Elio Germano (born 25 September 1980) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

actor. He is the recipient of many accolades, including a

Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor The Best Actor Award (french: Prix d'interprétation masculine) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official co ...

and a

Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Darsteller) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by ...

Life and career

Born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to a Molisan family from

Duronia Duronia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Campobasso in the Italy, Italian region Molise, located about northwest of Campobasso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 473 and an area of .All demographics and other statisti ...

Province of Campobasso A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, Germano debuted aged twelve in

Castellano e Pipolo Castellano & Pipolo is the stage name used by the pair of Italian screenwriters and film directors Franco Castellano (1925–1999) and Giuseppe Moccia (1933–2006). Together, they wrote the screenplays for about seventy films, and directed tw ...

's movie '' Ci hai rotto papà'' (1992). During his studies at scientific lyceum, he received acting training at Teatro Azione in Rome. In 1999, he abandoned an opportunity to work in theatre with

Giancarlo Cobelli Giancarlo Cobelli (12 December 1929 – 16 March 2012) was an Italian actor and stage director. He was considered one of the most important directors of Italian theatre. Early life Born in Milan, Cobelli studied acting at Giorgio Strehler's P ...

in order to play in

Carlo Vanzina Carlo Vanzina (13 March 1951 – 8 July 2018) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. Vanzina was born in Rome, the son of Maria Teresa Nati and film director Stefano Vanzina and brother of Enrico Vanzina. In English-speakin ...

's film '' Il cielo in una stanza'', which launched Germano as one of the most popular Italian actors. His big break came in 2007, when he was cast as the lead in the successful movies '' Fallen Heroes'' and ''

My Brother is an Only Child ''My Brother Is an Only Child'' ( it, Mio fratello è figlio unico) is a 2007 Italian drama film directed by Daniele Luchetti. It is based on an Antonio Pennacchi novel. The title comes from a song by Rino Gaetano from 1976. Plot Accio ( Elio ...

'' by

Daniele Luchetti Daniele Luchetti (; born 25 July 1960) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Luchetti was born in Rome. He debuted as assistant director for Nanni Moretti in '' Bianca'' (1983) and '' The Mass Is Ended'' (1985) ...

. The following year he first received international recognition by winning the

Shooting Stars Award The Shooting Stars Awards are presented annually by the pan-European network organization European Film Promotion (EFP) to emerging actors from Europe. "Shooting Stars" is an initiative of the EFP for the international promotion and networking of p ...

at the

58th Berlin International Film Festival The 58th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 7 to February 17, 2008. The festival opened with Martin Scorsese's documentary film '' Shine a Light''. '' Be Kind Rewind'' by Michel Gondry served as the closing film. G ...

. Germano worked with numerous directors such as

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film '' A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...

('' Concorrenza sleale''),

Emanuele Crialese Emanuele Crialese (born 27 May 1965) is an Italian screenwriter and film director. He is a native of Rome and studied filmmaking in New York City. Biography Emanuele Crialese was born on July 26, 1965 in Rome to Sicilian parents. He studied filmm ...

(''

Respiro ''Respiro'' is a 2002 Italian- French film written and directed by Emanuele Crialese and released in English-language markets in 2003. The film stars Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato, and Francesco Casisa. In the Italian language, '' respiro'' mea ...

''), Gianluca Maria Tavarelli (''

Liberi Liberi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about north of Caserta. Liberi borders the following municipalities: Alvignano, Caiazzo, Castel di Sasso, Dr ...

''),

Giovanni Veronesi Giovanni Veronesi (born 1962) is an Italian film screenwriter, actor and director. Born in Prato, he is the brother of the writer Sandro Veronesi. He started his career writing scripts for directors such as Francesco Nuti, Leonardo Pieraccio ...

('' Che ne sarà di noi''), Michele Placido (''

Romanzo criminale ''Romanzo criminale'' (; "Criminal Novel") is an Italian-language film released in 2005, directed by Michele Placido, a criminal drama, it was highly acclaimed and won 15 awards. It is based on Giancarlo De Cataldo's 2002 novel, which is in turn ...

''),

Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...

(''

Quo Vadis, Baby? ''Quo Vadis, Baby?'' is a 2005 Italian drama film directed by Gabriele Salvatores. Cast * Angela Baraldi: Giorgia Cantini *Gigio Alberti: Andrea Berti * Claudia Zanella: Ada Cantini * Elio Germano: Lucio *Luigi Maria Burruano: Captain Cantin ...

'', '' Come Dio comanda''),

Paolo Virzì Paolo Virzì (; born 4 March 1964) is an Italian film director, writer and producer. Early life and work Virzì was born in Livorno, Italy in 1964, as the son of a Sicilian police officer in the Carabinieri and a former singer. After spending ...

(''

Napoleon and Me ''Napoleon and Me'' ( it, N (Io e Napoleone), french: Napoléon (et moi), es, N. Napeleón y yo) is a 2006 Italian-French-Spanish historical comedy-drama directed by Paolo Virzì. It is loosely based on the novel ''N.'' by Ernesto Ferrero. Plot ...

'', '' Tutta la vita davanti''), Francesco Patierno (''

The Early Bird Catches the Worm ''The Early Bird Catches the Worm'' ( it, Il mattino ha l'oro in bocca) is a 2008 Italian drama film directed by Francesco Patierno, based on autobiographical book ''Il giocatore (ogni scomessa e un debito)'' by Marco Baldini. Cast *Elio Germ ...

''),

Daniele Vicari Daniele Vicari (born 26 February 1967) is an Italian director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Born in Collegiove, Province of Rieti, Vicari graduated from Rome's University La Sapienza in History and Critics of Cinema under Guido ...

('' Il passato è una terra straniera'') and

Ferzan Özpetek Ferzan Özpetek (born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy. Biography Ferzan Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. In 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza Unive ...

('' Magnifica Presenza''). For his role in the movie ''

'' (2007), he won his first

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

as best actor in a leading role. In 2010, he won the Best Actor Award,

ex-aequo ''Ex aequo et bono'' (Latin for "according to the right and good" or "from equity and conscience") is a Latin phrase that is used as a legal term of art. In the context of arbitration, it refers to the power of arbitrators to dispense with conside ...

with

Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in ...

, at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, for his interpretation in ''

La Nostra Vita ''La nostra vita'' is a 2010 French-Italian film directed by Daniele Luchetti, starring Elio Germano. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, with Elio Germano sharing the prize for Best Actor with Javier Bardem for his ...

''. Later that year, he played the son of Italian journalist

Tiziano Terzani Tiziano Terzani (; 14 September 1938 – 28 July 2004) was an Italian journalist and writer, best known for his extensive knowledge of 20th century East Asia and for being one of the very few western reporters to witness both the fall of Saigon ...

in '' The End Is My Beginning''. For his portrait of 19th century poet

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...

Mario Martone Mario Martone (born 20 November 1959) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He has directed more than 30 films since 1985. His film ''L'amore molesto'' was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. His 2010 film '' Noi credevamo'' co ...

's film '' Leopardi'', Germano was praised at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

Personal life

At an early age Germano liked creating

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

and thought about becoming a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

. When he was not accepted into the school of

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface.

, he then opted for acting. In his spare time, Germano makes rap for a music band called ''Bestierare'', which sings about "

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

, precariousness, prisons and

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

violence."

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Theatre

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Germano, Elio 1980 births Living people People of Molisan descent Male actors from Rome Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor winners Silver Bear for Best Actor winners David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Italian male stage actors 20th-century Italian male actors 21st-century Italian male actors