Monica Barbaro Flaunts Killer Legs in a Jaw-Dropping Power Pose for Porter Magazine Spread
In a new interview with PORTER, conducted by Ellie Robertson, Monica Barbaro opens up about the pressure behind her rising career, her struggle with perfectionism, and the deeply personal fears shaping her next chapter as she prepares for her stage debut in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at London’s National Theatre.
Best known for her breakout role in Top Gun: Maverick and her Oscar-nominated performance as Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, Barbaro tells PORTER that stepping into theatre for the first time is both exhilarating and terrifying. The interview reveals an actor who is not simply chasing success, but confronting the emotional cost of ambition.
Reflecting on her path, Barbaro admits she once struggled with interviews and the spotlight itself, explaining, “I used to be so nervous before interviews. Now I don’t know if I’m being complacent, or if I’ve just been through so many intense experiences, but everything feels… OK.”
The conversation explores how her background in dance continues to shape her craft today. She credits movement as a gateway into understanding character, saying, “Dance gave me a completely different way into character. People reveal themselves through their body language.”
PORTER’s profile makes clear that this next role marks a turning point. Taking on the emotionally complex Madame de Tourvel on stage forces Barbaro to confront her own guarded nature. She admits the role feels uncomfortably close to home, sharing, “I’m a person who’s been romantically quite protective, so I think it’s a very important character for me to look at and live with.”
Monica Barbaro photographed by Peter Joseph Smith for PORTER Magazine. 📷 pic.twitter.com/G800WZLPcL
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The interview also addresses the weight of expectation that followed her success in Top Gun: Maverick, a project she describes as carrying immense responsibility. Barbaro recalls feeling determined to honor the real women behind the fighter pilot roles, noting, “The women I met were extraordinary. I wanted to honor their strength and integrity.”
Her Oscar nomination for A Complete Unknown was another defining moment, though she remains grounded about its meaning. She tells PORTER, “It’s a huge honor but it doesn’t actually give my work more meaning.”
At the heart of the interview is Barbaro’s evolving relationship with perfectionism. As she prepares to perform in Britain using a British accent, she openly acknowledges the pressure she places on herself, explaining, “The accent has to be absolutely flawless so that it doesn’t get in the way of the more important thing, which is telling the story.”
Ultimately, the PORTER interview is about an actor rediscovering the core of her craft while navigating fame, fear, and expectation. Barbaro describes this moment in her career not as a breakthrough, but as the result of years of persistence, saying, “I’ve been called a breakthrough but it took years to get here.”
As she stands on the brink of her theatre debut, Barbaro makes it clear that this next chapter is less about validation and more about artistic truth, even if it means stepping into the unknown.
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