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- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of TV's finest comedic actresses, Cynthia Stevenson was born in Oakland, California, to Al Stevenson, an upholstery warehouse owner and Gayle Stevenson née Boniface, an editor. She moved north with her mother and brother, Gregory, to Bellevue, Washington and then to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood.
Cynthia took her first step toward an acting career in the University of Victoria's Phoenix Theatre Program. Cynthia returned to California to complete her training, attending the renowned American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, and the Drama Studio London at Berkeley.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Cynthia found roles with an improv group and in two local theatre productions, one of which was a long-running hit, "The Ladies Room," written and directed by Robin Schiff and produced by Heartaches (1915), which brought Cynthia critical acclaim for her comedic skills. Because of this work, she landed an immediate job on a TV sketch comedy, Off the Wall (1986), where she was featured in 26 episodes.
Cynthia quickly built her resume with guest parts on popular sitcoms, including "Max Headroom," "Empty Nest," "The Famous Teddy Z.," "Newhart," Major Dad" and many others. In between came her first starring role as talk show host Jennifer Bass in My Talk Show (1990), an original, offbeat nightly series, described as the "first cult hit" of the 1990s. It proved to be Cynthia's big break, as director Above the Limit (1900) noticed and cast her as Bonnie Sherow opposite star Photographing a Ghost (1898) in the Oscar nominated film The Player (1992).
Legendary TV producers Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner chose Cynthia for a recurring guest spot on their iconic hit series Cheers (2011). The producers then tapped her for a co-starring role in their next sitcom Bob (1992) playing the daughter of cartoonist Bob Newhart. That performance, in turn, inspired the same production team to create a new show Hope & Gloria (1995) especially for Cynthia. Co-starring as Hope opposite Jessica Lundy (as Gloria), the talented cast included Tiffani Thiessen and Enrico Colantoni. Whenever talking about her career path, Cynthia has always been quick to point out that it was Cherie and Bill Steinkellner who gave it movement and direction.
With a versatility that has moved easily between TV and film, Cynthia had top roles in several 1990's character-driven ensemble features, such as Watch It (1993), produced by David Brown and written and directed by [link-nm0002368]; Forget Paris (1995), written, produced, directed and starring Billy Crystal; Home for the Holidays (1995) produced and directed by Jodie Foster; Live Nude Girls (1995) written and directed by Julianna Lavin and Happiness (1998), written and directed by Love or Riches (1911). In addition she has been a recurring guest on network and cable shows, including "Ally McBeal," "Monk," "Six Feet Under," "According to Jim" and "The L. Word."
When Lifetime decided to enter into the half hour comedy business, they tapped Cynthia for the lead role in Susan Beavers' Oh Baby (1998), an innovative, first-person take on single motherhood created by Children of Mata Hari (1970). It ran for two years. She then relocated to Vancouver (known as "Hollywood North") where she starred as the troubled Joy Lass in the long-running Showtime favorite Dead Like Me (2003). While working in Vancouver, Cynthia was featured in several family films, including Agent Cody Banks (2003) and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), plus her repeating role as Jackie Framm in Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998) and its five subsequent comedies for Disney, and the TV movie A Little Thing Called Murder (2006) opposite Judy Davis and directed by In Little Italy (1909).
Before leaving Canada and returning to Southern California in 2008, Cynthia had a regular role as a feisty female sheriff on ABC's Men in Trees (2006) and also starred in Lifetime TV's Christmas comedy Will You Merry Me? (2008), as well as the films Neverwas (2005), Case 39 (2009), I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009), Jennifer's Body (2009), and the long-awaited Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009).
Cynthia's busy roster continues to expand back home with roles in such films as Reunion (2009), Tiger Eyes (2012) and Baja (2018). TV guest appearances have included such popular programs as "Life Unexpected," "Grey's Anatomy," "Off the Map," "Chaos," "Private Practice," "Sleepy Hollow" and "Supergirl," with recurring roles on Your Family or Mine (2015) and How to Get Away with Murder (2014).
Cynthia lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and son.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Alex Hirsch is an animator, television writer, and voice actor from Piedmont, California. His primary claim to fame is serving as the show creator for the hit animated series "Gravity Falls" (2012-2016), a mystery comedy series where twin protagonists investigate the local mysteries of a strange town in Oregon. Hirsch also served as the voice actor for Grunkle Stan/Stan Pines, his sidekick Soos Ramirez, and the demon Bill Cipher.
In 1985, Hirsch and his twin sister Ariel were born in Piedmont, California. Piedmont is a small city, which had about 10,500 residents in 1980. It is completely surrounded by the neighboring city of Oakland. Piedmond has a reputation for racial segregation, and was formerly identified as a "sundown town" (an all-white municipality where "colored people" had to leave town by sundown).
Hirsch reportedly has Jewish descent on his father's side of the family, but he was raised to be agnostic. The family regularly celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, without sharing in theistic beliefs. From 1994 to 1998, Hirsch and his sister Ariel spend their summer vacations living with their great-aunt Lois in a cabin in the woods. Hirsch has credited these summer vacations as an inspiration for "Gravity Falls".
Hirsch received his secondary education at Piedmont High School, a co-educational school established in 1922. The school was highlighted in news stories during the 1990s, when it was discovered that its social clubs and charity organizations were actually drinking clubs for students. In 2002, Hirsch won the school's annual Bird Calling Contest. Shortly after, he had a guest star appearance in "Late Show with David Letterman".
Hirsch received his college education at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts, 1961-), a private art university located in Santa Clarita, California. The university has a decades-long history of training aspiring animators. During his college years, Hirsch developed several animated short films. One of his films was chosen by Nicktoons Network for broadcast as part of their short-lived variety series "Shorts in a Bunch" (2007). In 2006, while still a college student, Hirsch was hired by the animation studio Laika to work in an upcoming animated feature. The film ended in development hell. Hirsch graduated from CalArts in 2007.
Shortly after his graduation, Hirsch was hired as a writer and storyboard artist for an animated series which was still in its development stages. It was "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" (2008-2010), which lasted for 3 seasons and 46 episodes. The series focused on an innocent young boy who finds a mentor in the person of the ill-tempered Captain K'nuckles, an Irish pirate who has semi-retired due to old age. The series was noted for its steampunk-like depictions of the 19th century, and for its moral ambiguity.
Hirsch was later credited with the development of the animated series "Fish Hooks" (2010-2014), which lasted for 3 seasons and 110 episodes. The series featured anthropomorphic fish in an high school setting. Part of the plot focused on the unrequited love of the character Oscar for his best friend Bea Goldfishberg, while she was oblivious to his affections for most of the series' duration. For this series, Hirsch voiced the recurring character Clamantha. She was the school's head cheerleader who had an unrequited love for Oscar. The series had an unusual visual style, a mix of 2D digital animation and photo collages. It won a BAFTA award, and was nominated for several other awards.
In 2012, Hirsch launched his own animated series, "Gravity Falls" (2012-2016). Hirsch reportedly based several of the characters on members of his family and past acquaintances. It featured twin siblings Dipper and Mabel Pines investigating paranormal incidents in a small town of Oregon. The series started with monster-of-the-week episodes, but had a series-wide story arc concerning a number of peculiar journals and their initially unnamed author. The series received critical acclaim and high ratings, winning two Emmy Awards, three Annie Awards, and a BAFTA Children's Award. The series lasted for 2 seasons and 40 episodes, with Hirsch not interested in further continuing its plots.
In 2018, Hirsch published a graphic novel based on "Gravity Falls". It became a New York Times Best Seller. Also in 2018, Hirsh served as a story contributor to the animated film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse". In 2020, Hirsch started voicing several characters in the animated series "The Owl House" (2020-). The series was created by animator Dana Terrace, who is Hirsch's longtime girlfriend.
In 2021, Hirsch started serving as an executive producer for the science fiction comedy series "Inside Job" (2021-). The series focuses on a shadow government organization which strives to keep secret a number of conspiracies. The series is largely inspired by real-life conspiracy theories. It features (among other things) reptilian shapeshifters, human-animal hybrids, and survivors from the hollow Earth. The series has received critical praise for both its satirical elements, and for its semi-realistic portrayal of real-life problems, such as "office politics, sexism, classism, jingoism".
As of 2022, Hirsch is 36-years-old, and has no interest in retiring. He remains popular among animation fans, and he has been noted for his vocal criticism of censorship in the medium.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi was born on 16 November 1964 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress and writer, known for Like Crazy (2016), Il est plus facile pour un chameau... (2003) and Human Capital (2013).- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Cristina Serafini was born in Turin, Italy, the only child of a journalist and a restaurant owner. She soon decided to pursue an acting career and won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Scuola del Teatro Stabile di Torino, founded by Italian director Luca Ronconi. She speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish. Serafini has appeared in 29 films and television series since the early 2000s, including: Il Divo (2008), Colpo d'occhio (2008), Good and Evil (2009), Il peccato e la vergogna (2010) and Valzer (2007) which was screened at the 64th Venice International Film Festival. Serafini made her film début in the 2006 film Sono tornato al nord (2006). Serafini's first significant role came in Roberto Cuzzillo's Senza fine (2008) as a young homosexual, winning her critical and commercial recognition, as well as the Best Actress in a Leading Role Award at 2009 Chieti Film Festival directed by Roberto Faenza.
In 2011 Serafini was selected for four lead roles. She played the role of Alessandro Gassmann's fiancée in Un Natale per due (2011) and received the Best Rising Italian Actress Award at International Euro-Mediterranean Awards, Rome, Italy.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Stefania Rocca was born on 24 April 1971 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress and director, known for Nirvana (1997), Rosa e Cornelia (2000) and Viol@ (1998).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Marta Gastini was born on 2 October 1989 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress and producer, known for The Rite (2011), Dracula 3D (2012) and Autumn Lights (2016).- Music Department
- Composer
- Actress
Carla Bruni was born on 23 December 1967 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is a composer and actress, known for Midnight in Paris (2011), 500 Days of Summer (2009) and The Lake House (2006). She has been married to Nicolas Sarkozy since 2 February 2008. They have one child.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Producer
Milena Canonero grew up in Genoa. She studied design and costume in Genoa before moving to England to finish her studies. Milena's film career started with Stanley Kubrick, designing the costumes for three of his films: Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), winning her first of her four academy awards, and The Shining (1980). Milena has worked with Alan Parker, Midnight Express (1978), Hugh Hudson, Chariots of Fire (1981) her second Oscar. Francis F. Coppola, Cotton Club (1984), Godfather III (1990), Sydney Pollock, Out of Africa (1985), Louis Malle, Damage (1992), Warren Beatty, Dick Tracy (1990) and Bulworth (1998) Julie Taymor, Titus (1999) Roman Polanski, Carnage (2011), and the legendary director, Manoel De Oliveira, Belle Toujours (2006), Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette (2006) brought her third Oscar. She has also production designed Barbet Schroeder's Single White Female (1992) and Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli's Last Summer 2014 and designed costumes for opera productions at La Scala, The Vienna opera House, The Metropolitan Opera and the Garnier Opera de Paris. She was also a producer on Romeo and Juliet (2013). Canonero has collaborated with Wes Anderson on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) winning her fourth Oscar.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Pilar Fogliati was born on 28 December 1992 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress and writer, known for Romantiche (2023), Romeo è Giulietta (2024) and Finché notte non ci separi.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Born in Turin, he got a degree in Economics and Business in 2004. In 2005, he made his acting debut in the TV series "Carabinieri" and a year later on the big screen in "A casa nostra", directed by Francesca Comencini. In 2007, he appeared on the big screen again in "Saturno contro", directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, and in "Lezioni di cioccolato", directed by Claudio Cupellini. In 2008, he starred in the movie "Solo un padre" by Luca Lucini, and in 2009 "Diverso da chi?", directed by Umberto Carteni, with Claudia Gerini, and was nominated for a David di Donatello as best leading actor. That same year he was in Michele Placido's "Il grande sogno" with Jasmine Trinca and Riccardo Scamarcio, as the leader of the 1968 student protest movement, and after a series of successful comedies, he appeared in two international movies: Ryan Murphy's "Eat Pray Love" with Julia Roberts, and "Le Guetteur" with Daniel Auteil. In 2020, he starred in the TV series "Doc - nelle tue mani" which was wildly popular in Italy - gathering an audience share of over 30% - as well as worldwide (Spain, Portugal, France, England, Australia, New Zealand, and some Latin American countries). The second season was equally successful. He also starred in the Disney Plus series "Le Fate Ignoranti", directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, based on the movie of the same name. Since 2012, he's been vice-president of the NPO 1caffe.org which has revived the historic tradition of the "pending coffee" as an act of charity for people in need.- She was born Maria Luisa Lucia Allasio, the daughter of Lucia Rocchietti and Federico Allasio, a successful football player (for Genoa and Torino) and latterly coach (of Bologna, Lazio and Cagliari). Educated in Genoa, Maria won a beauty pageant ("Miss Lido") at the age of fourteen. This did not go unnoticed in the press and magazines published pin-ups of her, which led to the girl pushing her parents to enrol her in Rome's Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica. Discovered there by the producer/director Carlo Ponti, she appeared on the screen from 1952 and had a leading role in the crime drama Cuore di mamma (1954), now billed as Marisa Allasio. Blonde and well-proportioned, she was soon touted as the 'Italian Jayne Mansfield', though her screen personae rarely strayed from the straight and narrow. In Italy, she became popular as Anna in Luigi Zampa's Ragazze d'oggi (1955) and as Giovanna in Dino Risi's Belle ma povere (1957), both romantic comedies. Marisa gained some international exposure through her appearance in Seven Hills of Rome (1957), starring the opera singer Mario Lanza.
Her career ended abruptly upon her marriage to Count Pier Francesco Vittorio Maria Agostino Luca Frediano Calvi di Bergolo, nephew of the former King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, on November 10 1958. As a bona fide countess, she resided in the Piedmontese Castle of Pomaro Monferrato. In a 1985 interview, she confessed that her sole regret was having spurned the role of Angelica Sedara in The Leopard (1963). offered her by director Luchino Visconti (it went to Claudia Cardinale instead). - Aurora Ruffino was born on 22 May 1989 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress, known for The Solitude of Prime Numbers (2010) and White as Milk, Red as Blood (2013).
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Renzo Montagnani was born on 11 September 1930 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor, known for When Women Had Tails (1970), When Women Lost Their Tails (1972) and The Betrothed (1989). He died on 22 May 1997 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Alma Noce was born on 29 October 1999 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress, known for L'arte della gioia (2024), The Girl Flew (2021) and The Best Years (2020).
- Actress
- Director
Elena Radonicich was born on 5 February 1985 in Moncalieri, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress and director, known for In My Room (2018), Banat: The Journey (2015) and Fabrizio De André: Principe libero (2018).- Valeria Cavalli was born on 1 November 1959 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress, known for Double Team (1997), Joseph (1995) and The Past (2013).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Andrea Bosca graduated at Teatro Stabile School in Torino founded by Director Luca Ronconi. He became part of Teatro Stabile di Torino Company. Since 2004 he also worked in different international and national projects between Cinema and Tv, switching languages and physicality, developing diverse, challenging and truthful characters. He speaks Italian, English, Spanish and French.
He's known for movies like "Si Può Fare - We Can Do It" , "Noi Credevamo - We Believed" by Mario Martone (Silver Ribbon Award) , "Febbre da Fieno - Hay Fever" by Laura Luchetti, "Gli Sfiorati - The Drifters" by Matteo Rovere (Biraghi Award) and "Magnifica Presenza" by Ferzan Ozpetek.
He worked in international Tv projects like "Medici - Master Of Florence", the American ABC series "Quantico" along with Priyanka Chopra. He lately starred in very popular Italian Tv Series like "La Porta Rossa - The Red Door" , "Made In Italy - The Series", "Romanzo Famigliare" by Francesca Archibugi".
He's starring in the Amazon Exclusive "3 Caminos" about The Way of St. James in Spain.
He's the author and the performer of the show "La Luna e i Falò" from the book by Cesare Pavese, currently on national tour. He won a Special Silver Ribbon Award for his short movie "A Tutto Tondo" for social attention.
He's one of the founders of the Onlus #Everychildismychild that built the "PlasterShoolSyria" for the Syrian Children Refugees.
Son of a baker, he's still very keen on cooking and baking. He likes to run, to sing, martial arts, skating and athletics. He has a deep passion for lyrics, verses, poetry and freestyle rap.- Umberto Orsini was born on 2 April 1934 in Novara, Piedmont, Italy. He is an actor, known for The Damned (1969), Emmanuelle 3 (1977) and Solomon (1997).
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder, Professor Gates has authored or co-authored twenty-four books and created twenty-one documentary films, including Wonders of the African World, African American Lives, Faces of America, Black in Latin America, Black America since MLK: And Still I Rise, Africa's Great Civilizations, and Finding Your Roots, his groundbreaking genealogy series now in its sixth season on PBS. His six-part PBS documentary series, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (2013), which he wrote, executive produced, and hosted, earned the Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Program-Long Form, as well as the Peabody Award, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, and N.A.A.C.P. Image Award. Professor Gates's latest project is the history series, Reconstruction: America after the Civil War (PBS, 2019), and the related books, Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow, with Tonya Bolden (Scholastic, 2019), and Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow (Penguin Random House, 2019).
Having written for such leading publications as The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Time, Professor Gates serves as chairman of TheRoot.com, a daily online magazine he co-founded in 2008, and chair of the Creative Board of Fusion TV. He oversees the Oxford African American Studies Center, the first comprehensive scholarly online resource in the field, and has received grant funding to develop a Finding Your Roots curriculum to teach students science through genetics and genealogy. In 2012, The Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Reader, a collection of his writings edited by Abby Wolf, was published.
The recipient of fifty-five honorary degrees and numerous prizes, Professor Gates was a member of the first class awarded "genius grants" by the MacArthur Foundation in 1981, and in 1998, he became the first African American scholar to be awarded the National Humanities Medal. He was named to Time's 25 Most Influential Americans list in 1997, to Ebony's Power 150 list in 2009, and to Ebony's Power 100 list in 2010 and 2012. He earned his B.A. in English Language and Literature, summa cum laude, from Yale University in 1973, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature from Clare College at the University of Cambridge in 1979. In 2018, he was one of 15 alumni of African descent honored in the exhibition, Black Cantabs: History Makers, at the Cambridge University Library. Professor Gates has directed the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research-now the Hutchins Center-since arriving at Harvard in 1991, and during his first fifteen years on campus, he chaired the Department of Afro-American Studies as it expanded into the Department of African and African American Studies with a full-fledged doctoral program. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and serves on a wide array of boards, including the New York Public Library, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Aspen Institute, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Library of America, and the Brookings Institution. In 2017, the Organization of American States named Gates a Goodwill Ambassador for the Rights of People of African Descent in the Americas. His portrait, by Yuqi Wang, hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Piero Piccioni was born in Turin (Italy) on the 6th December 1921. Son of a pure Turinese mother (her maiden name was Marengo), and from here the pseudonym Piero Morgan, which he adopted until 1957. He had played on the radio with his historic Big Band "013" in 1938, to then return, after the liberation of Italy in 1944. His was the first Italian jazz band to be aired in Italy. Piero Piccioni had listened to jazz since he was a child and had learned to play the piano without having been to the Conservatory. As a self-taught musician, his father used to accompany him to visit the E.I.A.R. in Florence, to listen to orchestral recitals. As he began to write some songs of his own he was able to get some published by Carisch. Having written nearly 300 soundtracks and pieces for radio, television, ballets and orchestra he was deeply influenced by 20th century classical composers and by American cinematography. Amongst his favourites were Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, John Ford and Alex North, who had greatly influenced him in his use of jazz.
Piero Piccioni had come in contact with the world of movies during the fifties when he was practicing as a lawyer in Rome and sealing movie rights for Italian Italian distributors as Titanus and De Laurentiis. During that time, Michelangelo Antonioni had called him to create music for a documentary for one of his apprentices, Luigi Polidoro. His first feature film was Gianni Franciolini's, "Il Mondo le Condanna"(1952). Piccioni had found a close working relationship with directors Francesco Rosi (More Than A Miracle, Le Mani Sulla Citta', Salvatore Giuliano, Chronicle of a Death Foretold) and Alberto Sordi, and had also cemented strong personal and professional bonds with them. Many directors had wanted Piero Piccioni for the music for their films: Francesco Rosi, Mario Monicelli, Alberto Lattuada, Luigi Comencini, Luchino Visconti, Antonio Pietrangeli, Bernardo Bertolucci, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Tinto Brass, Dino Risi, and more. "Swept Away"(David Donatello prize) and "Tutto A Posto Niente in Ordine" by Lina Wertmuller, "Il bell'Antonio" by Mauro Bolognini , the "Tenth Victim" by Elio Petri, with Marcello Mastroianni Ursula Andress also bear his name. His very distinctive style of Jazz, Bossanova, Orchestral and Contemporary Classical will not be easily forgotten.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Alice Dinnean was born on 23 May 1969 in Piedmont, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Muppets. (2015), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019) and Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow (2015).- Caterina Boratto was born on 15 March 1915 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She was an actress, known for Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), 8½ (1963) and Castle Keep (1969). She was married to Armando Ceratto. She died on 14 September 2010 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
- Writer
- Actor
He is a professor of semiotics, the study of communication through signs and symbols, at the University of Bologna. Also a philiosopher, a historian, literary critic, and an aesthetician. He is an avid book collector and owns more than 30,000 volumes. The subjects of his scholarly investigations range from St. Thomas Aquinas, to James Joyce, to Superman. He lives in Milan.- Massimo Poggio was born on 9 April 1970 in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. He is an actor, known for Cenerentola (2011), Facing Windows (2003) and Solo per amore (2015).
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
He was born on March 19, 1957 in Novi Ligure (in the region Piedmont in the North-west of Italy). His family soon moved to Milan. In 1979 he was admitted to the Actor's School of the Piccolo teatro in Milan, where he attended school for three years. His first work was the performance on stage during the movie screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" on Friday nights. In the early 80s he still worked in theaters performing classical and modern drama and began his movie career. He met director Gabriele Salvatores and they began to collaborate. In the same period he performed as a comedian at the "Derby" club in Milan. In the late 80s he worked with the Nobel winner Dario Fo, worked in another famous comedians' club in Milan, the "Zelig", and began his TV career.
In 1991 he was cast by Salvatores in the Academy Award winner "Mediterraneo". In the 90s he still worked with Salvatores (Puerto Escondido, Sud), but he also succeeded as a writer and a singer. In the late 90s he worked in theater performing Malaussène, the character created by the French writer Daniel Pennac. His work for the "Zelig" club became a famous TV show, which contributed to introduce to the audience a lot of talented comedians and became a cultural phenomenon in the whole country. He gave his voice to Sid, one of the characters of "The Ice Age". In Italy he is well known also for his characters in Tv commercials. He hosted the "Primo Maggio" concert, a rock concert which is organized every year by the most important Italian workers' unions to celebrate workers. His funny face and his baldness have made him an easy target for his colleagues, but have granted him an increasing popularity.