The Italian director, television and film actor found his way to film as a street comedian and impromptu actor in the late 1970s. In 1982, the son of a railway worker made his directorial debut with “Tu mi turbi”. The comedian had his international breakthrough in 1986 in the American production “Down by Law” by Jim Jarmusch. Since then, Roberto Benigni has become one of the most unique comedians in international film culture as a screenwriter and mime.
Roberto Benigni was born on October 27, 1952 in Misericordia, Tuscany, near Arezzo, Italy, the son of a railway worker.
Benigni grew up in modest circumstances. As early as the early 1960s he performed as a magician in a small provincial circus. In 1968, the 16-year-old left his parents’ house to travel through Tuscany as a street comedian and impromptu actor to keep his head above water. In 1972 Benigni settled in Rome, where he founded an underground political theater with friends. In 1977 Benigni made his cinema debut with a role in the film “Berlinguer ti voglio bene” by Giuseppe Bertolucci. His first directorial work came in 1982 with “Tu mi turbi” in Italian cinemas. In the following 20 years, the actor, comedian, screenwriter and director made a name for himself on several theater tours through Italy and in numerous cinema films as one of the most unique comedians in international theater and film culture.
Benigni’s success with Italian audiences was primarily based on such successful comedies as “Il piccolo diavolo” (1988) and “Johnny Stecchino” (1991), for which he was responsible as director and protagonist. Collaboration with the acclaimed director Federico Fellini in the film “La voce della luna” (1990) also contributed to his popularity. Benigni became known to a wider European and US audience through his collaboration with director Jim Jarmusch, for whom he starred in 1986’s “Down by Law” and in 1991 the legendary Roman taxi driver in the anthology film “Night on Earth”. played. However, Benigni caught the attention of a worldwide cinema audience in 1997 with the film “La vita è bella”, in which he directed and starred.
In “Life is Beautiful”, the protagonist plays an Italian concentration camp prisoner during the National Socialist period, who tries to hide the cruel reality from his little son through the creative use of games and jokes, thereby enabling him to survive. With the theme of the film, the successful comedian left the actual terrain of comedy for the first time in order to approach serious and dramatic material with its stylistic devices. In Germany in particular, however, “La vita è bella” also triggered a controversial public debate on the ethical question of whether the Holocaust could be portrayed and staged with comic elements at all. From an artistic point of view, however, Benigni undoubtedly answered this question in his favour: His cinematic interpretation of the Holocaust as a unique “comical tragedy” made a deep impression on German cinema audiences as well.
The actor starred in the 2002 comedy Pinocchio, for which he also wrote and directed. Meanwhile, Benigni has received numerous Italian and international film awards. For “La vita è bella” he received the “Ciak d’Oro” five times in 1998 and the “American Comedy Award” in Washington the following year. Also in 1999, Ben Gurion University in Beersheva, Israel, awarded him an honorary doctorate in philosophy. In October 2002, the Gorbachev Foundation named Roberto Benigni a “man of peace”. His films are messages of peace, brotherhood and tolerance throughout the world, the statement said. In October 2005, Benigni brought his new film “La tigre e la neve” to Italian cinemas, for which he directed and wrote the script, as well as starring in it.
The film deals with the subject of the US war in Iraq with the usual combination of humor and tragedy. The production was released in German cinemas in March 2006 under the title “The Tiger and the Snow”.
Roberto Benigni is married to Nicoletta Braschi and lives in Rome.
What is Roberto Benigni famous for?
Roberto Benigni, (born October 27, 1952, Misericordia, Arezzo, Italy), Italian actor and director known for his comedic work, most notably La vita è bella (1997; Life Is Beautiful), for which he won an Academy Award for best actor.
How did Roberto Benigni become famous?
Benigni became widely known in Italy in the 1970s for a television series called Onda Libera, on RAI2, produced by Renzo Arbore, in which he interpreted the satirical piece The Hymn of the Body Purged (L’inno del corpo sciolto, a scatological song about the joys of defecation).
Where was Roberto Benigni born?
Roberto Benigni was born on October 27, 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany, Italy.
Where did Roberto Benigni grow up?
Well, I grew up in Tuscany in a very poor family. My father was a farmer and my mother was a farmer, but, my childhood was very good. I am very grateful for my childhood, because it was full of gladness and good humanity. My father was never there.
How do you pronounce Roberto Benigni?
Is Roberto Benigni married?
Nicoletta Braschi is an Italian actress and producer, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director Roberto Benigni.
