Luca Marinelli (born 22 October 1984) is an Italian actor. He is best known for the roles of Mattia in '' The Solitude of Prime Numbers'' (2010), Guido in '' Every Blessed Day'' (2012), Andrea in '' The Great Beauty'' (2013), Cesare in '' Don't Be Bad'' (2015), The Gipsy in '' They Call Me Jeeg'' (2016), the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

of '' Martin Eden'' (2019), Nicky in '' The Old Guard'' (2020), and the

of ''

Diabolik ''Diabolik'' () is an Italian comic series created by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani. One of the most popular series in the history of Italian comics, ''Diabolik'' was created in 1962 and consists of more than 900 volumes, and has led to ...

'' (2021). Marinelli is set to play Neil in Hideo Kojima's 2025 videogame '' Death Stranding 2: On the Beach'', his first videogame role.

Biography

Born in Rome, Marinelli is the son of actor and voice actor , and the nephew of actress and voice actress . He enrolled at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2009. Occasionally appearing on stage since 2006, his breakout role was Mattia, the leading character in the Saverio Costanzo's 2010 drama film '' The Solitude of Prime Numbers''. In 2013 he was appointed EFP Shooting Star at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

for his performance in

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 spendin ...

's '' Every Blessed Day''. Marinelli also played a supporting role in the Academy Award-winning drama '' The Great Beauty'' by

Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; ; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. He is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers of Italian cinema working today. He is known for visually striking and complex dramas and has of ...

. For his role of Cesare in Claudio Caligari's final film '' Don't Be Bad'', he won the Pasinetti Award for Best Actor at the

72nd Venice International Film Festival The 72nd annual Venice Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, was held from 2 to 12 September 2015, at Venice Lido in Italy. Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón was the jury president for the main competition. French-Italian actress ...

. In 2016 he won the

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

and David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor for '' They Call Me Jeeg'', and in 2019 he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his portrayal of the titular character '' Martin Eden'' at the

76th Venice International Film Festival The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019, at Venice Lido in Italy. Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel was the jury president for the main competition. Alessandra Mastronardi hosted the ...

. He also played the antagonist Primo in the 2018 TV series '' Trust'', and starred as Nicky in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film '' The Old Guard''. In 2018 he portrayed the Italian singer-songwriter Fabrizio De André in ''Fabrizio De André: Principe libero''. He starred as

in the 2021 film based on the comics series. In 2022, he plays Pietro Guasti in '' The Eight Mountains'' () by Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, based on the novel of the same name by

Paolo Cognetti Paolo Cognetti (born 27 January 1978) is an Italian writer and filmmaker, winner of the 2017 Strega Prize. Biography Born in Milan, he initially studied mathematics at university, but quit to enroll at Milan's film-making school ''Civica Scu ...

. Marinelli received critical acclaim for his portrayal of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

in the 2024 series Mussolini: Son of the Century. In 2025, it was announced that he and his wife, Alissa Jung, will play the characters Neil and Lucy, respectively, in Hideo Kojima's 2025 videogame '' Death Stranding 2: On the Beach''.

Filmography

Film

TV

Videogames

Awards and nominations

Ex-aequo with Toni Servillo for '' The Girl in the Fog''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marinelli, Luca 1984 births Male actors from Rome Italian male stage actors Italian male film actors Italian male television actors Living people 21st-century Italian male actors People of Apulian descent Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni David di Donatello winners Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners