Andrea Balestri (born 1 September 1963) is an Italian

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Career

He is known as the

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

in 1972 serial TV ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; , i.e. "The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet"), commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'', is an 1883 Children's literature, children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischi ...

'', directed by

Luigi Comencini Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the "commedia all'italiana" genre. His daughters Cristina Comencin ...

, next to actors like

Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian ac ...

Franco and Ciccio Franco and Ciccio (, ) were a comic comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theatre field, and ende ...

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

and the great actor and director

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the fil ...

as the ''Judge''. After the great success on TV, Balestri continued he acting career working on other movies as '' Torino nera'', directed by

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero'', ...

, with

Bud Spencer Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli; 31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016) was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partner and friend Ter ...

and Domenico Santoro the Lucignoloin ''Pinocchio'', the children movie '' Kid il monello del West'', that won the Giffoni Film Festival as the best adaptation in 1976, and '' Furia nera'', directed by Demofilo Fidani. During last years he took part to several TV programs to tell his cinema experience and acted in two

short films A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

. He also took part in a cameo on the

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' Faccia di Picasso'' directed by Massimo Ceccherini, in which he played "the only real Pinocchio". He is very often guest around the schools or children festivals in which he tell his experience of "child-Pinocchio", curiosities and trivia behind the scenes, the special effects and tales regarding the various characters and the staff. He is the author of the book "Io, il Pinocchio di Comencini" 2008, introduced by

Cristina Comencini Cristina Comencini (; born 8 May 1956) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and novelist. Biography She is one of four daughters of Italian film director Luigi Comencini Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) was an Italian fil ...

, and Stefano Garavelli.

Filmography

Discography

Balestri recorded three songs: * "Mamma vorrei" * "Chi è che ha rubato il mare", by Roberto Vecchioni * "Andrea Pinocchio", music by Fiorenzo Carpi, the author for all Comencini's Pinocchio music

References

External links

Official website di Andrea Balestri
*Podcas
Le Avventure di Pinocchio read by Andrea Balestri
*Book Official websit
Io, il pinocchio di Comencini
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balestri, Andrea 1963 births Living people Actors from Pisa Male actors from Tuscany Italian male film actors Italian male child actors Italian male singers