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Name: Roberto Benigni
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Date of Birth:
October 27, 1952
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Place of Birth:
Misericordia, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy
Mini-bio:
Arguably the most popular Italian screen comedian since the immortal Toto, Roberto Benigni mastered the exacting art of improvisational humor early. Inspired by Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Pet... read moreer Sellers, Benigni first gained fame in his native country with his own must-see TV series, sustaining his vast following with several hilarious movie appearances. One of his best-known monologues, "Cioni Mario," was expanded into the feature film I Love You Berlinger/Berlinguer Ti Voglio Bene (1977), after which Benigni went on to star in a number of popular films in Italy. His 1991 Italian box office success, Johnny Stecchino, brought him considerable international attention. American filmgoers, however, may have become aware of his brand of comedy earlier with 1988's The Little Devil, which Benigni wrote, directed, and co-starred in with Walter Matthau. He had also been visible -- to art house audiences, at least -- as a convict in Down by Law (1986) and a Roman taxi driver confessing a bit too much information to a priest in Night on Earth (1988), both directed by Jim Jarmusch, before appearing in Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close in 1993. Having demonstrated his comedic talents to an worldwide audience, Benigni seemed an inspired casting choice for the pratfalling offspring of Inspector Clouseau in Blake Edwards' 1992 Son of the Pink Panther. Unfortunately, the role created by Peter Sellers may not have been ideal for Benigni and the comedy received little praise. The comedian more than proved himself five years later, however, co-writing, directing, and starring in Life Is Beautiful. The movie -- which had the potentially ungainly premise of a comedy set in a Nazi concentration camp -- proved to be a huge international success, both critically and commercially. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival -- where Benigni, leaping on-stage to accept the award, got down on his knees before presenter Martin Scorsese and kissed his hand -- and ultimately won a number of other awards, including Best Actor and Best Screenplay Oscars for Benigni. Accepting one of his awards, Benigni proved to be one of the more memorable aspects of the 1998 ceremony. Upon hearing of his win, he jumped up on his seat and then took to the stage, where he proceeded to proclaim -- in broken English and at great length -- his great joy and gratitude.Aside from a supporting role in the 1999 fantasy adventure Astrix and Obelix vs. Cesar Benigni remained relatively low-key in the years following his success with Life is Beautiful. Of course coming off of such success and with rumors abounding, expectations were certainly high for whatever project the eccentric actor would develop next - a factor that may have done more damage than good. Though when he originally concieved an adaptation of the timeless tale of Pinocchio Benigni envisioned the film as starring himself with famed director Federico Fellini at the helm, the director's death left Benigni the director of what would be one of the most expensive films in Italian film history. Immediately lambasted by critics upon release in 2002, the visually extravagant film proved a notable failure at the box office - with the dubbed stateside version of the film taking exceptional heat. By this point no one doubted Benigni's talent, but his misguided execution left many to wonder just how it was that the production spiraled so far out of control. Fortunately fans could take some comfort in Benigni's masterful performance on the television special L'Ultimo del paradiso later that same year. The following year Benigni turned in a memorable performance in old friend Jim Jarmusch's episodic drama Coffee and Cigarettes. Benigni married actress Nicoletta Braschi in 1991, and she appeared with him in a number of films, including Johnny Stecchino and Life Is Beautiful. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Roberto Benigni mini-bio: After his movie Vita è bella, La (1997) received seven Academy Award nominations, he met the Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and said, after shaking his hand: "Now I have the Oscar in my hand!".
When the Ulivo party won the parliamentary elections, Benigni jumped on the stage and kissed Walter Veltroni, one of the party's candidates.
His father Luigi Benigni (1918-2004), who worked as a farmer, carpenter and bricklayer, was a prisoner in the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen between 1943 and 1945. Roberto used his stories as the basis for his film Vita è bella, La (1997).
His mother Isolina Papini (1918-2004) worked as a fabric inspector.
Sister: Bruna Benigni (textile worker), born 1945.
Sister: Albertina Benigni (flower shop owner), born 1947.
Sister: Anna Benigni (teacher's aide), born 1948.
Attended a seminary in Florence, planning to become a priest.
Left the seminary after two-thirds of Florence had been flooded by the Arno River (4 November 1966).
Graduated from Instituto Tecnico Commericale Datini di Prato.
He and Laurence Olivier are the only two actors to have directed themselves in Oscar winning performances.
The first actor to win a Best Actor Oscar for a non-English speaking role.
He is the sixth actor in history to win the Oscar for Best Actor in a comedy after Clark Gable in It Happened One Night (1934), James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940), Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou (1965),Richard Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl (1977) and Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets (1997).
Benigni met wife Nicoletta Braschi on the set of Tu mi turbi (1983).
The first actor to win a Worst Actor Razzie for a non-English speaking role.
He joins Sylvester Stallone, Prince, Kevin Costner, William Shatner, and Tom Green as being the only actors to direct themselves in performances that would "win" them a Razzie Award for Worst Actor.
When he "won" the 2003 Razzie Award for Worst Actor in Pinocchio (2002), Razzies.com declared his win "By a Nose!", as he'd just barely beaten fellow nominee Steven Seagal in the film Half Past Dead (2002) by a mere few votes.
Federico Fellini considered him a genius
Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 1990
Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Guignols de l'info, Les" (1988).
Was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2 February 2007).
Candidate to be awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature for his explanation and recitations of Dante's "Divina Commedia" (2007).
Winning the Best Foreign Language Film category at the The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998) (TV), he famously climbed on the back of the seat for his procession to the stage and applauded the audience. The following year, while announcing the nominees for the Best Actress Award, Billy Crystal appeared behind him with a large net to restrain him.
Also a respected poet, known for his poesia estemporanea, and singer-songwriter.
After leading a crowd of thousand in Rome, protesting against Silvio Berlusconi's government's decision to cut state arts funding by 35 percent, he hijacked the opening credits of Italy's most watched news show, removed his shirt to drape it over the anchorman's shoulders and announced "Berlusconi had resigned!" the next day (15 September 2005).
Was a supporter of the Italian Communist Party (PCI).
Is one of five performers to win an Oscar playing a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. The other are Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Marion Cotillard and Benicio Del Toro.
