Francesco Benigno is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 actor of television, cinema and theatre. He is also a singer, and has directed a short film for which he won the Grifoni D'argento Award (The Silver Griffin Award).

Career

Benigno was born in Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, the twelfth of thirteen children. He made his first acting debut in 1989, in Mery per sempre

Mery per sempre

Mery per sempre , is an Italian language dramatic film directed by Marco Risi and released in 1989. It stars Michele Placido, Claudio Amendola, Alessandro Di Sanzo, Francesco Benigno, Salvatore Termini and Tony Sperandeo.- Synopsis :...

, directed by Marco Risi. He played the same role of Natale Sperandeo in the film's sequel, Ragazzi fuori

Ragazzi fuori

Ragazzi fuori is an Italian language dramatic film directed by Marco Risi in the neo-neorealistic style and written by Aurelio Grimaldi. Released in 1990, it is the sequel to the 1989 film Mery per sempre...

(Boys on the Outside), for which he won two awards as Best Actor, the Ciak d'Oro at the Venice Film Festival

Venice Film Festival

The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...

, and the Premio Piper. Both films were set in his native Palermo.

Benigno has since performed regularly in cinema, television, and has appeared on stage in two theatrical performances.Benigno appeared on the reality show La Fattoria in 2005, and has made many television guest appearances. He has also released CDs, and sang a live duet with singer Marco Masini

Marco Masini

Marco Masini is an Italian singer-songwriter- Career :Marco Masini was born on September 18, 1964, the Italian city of Florence. His mother, Anna Maria, sang and played piano, and was an elementary school teacher before she quit the profession to have a life at home with the family...

 at the Sanremo Music Festival in 2009, which was televised by Rai Uno

Rai Uno

Rai 1 is the primary television station of RAI, the national public service broadcaster, and the most watched television channel in Italy. It was born as Rai Tv from 1954 to 1961, called Programma Nazionale from 1961 to 1979, after called Rete 1 from 1979 to 1982, then called Rai Uno from 1982 to...

. In 2008, he won the Grifoni D'argento Award for best director of a short film, the autobiographical Benigno.

Filmography

(A partial list)

• Mery per sempre
  Mery per sempre
  Mery per sempre , is an Italian language dramatic film directed by Marco Risi and released in 1989. It stars Michele Placido, Claudio Amendola, Alessandro Di Sanzo, Francesco Benigno, Salvatore Termini and Tony Sperandeo.- Synopsis :...
  
  (1989)
• Ragazzi fuori
  Ragazzi fuori
  Ragazzi fuori is an Italian language dramatic film directed by Marco Risi in the neo-neorealistic style and written by Aurelio Grimaldi. Released in 1990, it is the sequel to the 1989 film Mery per sempre...
  
  (1990)
• Caldo soffocante (1991)
• Il commissario Corso (1991, television)
• Vacanze di Natale (1991)
• Anni 90 (1992)
• Ultimo respiro (1992)
• Un sogno perso (1992)
• Anni 90-Parte II 1993)
• Miracolo italiano (1994)
• Palermo-Milano solo andata (1995)
• La Piovra
  La Piovra
  La Piovra is an acclaimed Italian Television drama miniseries about the Mafia.The story was by Sandro Petraglia. The production was designed by Luigi Perelli...
  
   7 (1995, television mini-series)
• La stanza della scirocco (1998)
• Crimine contro crimine (1998)
• Ultimo (1998, television)
• Ultimo 2 - La sfida (1999, television)
• La Squadra (1999, television)
• Morso della serpente (1999, television)
• Il diavolo e l'acqua santa (1999, television)
• Excellent Cadavers
  Excellent Cadavers
  Excellent Cadavers is a 1995 non-fiction book by American author Alexander Stille about the Sicilian Mafia, concentrating on magistrate Giovanni Falcone's fight against the Mafia and his 1992 assassination....
  
  (Italian: Cadaveri eccellenti; 1999, television)
• Arresti domiciliari (2000)
• Donne di Mafia, (2001, television)
• Blindati, (2003, television)
• Ultimo 3 - L'infiltrato (2004, television)
• Tutte le donne della mia vita (2007)
• L'ultimo padrino (2008, television)

Short films

• La Mancia, (1996–1997)
• Ice (Yamaha), (2001–2002)
• Benigno, (2008), which he also directed

Discography

• Io Ragazzo Fuori, (1991)
• Io=Voi, (1993)
• Per Sempre, (1997)
• Con il Cuore in Mano. (2002)
• Nel Cammino della Vita, (2005)
• Abbronzata, (2007)

Awards

(A partial listing)

• Efebo D'oro, for Mery Per Sempre, (1989)
• Ciak d'Oro, Best Actor, Ragazzi Fuori ,(1990), Venice Film Festival
• Premio Piper, Best Actor, Ragazzi Fuori, (1990)
• Chiave D'oro Chianciano Terme, for Anni 90
• Premio Pasquino D'oro, (2001)
• Torre D'argento, Best Actor in television fiction, (2002-2003)
• Premio Aragonese, (2005–2006)
• Grifoni D'argento, Best Director of a short film, Benigno, (2008), Giffoni Film Festival