Michele Placido

Michele Placido
Born	(1946-05-19) 19 May 1946 Ascoli Satriano, Apulia, Italy
Alma mater	Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico
Occupations	Actor film director screenwriter
Years active	1972–present
Spouses	Simonetta Stefanelli ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 1994)​ Federica Vincenti ​ ​ (m. 2012; div. 2017)​
Children	4, including Violante
Relatives	Gerardo Amato (brother)

Michele Placido (Italian: [miˈkɛːle ˈplaːtʃido]; 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 Bellocchio, winning the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Actor for his performance in the 1979 film Ernesto. He is known internationally for portraying police inspector Corrado Cattani on the crime drama television series La piovra (1984–2001). Placido's directorial debut, Pummarò, was screened Un Certain Regard at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Three of his films have competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He is a five-time Nastro d'Argento and four-time David di Donatello winner. In 2021, Placido was appointed President of the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara.

Early life

Placido was born at Ascoli Satriano, 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. For a time, he worked as a police officer in Rome, and was involved in the Battle of Valle Giulia. He studied acting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, and with Silvio D'Amico at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica.

Career

Placido in 1975's The Divine Nymph

Placido made his debut as an actor in the play Midsummer Night's Dream in 1969. Two years later he started film work under directors such as Luigi Comencini, Mario Monicelli, Salvatore Samperi, Damiano Damiani, Pasquale Squitieri, Francesco Rosi, Walerian Borowczyk, Marco Bellocchio, Paolo Cavara 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 the 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 seasons, 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. A recognizable role to US audiences is that of an Italian businessman in the 1988 comedy Big Business.

Personal life

Placido and his second wife Federica Vincenti, 2008

Until a divorce in 1994, he was married to actress Simonetta Stefanelli. Their daughter Violante Placido is also an actress.

In 2012, he married actress Federica Vincenti (born 1983) after over 10 years of dating. The couple divorced in December 2017.

He supported the candidacy for mayor of Rome of the italian entrepreneur Alfio Marchini in the 2016 Italian local elections. His nephew, Alessandro Onorato, is the Councilor for Major Events, Sport and Tourism for Rome.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1972	Il caso Pisciotta	Amerigo LoJacono	Feature film debut
1973	The Black Hand	Antonio Turris
	Teresa the Thief	Tonino Santità
1974	Till Marriage Do Us Part	Silvio Pennacchini
	Come Home and Meet My Wife	Giovanni
	Scandal in the Family	Milo
1975	The Divine Nymph	Martino Ghiondelli
1976	Prisoner of Passion	Michele
	Victory March	Paolo Passeri
	And Agnes Chose to Die	Tom
	Plot of Fear	Inspector Gaspare Lomenzo
1977	Oedipus Orca	Michele
	Kleinhoff Hotel	Pedro
	Beach House	Vincenzino
1978	The Pyjama Girl Case	Antonio Attolini
	Io sono Mia	Giacinto
	Father of the Godfathers	Michele Labruzzo
1979	Ernesto	The Porter
	Tigers in Lipstick	Angelo	Segment: "La vedova"
	A Man on His Knees	Salvatore Platamona
	The Meadow	Enzo
	Saturday, Sunday and Friday	Mario Salvetti	Segment: "Sunday"
1980	A Leap in the Dark	Giovanni Sciabola
	Lulù	Schwarz
	Fontamara	Berardo Viola
1981	Three Brothers	Nicola Giuranna
	The Wings of the Dove	Sandro
1982	Sciopèn	Francesco Vitale
1983	L'art d'aimer	Macarius
1984	Les amants terribles	Sergio
1985	Pizza Connection	Mario Vialone
1986	Summer Night	Beppe Catania
	Grandi magazzini	Mall's Owner
1987	Private Affairs	Lionello Martini
1988	Come sono buoni i bianchi	Michele
	Big Business	Fabio Alberici
	Via Paradiso	Francesco
1989	Forever Mary	Marco Terzi
1990	Afghan Breakdown	Major Mikhail Bandura
1992	Close Friends	Simona's father	Also writer and director
1993	Quattro bravi ragazzi	Marcione
	Giovanni Falcone	Giovanni Falcone
1994	Father and Son	Corrado
	Lamerica	Fiore
1995	Policemen	Sante Carella
	Un eroe borghese	Silvio Novembre	Also director
1996	La lupa	Malerba
1998	Le Plaisir (et ses petits tracas)	Carlo
	Of Lost Love	Father Gerardo	Also writer and director
1999	Dirty Linen	Furio Cimin
	The Nanny	Belli
	A Respectable Man	Enzo Tortora
	Terra bruciata	Fra' Salvatore
2000	Free the Fish	Michele Verrio
2001	Once Upon a Time in Sicily	Uzeda
2003	The Soul's Place	Salvatore
	Caterina in the Big City	Himself	Cameo appearance
2004	Love Returns	Dr. Bianco
	The Scent of Blood	Carlo
2005	Romanzo Criminale	Freddo's father	Also writer and director
2006	The Goodbye Kiss	Ferruccio Anedda
	The Caiman	Marco Pulici / Silvio Berlusconi
	The Unknown Woman	Muffa
	The Roses of the Desert	Brother Simeone
	Commediasexi	Salvatore Lisass
2007	SoloMetro	Enrico Alvari	Also producer
	Piano, solo	Giovanni
	2061: An Exceptional Year	Cardinal Bonifacio Colonna
2008	Blood of the Losers	Franco Dogliani
2009	Baarìa	Communist	Cameo appearance
	Oggi sposi	Sabino Impanato
2010	Parents and Children: Shake Well Before Using	Alberto
2011	The Ages of Love	Augusto
	Amici miei – Come tutto ebbe inizio	Duccio
2012	Tulpa	Roccaforte
	The Lookout	Giovanni Cali	Also director
	Viva l'Italia	Michele Spagnolo
	The Mongrel	Attorney Silvestri
2015	The Choice	Emilio Nicotri	Also writer and director
	Io che amo solo te	Father Mimì
2016	Un'avventura romantica	Vittorio De Sica
	7 Minutes	Michele Varazzi	Also writer and director
	La cena di Natale	Father Mimì
2020	I Hate Summer	Marshal
	Calibro 9	Rocco
2021	Un marziano di nome Ennio	Vittorio De Sica
	Appunti di un venditore di donne	Amedeo Sangiorgi
2022	Corro da te	Gianni's father
	Burning Hearts	Vincenzo Montanari
	Caravaggio's Shadow	Francesco Maria del Monte	Also writer and director
2024	Eterno visionario	Saul Colin

Television

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1971	K2 + 1	Delivery Boy	Episode: "10° marito"
1972	Joe Petrosino	Carlo Costantino	3 episodes
1974	Moses the Lawgiver	Caleb	Main role
1975	Orlando Furioso	Agramante	Main role
1978	Yerma	Victor	Television film
	Volontari per destinazione ignota	Paolo Stella	Television film
1984–1989	La piovra	Inspector Corrado Cattani	Lead role (season 1-4)
1985	Il passo falso	Gabriele	Television film
1992	Scoop	Marco Bonelli	Lead role
1993	Un uomo di rispetto	Nino	Television film
1997	Racket	Guido Gerosa	Television film
1998	La missione	Father Ramboni	Television film
2000	Padre Pio: Between Heaven and Earth	Padre Pio	Two-parts television film
2002	Il sequestro Soffiantini	Giuseppe Soffiantini	Two-parts television film
2003	Soraya	Enrico Mattei	Two-parts television film
2005	Il Grande Torino	Older Angelo	Television film
2006	Karol: The Pope, The Man	Dr. Renato Buzzonetti	Two-parts television film
2008	L'altro padrino	Bernardo Provenzano	Two-parts television film
	Aldo Moro: Il presidente	Aldo Moro	Television film
2013	Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno	Vittorio De Sica	Two-parts television film
	Trilussa - Storia d'amore e di poesia	Trilussa	Television film
2015–2016	In Treatment	Guido	Recurring role; 7 episodes
2022	Noi	Himself	Episode: "La luna"

Other credits

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1990	Pummarò	Director writer	Directing debut
1991	The Conviction	Producer
1992	Close Friends	Director writer actor
1995	Un eroe borghese	Director actor
1998	Of Lost Love	Director writer actor
2002	A Journey Called Love	Director writer
2004	Ovunque sei	Director writer
2005	Romanzo Criminale	Director actor
2007	SoloMetro	Producer actor
	L'uomo giusto	Producer
2009	The Big Dream	Director writer
2010	Angel of Evil	Director writer
	Vampyre Compendium	Producer	Short film
2012	The Lookout	Director actor
2015	The Choice	Director writer actor
2016	Calypso	Producer
	7 Minutes	Director writer actor
2017	Suburra: Blood on Rome	Director	TV series (episodes: "21 giorni" and "Patrizi e plebei")
2021	Isolation	Director	Documentary
2022	Caravaggio's Shadow	Director writer actor
	Presto sarà domani	Director	Short film
2024	Eterno visionario	Director writer actor

External links

• Michele Placido at IMDb