Elio Germano (born 25 September 1980) is an Italian actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six
David of Donatello., a
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and a
Silver Bear for Best Actor
The Silver Bear for Best Actor () 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 the International Jury from the films i ...
.
Life and career
Born in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
to a
Molisan family from
Duronia,
Province of Campobasso
The province of Campobasso (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Molise region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Campobasso. It covers an area of and has a total population of 223,871 (2017). There are 84 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in ...
, Germano debuted aged twelve in
Castellano e Pipolo'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.
Life and career
Born in Milan, Cobelli studied acting at Giorgio Strehl ...
in order to play in
Carlo Vanzina'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'' by
Daniele Luchetti. The following year he first received international recognition by winning the
Shooting Stars Award at the
58th Berlin International Film Festival.
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 Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film ''A Special Day'' and over ...
(''
Unfair Competition
Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usually smaller, businesses or consumers. ...
''),
Emanuele Crialese (''
Respiro''), Gianluca Maria Tavarelli (''
Break Free''),
Giovanni Veronesi (''
What Will Happen to Us''),
Michele Placido
Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Belloc ...
(''
Romanzo Criminale''),
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?'', ''
As God Commands''),
Paolo Virzì (''
Napoleon and Me'', ''
Your Whole Life Ahead of You''), Francesco Patierno (''
The Early Bird Catches the Worm''),
Daniele Vicari (''
The Past Is a Foreign Land'') and
Ferzan Özpetek (''
Magnificent Presence'').
For his role in the movie ''
My Brother is an Only Child'' (2007), he won his first
David di Donatello as best actor in a leading role. In 2010, he won the
Best Actor Award,
ex-aequo with
Javier Bardem, at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, for his interpretation in ''
La Nostra Vita''. Later that year, he played the son of Italian journalist
Tiziano Terzani in ''
The End Is My Beginning''. For his portrait of 19th century poet
Giacomo Leopardi in
Mario Martone
Mario Martone (born 20 November 1959) is an Italian filmmaker. He has directed more than 30 films since 1985. His films have been shown in prestigious international film festivals over the world.
His films '' Nasty Love'' (1995) and ''Nostalgia ...
's film ''
Leopardi'', Germano was praised at the
71st Venice International Film Festival.
Personal life
At an early age Germano liked creating comics 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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
. 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 graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,[unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...]
,
homelessness
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
, precariousness, prisons and
Fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
violence".
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre
Awards and nominations
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