Sergio Castellitto

Sergio Castellitto was born in Rome in 1953. After graduating from the Silvio D’Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art in 1978, he began his theatrical career in Italian public theater with “Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure” at the Teatro di Roma and with roles in other plays such as “La Madre by Brecht”, “Merchant of Venice”, and “Candelaio” by Giordano Bruno. At the Teatro di Genova he starred in the roles of Tuzenbach in “Chekhov’s Three Sisters” and “Jean in Strindberg’s Miss Julie”, both under the direction of Otomar Krejka. In the coming years, he also starred in such theatrical productions as “L’infelicità senza desideri” and “Piccoli equivoci” at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto. He also appeared in “Barefoot in the Park” by Neil Simon. During his years in the theatre, he worked alongside many famous actors, including Luigi Squarzina, Aldo Trionfo, and Enzo Muzii. Castellitto began his film career in 1983 beside Marcello Mastroianni and Michel Piccoli in “The General of the Dead Army” by Luciano Tovoli. He interpreted many films like “Sembra morto…ma è solo svenuto” directed by Felice Farina, “Piccoli equivoci” by Ricky Tognazzi and “Stasera a casa di Alice” by Carlo Verdone. He became more famous with the films “The Great Pumpkin” by Francesca Archibugi and “The Star Maker” by Giuseppe Tornatore. In the late 1980s, Castellitto appeared in several Italian television miniseries, including “Un siciliano in Sicilia” (1987), “Cinque storie inquietanti” (1987), “Piazza Navona” (1988), “Cinéma” (1988), and “Come stanno bene insieme” (1989). He also appeared in the miniseries “Victoire, ou la douleur des femmes” (2000). Success arrived with the films “La famiglia”, “L’ultimo bacio”, “Caterina in the Big City”, “My Mother’s Smile”, “Mostly Martha”, and especially with “Don’t Move”, written by his wife Margaret Mazzantini. Other films that he interpreted include “Il regista di matrimoni” by Marco Bellocchio and La stella che non c’è by Gianni Amelio. In France Castellitto played the male lead opposite Jeanne Balibar in Jacques Rivette’s Va savoir (2001). His most recent accomplishment as actor has been in his role as “Padre Pio: Miracle Man”, arguably the defining role of his career. The first film that he directed is “Libero Burro”, followed by “Don’t Move”. He played the role of the antagonist, King Miraz, in the film “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”. His most recent film as director was “Twice Born”, which played at the Toronto Film Festival (2012), where it was not well received by much of the English speaking press. Most recently, Castellitto appeared in the television series “In Treatment” in the role of Giovanni. Castellitto is married to Margaret Mazzantini with four children.