Michele Placido

Michele Placido (born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, film 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 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 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. A recognizable role to US audiences is that of an Italian businessman in the 1988 comedy Big Business.
Personal life
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 8 November 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
Actor
Il caso Pisciotta (1972, Eriprando Visconti) .... Amerigo Lo Jacono
Mia moglie, un corpo per l'amore (1973, Mario Imperoli) .... Partner di Simona al night
The Black Hand (The Birth of the Mafia) (1973, Antonio Racioppi) .... Antonio Turris
Non ho tempo (1973) .... Studente
Il Picciotto (1973, TV Movie, Alberto Negrin) .... Rosario Mandalà
Teresa the Thief (1973, Carlo Di Palma) .... Tonino Santità
Till Marriage Do Us Part (1974, Luigi Comencini) .... Silvano Pennacchini
Come Home and Meet My Wife (1974, Mario Monicelli) .... Giovanni Pizzullo
Orlando Furioso (1974, TV Mini-Series, Luca Ronconi) .... Agramante
Processo per direttissima (1974, Lucio De Caro) .... Stefano Baldini
Moses the Lawgiver (1974, TV Mini-Series, Gianfranco De Bosio) .... Caleb
Scandal in the Family (1975, Bruno Gaburro) .... Milo
The Divine Nymph (1975, Giuseppe Patroni Griffi) .... Martino Ghiondelli
Marcia trionfale (1976, Marco Bellocchio) .... Paolo Passeri
And Agnes Chose to Die (1976, Giuliano Montaldo) .... Tom
La Orca (1976, Eriprando Visconti) .... Michele Turrisi
Plot of Fear (1976, Paolo Cavara) .... Inspector Gaspare Lomenzo
Oedipus Orca (1977, Eriprando Visconti) .... Michele Turrisi
Kleinhoff Hotel (1977, Carlo Lizzani) .... Pedro
Beach House (1977, Sergio Citti) .... Vincenzino
The Pyjama Girl Case (1978, Flavio Mogherini) .... Antonio Attolini
Io sono mia (1978, Sofia Scandurra) .... Giacinto
Corleone (1978, Pasquale Squitieri) .... Michele Labruzzo
Ernesto (1979, Salvatore Samperi) .... The Man
Tigers in Lipstick (1979, Luigi Zampa) .... Angelo / The Photographer
A Man on His Knees (1979, Damiano Damiani) .... Antonio Platamonte
The Meadow (1979, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani) .... Enzo
Saturday, Sunday and Friday (1979, 3 directors) .... Mario Salvetti (segment "Domenica")
A Leap in the Dark (1980, Marco Bellocchio) ... Giovanni Sciabola
Lulu (1980, Walerian Borowczyk) .... Schwarz
Fontamara (1980, Carlo Lizzani) .... Berardo Viola
Three Brothers (1981, Francesco Rosi) .... Nicola Giuranna
The Wings of the Dove (1981, Benoît Jacquot) .... Sandro
Cargo (1981, Serge Dubor) .... Giovanni
Sciopèn (1982, Luciano Odorisio) .... Francesco Maria Vitale
Ars amandi (1983, Walerian Borowczyk) .... Macarius
Les Amants terribles (1984, Danièle Dubroux and Stavros Kaplanidis) .... Sergio
La piovra (1984, TV Mini-Series, Damiano Damiani) .... Commissario Corrado Cattani
La piovra, (1985, TV Mini-Series, Florestano Vancini) .... Commissario Corrado Cattani
Pizza Connection (1985, Damiano Damiani) .... Mario Aloia
Summer Night (1986, Lina Wertmüller) .... Beppe Catanìa
Grandi magazzini (1986, Castellano & Pipolo) .... Director
La piovra, (1987, TV TV Mini-Series, Luigi Perelli) .... Commissario Corrado Cattani
Come sono buoni i bianchi (1988, Marco Ferreri) .... Michele
Private Affairs (1988, Francesco Massaro) .... Lionello Martini
Big Business (1988, Jim Abrahams) .... Fabio Alberici
Via Paradiso (1988, Luciano Odorisio) .... Francesco
La piovra, (1989, TV Mini-Series, Luigi Perelli) ... Commissario Corrado Cattani
Mery per sempre (1989, Marco Risi) .... Marco Terzi
Afghan Breakdown (1991, Vladimir Bortko) .... Major Bandura
Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel (1992, TV miniseries, Paul Krasny) .... Col. Roberto Chavez
Scoop (1992, TV TV Mini-Series, José María Sánchez) .... Marco Bonilli
Close Friends (1992, Michele Placido) .... father of Simona
Uomo di rispetto (1992, TV Movie, Damiano Damiani) .... Nino
Quattro bravi ragazzi (1993, Claudio Camarca) .... Marcione
Giovanni Falcone (1993) .... Giovanni Falcone
Father and Son (1994, Pasquale Pozzessere) .... Corrado
Lamerica (1994, Gianni Amelio) .... Fiore
Policemen (1994, Giulio Base) .... Sante Carella
Un eroe borghese (1995, Michele Placido) .... Silvio Novembre
La Lupa (1996, Gabriele Lavia) .... Malerba
Racket (1997, TV Mini-Series, Luigi Perelli) .... Guido Gerosa
La Missione (1998, TV Movie, Maurizio Zaccaro) .... Padre Ramboni
(1998, Nicolas Boukhrief) .... Carlo
Of Lost Love (1998, Michele Placido) .... Don Gerardo
Dirty Linen (1999, Mario Monicelli) .... Furio Cimin
The Nanny (1999, Marco Bellocchio) .... Belli Estate Patient
A Respectable Man (1999, Maurizio Zaccaro) .... Enzo Tortora
Terra bruciata (1999, Fabio Segatori) .... Fra' Salvatore
Free the Fish (2000) .... Michele Verrio
Padre Pio - Tra cielo e terra (2000, TV Movie) .... Padre Pio da Pietralcina
Tra due mondi (2001) .... Uzeda
Il Sequestro Soffiantini (2002, TV Movie) .... Giuseppe Soffiantini
Searching for Paradise (2002) .... Giorgio Mattei
Mario Monicelli, l'artigiano di Viareggio (2002) .... Himself
Il posto dell'anima (2003) .... Salvatore
(2003, TV Movie) .... Enrico Mattei
Un papà quasi perfetto (2003, TV Mini-Series) .... Michele Salvi
Love Returns (2004) .... Dottor Bianco
The Smell of Blood (2004) .... Carlo
Caterina in the Big City (2003) .... Himself (Special Guest)
Il Grande Torino (2005, TV Movie) .... Angelo, 2004
Estrenando sueños (2005) .... Padre Freddo
Liolà (2005)
The Goodbye Kiss (2006) .... Anedda
The Caiman (2006) .... Marco Pulici / Silvio Berlusconi
Karol: The Pope, The Man (2006, TV Movie) .... Dr. Renato Buzzonetti
The Unknown Woman (2006) .... Muffa
The Roses of the Desert (2006) .... Frate Simeone
Commediasexi (2006) .... Salvatore Lisassi
SoloMetro (2007) .... Enrico Alvari
Piano, solo (2007) .... Giovanni
2061: An Exceptional Year (2007) .... Cardinale Bonifacio Colonna
L'ultimo padrino (2008, TV Movie) .... Bernardo Provenzano
The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider (2008) .... Count Sternberk
La luna nel deserto (2008, short) .... Leone (voice)
Aldo Moro - Il presidente (2008, TV Movie) .... Aldo Moro
Blood of the Losers (2008) .... Commissario Franco Dogliani
Focaccia blues (2009) .... Proiezionista
Baarìa (2009) .... Communist
The Big Dream (2009) .... Andrea
Oggi sposi (2009) .... Sabino Impanato
Parents and Children: Shake Well Before Using (2010) .... Alberto
Manuale d'amore 3 (2011) .... Augusto
Amici miei – Come tutto ebbe inizio (2011) .... Duccio Villani di Masi
Tulpa (2012) .... Roccaforte
The Lookout (2012) .... Giovanni
Viva l'Italia (2012) .... Michele Spagnolo
Razza bastarda (2012) .... Avv. Silvestri
Itaker - Vietato agli italiani (2012) .... Pantano'
Living Legends (2014) .... Christiano Negri
The Choice (2015) .... Emilio Nicotri
Io che amo solo te (2015) .... Domenico Scagliusi aka don Mimì
Un'avventura romantica (2016) .... Vittorio De Sica
7 Minutes (2016) .... Michele Varazzi, il proprietario della fabbrica
La cena di Natale (2016) .... Don Mimì
Lectura Ovidii (2019) .... Himself
I Hate Summer (2020) .... Marshal of Carabinieri
Caravaggio's Shadow (2022) .... Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte
Director
Pummarò (1990)
Close Friends (1992)
Un eroe borghese (1995)
Of Lost Love (1998)
Un Altro mondo è possibile (2001)
A Journey Called Love (2002)
Ovunque sei (2004)
Romanzo criminale (2005)
The Big Dream (2009)
L'Aquila 2009 - Cinque registi tra le macerie (2009)
Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male (2010)
Le Guetteur (2012)
The Choice (2015)
7 Minutes (2016)
Caravaggio's Shadow (2022)
References
External links
1946 births
Living people
20th-century Italian male actors
21st-century Italian male actors
Italian male film actors
Italian film directors
Italian screenwriters
Italian male screenwriters
People of Lucanian descent
People from the Province of Foggia
Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia alumni
David di Donatello winners
Nastro d'Argento winners
Ciak d'oro winners
Silver Bear for Best Actor winners
Italian stage actors