Just a little over a month ago, a new star has been added to the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard: it's the one dedicated to the multi-award winner and Oscar nominated Italian actor and screenwriter Giancarlo Giannini who has also lent his voice to Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino, as an established voice actor.
Winner also of four David di Donatello Awards for Best Actor, he is known internationally for his role in Ridley Scott’s Hannibal (2001), where he played Inspector Pazzi, as well for his role in two James Bond movies, Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008), along with Daniel Craig.
Don’t miss the chance to review some of Giannini’s best performances on the Italian Cinema Icons section on Movieitaly, the first streaming platform all’italiana, using a special discount dedicated to WeTheItalians magazine readers for 10% OFF on the Yearly Subscription: Movieitaly4WTI.
At 80 and visibly excited, the interpreter uncovered the iconic red star tile engraved with his name in brass lettering in the Los Angeles Walk of Fame. He is the 16th Italian star to ever receive the acknowledgement, joining Rodolfo Valentino, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Anna Magnani, Ennio Morricone, Bernardo Bertolucci and of course the brilliant director Lina Wertmüller, honoured by a star on the Walk of Fame in 2019 and winner of the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2020.
Giannini, tied to the director by a fruitful, life-long work partnership, has dedicated to the recently passed Wertmüller, recognising the impact of her genius in his career. Some of his most recognizable and appreciated roles that led him to success are indeed from Wertmüller cults The Seduction of Mimi (1972) and Love and Anarchy (1973), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor.
Both films, currently available on Movieitaly in their 4K restorations in original language with English subtitles, are irreverent comedies featuring lucid and witty political commentary, colourful characters, and paradoxical stories that Giannini himself wrote together with the director, inspired by real people whom they met in Cinecittà and in the streets of Naples and Sicily. They take the viewer across all Italian regions to unveil the reality of all social classes with irony, painting a portrait of the country both realistic and absurd, which makes them so iconic and impactful everywhere in the world to this day.
Versatile performer, with great depth both in his dramatic range and in his comedic tones, he has starred also in many other famous Italian movies, collecting accolades, and entering the national imaginary with his unforgettable presence. Honour Giannini’s impressive career by discovering his other thrilling award-winning roles on Movieitaly like the historical comedy ‘O Re – The King of Naples (1989), alongside the beautiful Ornella Muti, and the spell-binding political drama Bankers of God – I Banchieri di Dio (2002) on the famous Calvi scandal that shook an entire country, starring also a young Alessandro Gassman.
Movieitaly features many masterpieces that have made history but also offers a vast selection of Italian cinema to cater the needs of those who love genre, comedies and popular cinema: swords&sandals, giallos, 70s and 80s horrors, and of course even Adriano Celentano! All in original language with English subtitles, with a special collection with French subtitles, for real cinema lovers across the world.
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