‘Twin Peaks’ Star Sherilyn Fenn Joins Rudolph Valentino Biopic ‘Silent Life’

“Twin Peaks” star Sherilyn Fenn has been cast as silent film star Alla Nazimova in “Silent Life,” an indie biopic about Rudolph Valentino.

Vladislav Kozlov is directing and will play Valentino in the film. The movie also stars Isabella Rossellini as Valentino’s mother, Franco Nero as Valentino’s spirit, and Terry Moore as the mourning “Lady in Black.” Paul Rodriguez and Dalton Cyr have joined the cast as an older gigolo and young Italian immigrant, respectively. Paul Louis Harrell will play Norman Kerry, Valentino’s real-life friend, and Ksenia Jarova will portray Natacha Rambova, a true love of Valentino.

Kozlov is producing the project with Natalia Dar under their Dreamer Pictures banner, along with Yuri Ponomarev. The script was written by Kozlov, Dar, and Ksenia Jarova.

Valentino was a Hollywood superstar in the silent movie era and died unexpectedly in 1926. In “Silent Life,” a group of young journalists encounter a mysterious elderly woman clad in all black, hiding her face and her secrets behind a veil, at Valentino’s annual memorial service.

Nazimova was a Russian émigré and a popular Broadway actress before she moved to Hollywood and became a silent film star for Metro Pictures. Nazimova produced her own movies and was the first female actor to exercise control over her own image. She starred in 1921’s “Camille” opposite Valentino, and in 1923’s “Salomé.” Nazimova is regarded by some as an inspiration for Gloria Swanson’s Norma Desmond character in 1950’s “Sunset Boulevard.”

Filming is taking place at Valentino’s grave at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Miceli’s Restaurant in Hollywood, and the private Rudolph Valentino museum in North Hollywood owned by Tracy Terhune.

Fenn received an Emmy nomination for her role as Audrey Horne in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” in 1991 and returned for last year’s revival.

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