"I always liked the stories of Father Brown of Chesterton and contacted Mediaset (Italian television and media company) with an idea I had about playing a priest who is also a parachutist. An adventurous character which I liked. Nothing happened though, because they told me that RAI (Italian television and media company) already had a similar project in mind, a TV series with a priest as protagonist. Some time later, Luxvide contacted me, offered me the role of this priest and sent me scripts of four episodes. The title of the series was supposed to be "Il diavolo e l’acqua santa" (The Devil and the Holy Water) and the priest's name in the scripts was 'Don Teodoro'. I Immediately liked the scripts and stories, but not the character's name, so I changed it to 'Don Matteo'".

The journalist asks Terence if he has found similarities in the roles he has interpreted in the past.
"I have played the priest 'Don Camillo' years ago, which made it easier for me to portray 'Don Matteo'. I have always tried to give the characters a touch of my own personality".

What do you think are the reasons for the extraordinary success of the series 'Don Matteo'?
"I think the success of Don Matteo has to do with the fact that in a chaotic world like ours, he represents - with his cassock, which reminds of a uniform - some kind of structure and order, which we need. What sets him apart is his intuition. He knows the human mind better than the police and that's why he always resolves the case before they do. I built his character around my own. In the first series we remained faithful to the seriousness of his character, now we have added a little of the irony of Trinity... I want however that the audience identifies with Don Matteo and therefore forgets about the actor who portrays him".

I have heard that you want to leave the series?
"After so many years, there is a risk of repetition. Out of respect for the audience, I think it's a good idea to stop as long as the series is still popular. I want to use this occasion to tell you that in the last episode, Don Matteo leaves Italy to go to Brazil. This leaves a door open, you never know, he could return one day! But only if there will be new ideas... I can give you some nice news: Finally, the Captain and Laura (characters from the TV series) will get married!"

The audience cheers and applauds.

Recently in Umbria, close to Gubbio, where the series was filmed, a real Carabiniere (police officer) was truly shot during a robbery, while you were filming close by...
"Yes, it was terrible. We realised with pain what it means to be a Carabiniere, a job in which you risk your life".

Your career started early, how did you like acting when you were a boy?
"To tell the truth, I didn't like acting much in the beginning. I always felt bad before I went to the set...".

You haven't filmed with Bud Spencer in a long time, what can you tell us about him?
"Bud is a close friend of mine. We don't see each other often, but we talk a lot. He is writing a story at the moment which might be good for us..."

You were offered to play the role of 'Rambo' in the 70s, is this true?
"Yes, I was offered the role after playing 'My Name is Nobody'. The character was not called like this at first, the Italians gave him that name and then the Americans used it too. I read the book from which the script was adapted. I liked it but the character was too violent. I think I made the right decision because if I would have played Rambo, I would not have been offered the part of 'Don Matteo'"!

The last question is answered, the interview comes to and end. The audience applauds and surrounds Terence onstage, to ask for an autograph or a photo with him. Everyone, including Terence, had a great time!