Franco Nero
Encyclopedia
Franco Nero is an Italian actor.
, Emilia-Romagna
), the son of a sergeant in the arabinieri], originally from San Severo]. He grew up in Bedonia and in Milan. He studied briefly at the Economy and Trade faculty of the local university, before leaving to study at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano.
's Django
(1966) a Spaghetti Western
and one of his best known films. In 1966 from Django he went on to appear in eight more films released that year including Texas, addio
(1967) and Tempo di massacro.
In 1967, he appeared in Camelot
as Lancelot
, where he met his long time romantic partner, and later on in life his wife, Vanessa Redgrave
. Following this he appeared in the mafia
film Il giorno della civetta
opposite Claudia Cardinale
released in 1968.
A lack of proficiency in English tended to limit these roles, although he also appeared in other English language films including The Virgin and the Gypsy
(1970), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Enter the Ninja
(1981) and Die Hard 2
(1990).
Although often typecast in films like Los amigos (1972) or Keoma
(1976) he has attempted an impressive range of characters, such as Abel in John Huston
's epic The Bible: In The Beginning
(1966), the humiliated engineer out for revenge in Street Law, the gay lieutenant in Querelle
(1982) and Serbian
mediaeval hero in Banović Strahinja
(1983). He has appeared in over 150 films, and has written, produced and starred in one: Jonathan degli orsi (1993).
More recently, he starred in Hungarian
director Gábor Koltay's Honfoglalás (Conquest)
in 1996, in Li chiamarono... briganti!
(1999) by Pasquale Squitieri and subsequently in Koltay's Sacra Corona (Holy Crown) in 2001.
In 2009 he played an eccentric author called "Mario Puzzo" in Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling
("Murder is my trade, darling", Italian title "Tesoro, sono un killer"). German critics found his performance was the best part of the film: "Having Franco nero playing in this film is really a great joy - it is only regrettable that besides his appearances there is so much else too." ("Dass Franco Nero in diesem Film mitspielt, macht wirklich großen Spaß – schade nur, dass nach seinen Auftritten noch so viel Film übrig ist.")
In 2010, Nero appeared in the film Letters to Juliet
with Redgrave.
In 2011, he received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame
in Toronto, Canada.
. In 1969, they had a son, Carlo Gabriel Sparanero
(known professionally as Carlo Nero
), a screenwriter and director. After separating for many years, during which they both had relationships with other people, they reunited and married on 31 December 2006. Carlo Nero directed Redgrave in the cinematic adaptation of Wallace Shawn
's play The Fever.
Nero walked his future stepdaughter Natasha Richardson
down the aisle when she married actor Liam Neeson
. She died on 18 March 2009, due to a skiing-related head injury.
Early life
Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense (province of ParmaParma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
), the son of a sergeant in the arabinieri], originally from San Severo]. He grew up in Bedonia and in Milan. He studied briefly at the Economy and Trade faculty of the local university, before leaving to study at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano.
Acting Career
Nero's first film role was a small part in La ragazza in prestito (1964), and he had his first lead role in Sergio CorbucciSergio Corbucci
Sergio Corbucci was an Italian film director. He is best known for his very violent yet intelligent spaghetti westerns...
's Django
Django (film)
Django is a 1966 Italian spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero in the eponymous role. The film earned a reputation as being one of the most violent films ever made up to that point and was subsequently refused a certificate in Britain until 1993, when it was...
(1966) a Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
and one of his best known films. In 1966 from Django he went on to appear in eight more films released that year including Texas, addio
Texas, Adios
Texas, Adios is a 1967 film directed by Ferdinando Baldi and starring Franco Nero. It is often referenced in connection with Django, also starring Nero, and although was referred to as "Django 2" in some countries, it is not considered a sequel...
(1967) and Tempo di massacro.
In 1967, he appeared in Camelot
Camelot (film)
Camelot is a 1967 film adaptation of the musical of the same name. Richard Harris stars as Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot. The film was directed by Joshua Logan.-Plot:...
as Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
, where he met his long time romantic partner, and later on in life his wife, Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
. Following this he appeared in the mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
film Il giorno della civetta
Il giorno della civetta (film)
Il giorno della civetta is a 1968 Italian mafia crime thriller film directed by Damiano Damiani. Inspired by Leonardo Sciascia's novel with same title, it stars Claudia Cardinale and Franco Nero. It was released in USA in 1970. The film was entered into the 18th Berlin International Film...
opposite Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
released in 1968.
A lack of proficiency in English tended to limit these roles, although he also appeared in other English language films including The Virgin and the Gypsy
The Virgin and the Gypsy (film)
The Virgin and the Gypsy is a 1970 British drama film directed by Christopher Miles, based on the novel of the same name. It was screened at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival, but wasn't entered into the main competition.-Cast:* Joanna Shimkus – Yvette...
(1970), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Enter the Ninja
Enter the Ninja
Enter the Ninja is a 1981 martial arts film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George and Shô Kosugi. Production was started in the Philippines with Emmett Alston directing, but when Charles Bronson refused to allow Menahem Golan to direct Death Wish II, Golan, a co-principal...
(1981) and Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...
(1990).
Although often typecast in films like Los amigos (1972) or Keoma
Keoma (film)
Keoma, also released in various counties under the titles Django Rides Again and The Violent Breed, is a 1976 Spaghetti Western film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Franco Nero and Donald O'Brian...
(1976) he has attempted an impressive range of characters, such as Abel in John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
's epic The Bible: In The Beginning
The Bible: In The Beginning
The Bible: In the Beginning is a 1966 Biblical epic film recounting the first 22 chapters of the Book of Genesis. It was a joint American/Italian production conceived by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Huston. The music score is by Toshirô Mayuzumi. The production was photographed by...
(1966), the humiliated engineer out for revenge in Street Law, the gay lieutenant in Querelle
Querelle
Querelle, a 1982 film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, adapted from French author Jean Genet's 1947 novel Querelle de Brest. It marked Fassbinder's final film as a writer/director; it was posthumously released just months after the director died of a drug overdose in June 1982.-Plot:The plot...
(1982) and Serbian
Cinema of Serbia
The Cinema of Serbia comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Serbia or by Serbian filmmakers abroad.Serbia has been home to many internationally acclaimed films and directors.-Serbian theatre and cinema:Serbia has a well-established theatrical tradition with many...
mediaeval hero in Banović Strahinja
Banović Strahinja (film)
Banovic Strahinja is a 1983 Yugoslavian film.-Plot:During the late 14th century Serbia becomes the target of the Ottoman Empire. While the respected Serbian noble Strahinja Banovic is out hunting, a Turkish renegade gang burns his castle, kills all of his servants, and takes the young wife of...
(1983). He has appeared in over 150 films, and has written, produced and starred in one: Jonathan degli orsi (1993).
More recently, he starred in Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
director Gábor Koltay's Honfoglalás (Conquest)
The Conquest (1996 film)
Honfoglalás is a 1996 Hungarian film about the Magyar settlement in Hungary in approximately AD 896.This film was written by István Nemeskürty and directed by Gábor Koltay.-Cast:*Franco Nero as "Árpád"...
in 1996, in Li chiamarono... briganti!
Li chiamarono... briganti!
Li chiamarono... briganti! is a 1999 Italian film, directed by Pasquale Squitieri. It tells the story of Carmine Crocco, a 19th century italian brigand who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the brigandage during the Italian unification, by opposing the army of King Victor...
(1999) by Pasquale Squitieri and subsequently in Koltay's Sacra Corona (Holy Crown) in 2001.
In 2009 he played an eccentric author called "Mario Puzzo" in Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling
Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling
Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling - is a German comedy directed by Sebastian Niemann.- Plot :...
("Murder is my trade, darling", Italian title "Tesoro, sono un killer"). German critics found his performance was the best part of the film: "Having Franco nero playing in this film is really a great joy - it is only regrettable that besides his appearances there is so much else too." ("Dass Franco Nero in diesem Film mitspielt, macht wirklich großen Spaß – schade nur, dass nach seinen Auftritten noch so viel Film übrig ist.")
In 2010, Nero appeared in the film Letters to Juliet
Letters to Juliet
Letters to Juliet is a 2010 American romantic comedy drama film starring Amanda Seyfried, Chris Egan, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael García Bernal, and Franco Nero. This was the final film of director Gary Winick before he died of brain cancer. The film was released theatrically in North America and other...
with Redgrave.
In 2011, he received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame
Italian walk of fame
The world's first and only Italian Walk of Fame is located in Toronto, Canada, the city that is home to the largest community of Italians outside of Italy...
in Toronto, Canada.
Personal life
His romantic involvement with British actress Vanessa Redgrave began in 1967 when they met on the set of CamelotCamelot (film)
Camelot is a 1967 film adaptation of the musical of the same name. Richard Harris stars as Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot. The film was directed by Joshua Logan.-Plot:...
. In 1969, they had a son, Carlo Gabriel Sparanero
Carlo Nero
Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Nero is an English screenwriter and film director.- Biography :The son of actors Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave, his half-sisters are actress Joely Richardson and the late Tony-award-winning actress Natasha Richardson . He was a nephew of the late actors Corin and Lynn...
(known professionally as Carlo Nero
Carlo Nero
Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Nero is an English screenwriter and film director.- Biography :The son of actors Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave, his half-sisters are actress Joely Richardson and the late Tony-award-winning actress Natasha Richardson . He was a nephew of the late actors Corin and Lynn...
), a screenwriter and director. After separating for many years, during which they both had relationships with other people, they reunited and married on 31 December 2006. Carlo Nero directed Redgrave in the cinematic adaptation of Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn
Wallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
's play The Fever.
Nero walked his future stepdaughter Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
down the aisle when she married actor Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
. She died on 18 March 2009, due to a skiing-related head injury.
Discography
- 1985 - Will Change The World/Cambierà (Lovers, LVNP 802, 7" - with his son Carlo)