Michele Placido
Encyclopedia
Michele Placido is an internationally known Italian
actor
and director
. He is best known for the role of Corrado Cattani in the TV series La Piovra
.
into a poor family from Rionero in Vulture
, Basilicata
; he is a descendant of the known brigand Carmine Crocco
. Placido had a number of jobs since his youth. He studied acting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
in Rome
, and with Silvio D'Amico
at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his debut as an actor in the play Midsummer's Night Dream in 1969. Two years later he started film work under directors such as Luigi Comencini
, Mario Monicelli
, Salvatore Samperi
, Damiano Damiani, Francesco Rosi
, Walerian Borowczyk
, Marco Bellocchio and Carlo Lizzani. His first success came with the role of soldier Paolo Passeri in Marcia trionfale (1976, directed by Bellocchio), for which he won a David di Donatello
. Two years later he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor
award at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival
for his role of the homosexual worker in ironical melodrama Ernesto
(1978, by Samperi).
He appeared in several TV movies in 1970s, but 1983 marked the beginning of his greatest television popularity when he played the lead as a police inspector investigating the Mafia
in Damiano Damiani's TV series La Piovra
. He went on to play the same part in the subsequent three series, until his character's assassination. Afterwards he would appear as a law enforcement official in a number of other films and TV productions dealing with organized crime, including a semi-biographical movie about Giovanni Falcone
, where he acted as the titular judge. In 2008, in a reversal of roles, he portrayed longtime Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano
in the TV movie L'ultimo padrino.
Until a divorce in 1994, he was married to actress Simonetta Stefanelli
, who is best known for having played Michael Corleone
's first (Sicilian) wife in The Godfather
. Their daughter Violante Placido
is also an actress.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. He is best known for the role of Corrado Cattani in the TV series La Piovra
La Piovra
La Piovra is an acclaimed Italian Television drama miniseries about the Mafia.The story was by Sandro Petraglia. The production was designed by Luigi Perelli...
.
Life and career
Placido was born at Ascoli SatrianoAscoli Satriano
Ascoli Satriano is a town and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.-History:Ascoli was a city of the Dauni. It was the seat of two early Roman battles . Later Sulla build a military colony here.In the mid-9th century it was set on fire by the Saracens...
into a poor family from Rionero in Vulture
Rionero in Vulture
Rionero in Vulture is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is located on the slopes of Monte Vulture in the northern part of the region of Basilicata.-History:...
, Basilicata
Basilicata
Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...
; he is a descendant of the known brigand Carmine Crocco
Carmine Crocco
Carmine Crocco, known as Donatello was an Italian brigand. Initially a robber in revenge for the abuses suffered, he fought in the service of Giuseppe Garibaldi and, soon after the Italian unification, he formed an army of two thousand men, leading the most cohesive and feared band in southern...
. Placido had a number of jobs since his youth. He studied acting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film....
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and with Silvio D'Amico
Silvio D'Amico
Silvio D'Amico was an Italian theatre critic, journalist ,and theorist of Italian theater. Not a Fascist himself, D'Amico was the major theater critic during the ventennio, the twenty years of Fascist rule in Italy...
at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his debut as an actor in the play Midsummer's Night Dream in 1969. Two years later he started film work under directors such as Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the commedia all'italiana genre....
, Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...
, Salvatore Samperi
Salvatore Samperi
Salvatore Samperi was an Italian film director. His 1973 film Malicious was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival and his 1979 film Ernesto was entered into the 29th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Come Play with Me * Malicious * Ernesto...
, Damiano Damiani, Francesco Rosi
Francesco Rosi
Francesco Rosi is an Italian film director. He is the father of actress Carolina Rosi.-Biography:After studying Law, but hoping to study film, Rosi entered the industry as an assistant to Luchino Visconti on La Terra trema...
, Walerian Borowczyk
Walerian Borowczyk
Walerian Borowczyk was a Polish film director. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. His career as a film director was mainly in France.-Biography:...
, Marco Bellocchio and Carlo Lizzani. His first success came with the role of soldier Paolo Passeri in Marcia trionfale (1976, directed by Bellocchio), for which he won a David di Donatello
David di Donatello
David di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The...
. Two years later he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor
Silver Bear for Best Actor
The Silver Bear for Best Actor is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for achievement in performance by an actor.- Awards :- External links :*...
award at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival
29th Berlin International Film Festival
The 29th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 20 to March 3, 1979.-Jury:* Julie Christie* Romain Gary* Ingrid Caven* Georg Alexander* Liliana Cavani* Jörn Donner* Paul Bartel* Pál Gábor-Films in competition:...
for his role of the homosexual worker in ironical melodrama Ernesto
Ernesto (film)
Ernesto is a 1979 film directed by Salvatore Samperi and starring Martin Halm and Virna Lisi.-Plot:Ernesto , a 17 year old Jew of the 1911 Italy, abandons his family, going to live with his uncles of Trieste...
(1978, by Samperi).
He appeared in several TV movies in 1970s, but 1983 marked the beginning of his greatest television popularity when he played the lead as a police inspector investigating the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
in Damiano Damiani's TV series La Piovra
La Piovra
La Piovra is an acclaimed Italian Television drama miniseries about the Mafia.The story was by Sandro Petraglia. The production was designed by Luigi Perelli...
. He went on to play the same part in the subsequent three series, until his character's assassination. Afterwards he would appear as a law enforcement official in a number of other films and TV productions dealing with organized crime, including a semi-biographical movie about Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
, where he acted as the titular judge. In 2008, in a reversal of roles, he portrayed longtime Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
in the TV movie L'ultimo padrino.
Until a divorce in 1994, he was married to actress Simonetta Stefanelli
Simonetta Stefanelli
Simonetta Stefanelli is an Italian film actress. She is best known outside Italy for her role in The Godfather , in which she played Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone, Michael Corleone's wife...
, who is best known for having played Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his...
's first (Sicilian) wife in The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
. Their daughter Violante Placido
Violante Placido
Violante Placido is an Italian actress and singer. She is the daughter of actor-director Michele Placido and actress Simonetta Stefanelli.-Film:...
is also an actress.
Actor
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(2006) - Estrenando sueños (2005)
- Liolà (2005)
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- Soraya (2003)
- Un Papà quasi perfetto (2003)
- Il Posto dell'anima (2003)
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(2002) - Il Sequestro Soffiantini (2002)
- Tra due mondi (2001)
- Padre Pio - Tra cielo e terra (2000) (TV)
- Liberate i pesci! (2000)
- Terra bruciata (1999)
- Un Uomo perbene (1999)
- La Balia (1999)
- Panni sporchi (1999)
- Del perduto amore (1998)
- La Missione (1998)
- Le PlaisirLe PlaisirLe Plaisir , also known as House of Pleasure, is a French comedy-drama anthology film directed by Max Ophüls adapting three stories by Guy de Maupassant...
(et ses petits tracas) (1998) - Racket (1997)
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(1996) - Un Eroe borghese (1995)
- Padre e figlio (1994)
- Poliziotti (1994)
- LamericaLamerica-Plot:Gino and Fiore are Italian racketeers who come to Albania just after the fall of the communists to set up a fictive firm and pocket the grants....
(1994) - Quattro bravi ragazzi (1993)
- Le Amiche del cuore (1992)
- Uomo di rispetto (1992)
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- Scoop (1991)
- Afganskiy izlomAfghan BreakdownAfghan Breakdown is a 1990 war drama film about the Soviet war in Afghanistan directed by Vladimir Bortko and co-produced by Italy and the Soviet Union...
(1990) - La Piovra 4 (1989)
- Mery per sempreMery per sempreMery per sempre , is an Italian language dramatic film directed by Marco Risi and released in 1989. It stars Michele Placido, Claudio Amendola, Alessandro Di Sanzo, Francesco Benigno, Salvatore Termini and Tony Sperandeo.- Synopsis :...
(1989) - Via Paradiso (1988)
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(1988) - Come sono buoni i bianchi (1988)
- La Piovra 3 (1987)
- Ti presento un'amica (1987)
- Grandi magazzini (1986)
- Notte d'estate con profilo greco, occhi a mandorla e odore di basilico (1986)
- La Piovra 2 (1985)
- Pizza ConnectionPizza Connection (film)Pizza Connection is a 1985 Italian crime film directed by Damiano Damiani. It was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival where it won an Honourable Mention.-Cast:* Michele Placido as Mario Aloia* Mark Chase as Michele Aloia...
(1985) - Les Amants terribles (1984)
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(1984) - Ars amandi (1983)
- Sciopèn (1982)
- Cargo (film) (1981)
- Tre fratelli (1981)
- Les Ailes de la colombe (1981)
- LuluLulu (opera)Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
(1980) - Salto nel vuoto (A Leap in the DarkA Leap in the DarkA Leap in the Dark is a 1980 Italian film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée, who won the Best Actor and Best Actress prizes respectively at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the David di Donatello for Best Director.- Plot :Judge Mauro...
) (1980) - Letti selvaggi (1979)
- Il prato (1979)
- Sabato, domenica e venerdì (1979)
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(1977) - FontamaraFontamara (film)Fontamara is a 1977 Italian film, directed by Carlo Lizzani based on the novel of the same name by Ignazio Silone.It stars Michele Placido in the role of Berardo Viola and Antonella Murgia as Elvira....
(1977) - Kleinhoff Hotel (1977)
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- Casotto (1977)
- L'Agnese va a morire (1976)
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(1976) - Divina creatura (1976)
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- Peccati in famiglia (1975)
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(1975) - Orlando Furioso (movie) (1975)
- Mio Dio come sono caduta in basso! (1974)
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- La Mano nera - prima della mafia, più della mafia (1973)
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- Teresa la ladra (1972)
- Il Caso Pisciotta (1972)
Director
- Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del maleVallanzasca - Gli angeli del maleVallanzasca - Angels of Evil is a 2010 crime film directed by Michele Placido. Based on the biography Il fiore del male. Bandito a Milano of bank robber Renato Vallanzasca, by Italian journalist Carlo Bonini.- U.S. :...
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- Romanzo criminaleRomanzo CriminaleRomanzo Criminale is an Italian-language film released in 2005, directed by Michele Placido, a criminal drama, it was highly acclaimed and won 15 awards. It is based on Giancarlo De Cataldo's 2002 novel, which is in turn inspired by the Banda della Magliana true story...
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(1990)