Umberto Orsini (born 2 April 1934) 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. ...

. He achieved prominence as a stage actor in

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

's company, before becoming known to general audiences for his roles in RAI television dramas. He won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Visconti's '' The Damned'' (1969), and was nominated for the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' The Early Bird Catches the Worm'' (2008).

Early life

Orisini was born in Novara in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, on 2 April 1934. Prior to pursuing an acting career, he worked as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

. He enrolled in the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico 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, ...

, and graduated in 1954.

Career

He began his professional stage career as a founding member of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

's Compagnia dei Giovani, under the direction of Giorgio De Lullo and Romolo Valli. He performed with the Paolo Stoppa and Rina Morelli's company in a 1960 production of ''L'Arialda'', directed by

, and achieved critical praise for his performance as 'Nick' in a production of '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', opposite Enrico Maria Salerno. He performed extensively with Gabriele Lavia for the Teatro Eliseo, of which he was the artistic director between 1980 and 1997. After a minor role in Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'', Orsini made his official film debut in the 1960 film '' Love in Rome''. After several supporting roles, including in the star-studded international production ''Candy'', Orsini made his breakthrough in Visconti's ''The Damned'', playing a disillusioned industrialist in 1930s Germany whose anti-Nazi views leave him a target of the new regime. The role earned Orsini praise from Italian critics, and he won that year's Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actor. He would collaborate again with Visconti in the 1973 historical epic ''Ludwig'', which also reunited him with ''Damned'' co-stars Helmut Berger and Helmut Griem. Outside his native Italy, Orsini also worked in French cinema. notably playing the husband of the title character in '' Emmanuelle 2'' and '' Goodbye Emmanuelle''. Orsini found success on Italian television, becoming a regular fixture of RAI programming. He co-hosted the Sunday morning cooking show ''Colazione allo studio 7'' with Luigi Veronelli.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and recognition

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orsini, Umberto 1934 births Italian male film actors Italian male stage actors Italian male television actors Living people People from Novara Male actors from Piedmont Nastro d'Argento winners 20th-century Italian male actors 21st-century Italian male actors Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni