even though it felt like you were.

This wasn't just another acting job. It was a responsibility, a privilege, and honestly, the hardest thing I've ever done. Enrico's story will stay with me forever. Some roles you perform - this one, you carry.

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