Michele Placido

Michele Placido
Placido and Federica Vincenti
Born	19 May 1946 (1946-05-19) (age 65) Ascoli Satriano, Province of Foggia, Italy
Occupation	Actor/Director
Years active	1972–present

Michele Placido (born 19 May 1946) is an internationally known Italian actor and director. He is best known for the role of Corrado Cattani in the TV series La Piovra.

Life and career

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.^[1] Placido had a number of jobs since his youth. He studied acting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, and with Silvio D'Amico at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his debut as an actor in the play Midsummer's Night Dream in 1969. Two years later he started film work under directors such as Luigi Comencini, Mario Monicelli, Salvatore Samperi, Damiano Damiani, Francesco Rosi, Walerian Borowczyk, Marco Bellocchio 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).^[2]

He appeared in several TV movies in 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.

Until a divorce in 1994, he was married to actress Simonetta Stefanelli, who is best known for having played Michael Corleone's first (Sicilian) wife in The Godfather. Their daughter Violante Placido is also an actress.

Filmography

Actor

• Manuale d'amore 3 (2011)
• Oggi sposi (2009)
• Il grande sogno (2009)
• Baarìa - La porta del vento (2009)
• Il sangue dei vinti (2008)
• Aldo Moro - Il presidente (2008)
• La luna nel deserto (2008)
• The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider (2008)
• L'ultimo padrino (2008) (TV)
• 2061: Un anno eccezionale (2007)
• Piano, solo (2007)
• SoloMetro (2007)
• Commediasexi (2006)
• Karol: The Pope, The Man (2006)
• Le rose del deserto (2006)
• La sconosciuta (2006)
• Estrenando sueños (2005)
• Liolà (2005)
• Il Grande Torino (2004)
• L'Odore del sangue (2004)
• L'Amore ritorna (2004)
• Soraya (2003)
• Un Papà quasi perfetto (2003)
• Il Posto dell'anima (2003)
• Searching for Paradise (2002)
• Il Sequestro Soffiantini (2002)
• Tra due mondi (2001)
• Padre Pio - Tra cielo e terra (2000) (TV)
• Liberate i pesci! (2000)
• Terra bruciata (1999)
• Un Uomo perbene (1999)
• La Balia (1999)
• Panni sporchi (1999)
• Del perduto amore (1998)
• La Missione (1998)
• Le Plaisir (et ses petits tracas) (1998)
• Racket (1997)
• La Lupa (1996)
• Un Eroe borghese (1995)
• Padre e figlio (1994)
• Poliziotti (1994)
• Lamerica (1994)
• Quattro bravi ragazzi (1993)
• Le Amiche del cuore (1992)
• Uomo di rispetto (1992)
• Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel (1992)
• Scoop (1991)
• Afganskiy izlom (1990)
• La Piovra 4 (1989)
• Mery per sempre (1989)
• Via Paradiso (1988)
• Big Business (1988)
• Come sono buoni i bianchi (1988)
• La Piovra 3 (1987)
• Ti presento un'amica (1987)
• Grandi magazzini (1986)
• Notte d'estate con profilo greco, occhi a mandorla e odore di basilico (1986)
• La Piovra 2 (1985)
• Pizza Connection (1985)
• Les Amants terribles (1984)
• La Piovra (1984)
• Ars amandi (1983)
• Sciopèn (1982)
• Cargo (film) (1981)
• Tre fratelli (1981)
• Les Ailes de la colombe (1981)
• Lulu (1980)
• Salto nel vuoto (A Leap in the Dark) (1980)
• Letti selvaggi (1979)
• Il prato (1979)
• Sabato, domenica e venerdì (1979)
• Ernesto (1979)
• Un Uomo in ginocchio (1978)
• Io sono mia (1978)
• Corleone (1977)
• Fontamara (1977)
• Kleinhoff Hotel (1977)
• La Ragazza dal pigiama giallo (1977)
• Casotto (1977)
• L'Agnese va a morire (1976)
• La Orca (1976)
• Divina creatura (1976)
• Marcia trionfale (1976)
• Peccati in famiglia (1975)
• Moses the Lawgiver (1975)
• Orlando Furioso (movie) (1975)
• Mio Dio come sono caduta in basso! (1974)
• Processo per direttissima (1974)
• Romanzo popolare (1974)
• Il Picciotto (1973)
• La Mano nera - prima della mafia, più della mafia (1973)
• Mia moglie, un corpo per l'amore (1973)
• Teresa la ladra (1972)
• Il Caso Pisciotta (1972)

Director

• Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male (2010)
• Il grande sogno (2009)
• L'Aquila 2009 - Cinque registi tra le macerie (2009)
• Romanzo criminale (2005)
• Ovunque sei (2004)
• Un Viaggio chiamato amore (2002)
• Un Altro mondo è possibile (2001)
• Del perduto amore (1998)
• Un Eroe borghese (1995)
• Le Amiche del cuore (1992)
• Pummarò (1990)

References

1. ^ "Michele Placido interview". http://www.gennarodestefano.it/art0173.asp. Retrieved 3 november 2008. 
2. ^ "Berlinale 1978: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1979/03_preistr_ger_1979/03_Preistraeger_1979.html. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 

External links

• Michele Placido at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Placido, Michele
Alternative names
Short description	Actor, film director
Date of birth	1946-5-19
Place of birth	Ascoli Satriano, Foggia, Italy
Date of death
Place of death