Actor Franco Nero: biography, films, personal life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Franco Nero is a famous actor, producer, screenwriter, director from Italy. He became famous after the release of the film "Django" directed by Sergio Corbucci. Often played the role of a prosecutor in films about police work.

Biography

Franco Nero was born on 1941-23-11 in the city of San Prospero in the province of Modena in Italy. The province is located in the Emilia-Romagna region. The full name of the actor is Francesco Spanero. Franco's father was a policeman. The future actor spent his childhood in the city of Parma. Even then, he himself organized theatrical performances, first at school, and then in the army, where he created his own theater.

After the army, Franco went to Milan and began to study economics. To pay for his life in Milan and his education, Francesco took a job as a singer in a nightclub. He never completed his education. The future actor even worked as an accountant before he was noticed and invited to the cinema.

Career start

Franco never gave up hope of becomingactor. One day he went on an excursion to Rome to the film studio "Cinecitta" - the center of Italian cinema, the area of the film studio is 40 hectares.

Federico Fellini, Lucino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini, Sergio Leone and other famous Italian directors worked here. The studio was founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini. Here Franco Nero met directors John Huston, Antonio Pietrangeli and Carlo Lizani. This excursion further encouraged Nero to become a film actor. Even then, he was offered to play a small role in a movie, but then it did not work out.

The actor played his first film role in 1963 in Alfredo Gianetti's film "The Girl on Loan". This film means little in the career of an actor. The film "Django", released in 1966, determined the further life and career of Franco.

Spaghetti Western "Django"

Spaghetti Westerns are Italian westerns filmed in the south of Spain in desert areas that imitate the terrain of the American Wild West. In total, in the 60-70s, more than 600 westerns were shot by Italian directors.

Director Sergio Corbucci filmed "Django" near Madrid. The film impressed the audience very much, many remakes and sequels of the picture were released. The main role was played by actor Franco Nero. The plot is based on the story of the cowboy Django, who avenges his beloved and alone fights bandits and dishonest local authorities.

By the standards of that time, the film turned out to be very cruel (as formodern viewer of the work of Quentin Tarantino). Interestingly, in 2012 it was Tarantino who shot his own version of the film called Django Unchained. The 1966 tape was banned from showing in a number of countries, incl. in the UK.

In 1987 director Nello Rossati filmed the official sequel to Django Returns starring Franco.

Movies from the 60s and 70s

In 1967, Franco continues to enjoy the fame earned by the role of Django. The films "Death Came With Django" directed by Luigi Bazzoni and "Django, Farewell!" directed by Ferdinando Baldi. In 1968, Franco starred in the film The Day of the Owl. This film directed by Damiano Damiani is the first part of a trilogy about the Italian mafia. The protagonist of the film is a policeman investigating a murder in defiance of corrupt officials and the local mafia.

In 1968, director Elio Petri shoots the film "A Quiet Place in the Country", starring Nero and Vanessa Redgrave. Franco got the role of a rushing artist, Vanessa - the role of his manager and girlfriend Flavia. The film in the genre of mystical psychological drama was difficult for the actor, who was used to acting in westerns and detectives before. The picture, however, was a success - it was included in the competitive program of the film festival in Berlin.

In 1969, the film by the Yugoslav and Croatian director Veljko Bulayich "The Battle of the Neretva" was released about a real battle that took place during the Second World War inYugoslavia. The film premiered in Sarajevo. The poster for the film was designed by the visual art genius Pablo Picasso.

The film starred: Franco Nero as Captain Riva, Sergei Bondarchuk as Martin, Orson Welles as the Chetnik senator, Oleg Vidov as Nikola and other famous actors. The Battle of the Neretva was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The actor has been taking part in television projects since 1975.

Producer, writer, director

Franco has fifteen production jobs, two as a screenwriter, two as a director. Franco Nero's films Forever Blues and Apocalypse's Angel were released in 2005 and 2016 respectively. Unfortunately, they were not particularly successful.

As a screenwriter, Franco was more successful. The film Jonathan the Bears' Friend, a co-production between Italy and Russia, was released in 1994. Nero played the main role in it.

Despite his considerable age, Franco is still a sought-after and very busy actor. His work schedule is scheduled for several years ahead.

Awards

The actor has only two significant achievements in the world of cinema. This is a nomination for the "Best Debutant" award for his role in the musical "Camelot" in 1968 and the prize "For Contribution to World Cinema" at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2017.

Private life

Franco Nero met his futurewife in 1967 on the set of the American musical Camelot. Franco played the role of the valiant Lancelot, and actress Vanessa Redgrave played the wife of King Arthur Ginevra. Vanessa at this time had just divorced her first husband, Tony Richardson, from whom she had two daughters.

Franco and Vanessa did not formalize their relationship for a long time. They only got married in 2006. The couple have a common son, Carlo Gabriel Nero, a writer and director.