Riccardo Dario Scamarcio (; born 13 November 1979) is an Italian actor and film producer.

Early life

Scamarcio was born in

Trani, Apulia Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, Southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT). History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for t ...

, the son of Irene Petrafesa, a painter, and Emilio Scamarcio. He went to train as an actor at the Scuola Nazionale di Cinema 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, ...

, where he now lives.

Career

His debut acting role was in a TV series in 2000, while his first ever lead role in a feature film was in '' Three Steps Over Heaven'' (2004), directed by Luca Lucini. Through this he immediately became well known to the Italian speaking public, especially a young audience. His success brought him prominence as a sex symbol and boosted requests for his acting skills, leading to his role in ''

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

'' (2005), directed by Fausto Paravidino and soon to him joining the cast of '' Romanzo Criminale'', playing a monosyllabic, enigmatic thug character in a powerful portrait of a mafiosi community directed by

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 ...

. In 2006 he acted in ''The Black Arrow'', a TV series broadcast by

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a ...

, adapted from the novel by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

, and took on four new film roles: ''

My Brother Is an Only Child ''My Brother Is an Only Child'' () 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 Germano) and Manrico (Riccardo Scam ...

'' (2007), directed by

Daniele Luchetti Daniele Luchetti () 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 (1984 film), Bianca'' (1983) and ''The Mass Is Ended'' (1985). L ...

, based on the novel ''Il fasciocomunista'' by Antonio Pennacchi. Scamarcio won a

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), 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 Cin ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this work. He also played in '' Manual of Love 2'' (2007), directed by

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 (writer), Sandro Veronesi. He started his career writing scripts for directors such as Francesco N ...

, Ho voglia di te (2007), directed by Luis Prieto, and '' Go Go Tales'' (2007), directed by Abel Ferrara. In 2007 he began work on '' At a Glance'' (2008) directed by

Sergio Rubini Sergio Rubini (born 21 December 1959) is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Rubini was born in Grumo Appula, Apulia, but soon moved to Rome to study acting. After some roles in theatre, he debuted in a feature f ...

, ''

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

'' (2009), a comedy directed by Giovanni Veronesi, and '' The Big Dream'' (2009), set in Italy in 1968, directed by

. ''Eden à l'Ouest'', directed by

Costa-Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

, saw Scamarcio playing an illegal immigrant-cum-innocent abroad. '' The Cézanne Affair'' (2009), directed by Sergio Rubini, co-starred Scamarcio's then partner, Italian-Greek actress, Valeria Golino, who played his sister. The lead in Golino's 2018 movie '' Euforia'' is considered to be one of Scamarcio's best performances. He starred in '' John Wick: Chapter 2'', playing the Italian Mob boss, Santino D'Antonio, the antagonist in the film. In 2024 he starred as the lead character 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 Vanished into the Night, directed by Renato De Maria and co-starring

Annabelle Wallis Annabelle Frances Wallis (born 5 September 1984) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jane Seymour in Showtime (TV network), Showtime's period drama ''The Tudors'' (2009–2010), Grace Burgess in the BBC drama ''Peaky Blinders (T ...

. This film was in Netflix's top 10 in July of that year.

Personal life

From 2006 to 2016 Scamarcio dated actress and director Valeria Golino. They continue working together even after the break-up and maintain a good bond. Scamarcio has a daughter (b. 2020) with Angharad Wood. Since 2021, he has been in a relationship with Italian actress Benedetta Porcaroli.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other credits

Stage

References

External links

*
Riccardo Scamarcio Fanlisting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scamarcio, Riccardo 1979 births Living people People from Trani Male actors from Apulia Italian male film actors Italian male stage actors Italian male television actors 21st-century Italian male actors Nastro d'Argento winners