Diego Abatantuono
Encyclopedia
Diego Abatantuono is an Italian
cinema and theatre actor, as well screenwriter.
. The latter worked as wardrober in a Milanese jazz
and later cabaret place, the Derby, whose owner was Abatantuono's uncle.
He started to work at Derby first in lighting, then as artistical director and later as an actor. After a stint with the music-comical group Gatti di Vicolo Miracoli and several minor film roles, he returned to work at Derby where he was discovered by the famous TV showman, film director and talent-scout Renzo Arbore
, who called him for a role in his movie Il Pap'occhio (1980). Here started Abantantuono's first successful career in the recurrent role of a poorly-cultivated immigrant from southern Italy (the "Terruncello"), speaking a personal form of slang which was to become a kind of brand.
His most successful performance was in the 1982 cult favorite Eccezzziunale... veramente
(he also penned the screenplay), in which he portrays three different parts as a tifoso (fan) of the three main football
teams of Italy, A.C. Milan
, Internazionale and Juventus F.C.
. He reprised all three roles for the 2006 sequel Eccezzziunale... veramente - Capitolo secondo... me, which featured cameos from A.C. Milan players Paolo Maldini
, Massimo Ambrosini
, Alessandro Costacurta
, Dida
, Andrei Shevchenko and Gennaro Gattuso
. At the time the scenes featuring the players were filmed, Milan was participating in the group stage of the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League
.
His first role as a dramatic actor came in 1986
, when he was called by Pupi Avati
for his Regalo di Natale. Though occasionally returning to comical roles, Abatantuono was featured in numerous movies by his friend Gabriele Salvatores
, including the Academy Award winner Mediterraneo, Nirvana
and Io non ho paura.
Abatantuono is also a popular figure of Italian television shows. He is well-known to be a long-time A.C. Milan
fan.
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...
cinema and theatre actor, as well screenwriter.
Biography and career
Abatantuono was born in a popular quarter of the city to a father of Pugliese origin and a mother from ComoComo
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
. The latter worked as wardrober in a Milanese jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and later cabaret place, the Derby, whose owner was Abatantuono's uncle.
He started to work at Derby first in lighting, then as artistical director and later as an actor. After a stint with the music-comical group Gatti di Vicolo Miracoli and several minor film roles, he returned to work at Derby where he was discovered by the famous TV showman, film director and talent-scout Renzo Arbore
Renzo Arbore
Lorenzo Giovanni Arbore is an Italian TV host, showman, singer, musician, film actor and film director.-Career:...
, who called him for a role in his movie Il Pap'occhio (1980). Here started Abantantuono's first successful career in the recurrent role of a poorly-cultivated immigrant from southern Italy (the "Terruncello"), speaking a personal form of slang which was to become a kind of brand.
His most successful performance was in the 1982 cult favorite Eccezzziunale... veramente
Eccezzziunale... veramente
Eccezzziunale... veramente is a 1982 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Vanzina. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.-Cast:...
(he also penned the screenplay), in which he portrays three different parts as a tifoso (fan) of the three main football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
teams of Italy, A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, Internazionale and Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
. He reprised all three roles for the 2006 sequel Eccezzziunale... veramente - Capitolo secondo... me, which featured cameos from A.C. Milan players Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
, Massimo Ambrosini
Massimo Ambrosini
Massimo Ambrosini is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of Serie A club Milan. He is well known for his aerial ability and tackling.- Club career :...
, Alessandro Costacurta
Alessandro Costacurta
Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta is an Italian former professional football defender turned manager.Costacurta spent some twenty years at Milan, with a brief period spent in AC Monza on loan. He is best known for his role alongside Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti, forming one of the...
, Dida
Nelson de Jesus Silva
Nélson de Jesus Silva , better known simply as Dida , is a Brazilian former footballer who played as goalkeeper. He first rose to prominence in Brazilian club football in the 1990s with Vitória, Cruzeiro EC and SC Corinthians, where he gained a reputation as a penalty-saving specialist...
, Andrei Shevchenko and Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian footballer, who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. Gattuso is an aggressive, hard tackling player and in his prime, was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world...
. At the time the scenes featuring the players were filmed, Milan was participating in the group stage of the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
.
His first role as a dramatic actor came in 1986
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
, when he was called by Pupi Avati
Pupi Avati
Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:...
for his Regalo di Natale. Though occasionally returning to comical roles, Abatantuono was featured in numerous movies by his friend Gabriele Salvatores
Gabriele Salvatores
Gabriele Salvatores , is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directed several avant-garde pieces until 1989.In that year, he directed his...
, including the Academy Award winner Mediterraneo, Nirvana
Nirvana (film)
Nirvana is a science fiction film, produced in Italy in 1997 by director Gabriele Salvatores, starring Christopher Lambert, Diego Abatantuono, Sergio Rubini and Stefania Rocca...
and Io non ho paura.
Abatantuono is also a popular figure of Italian television shows. He is well-known to be a long-time A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
fan.
Actor
- Liberi armati pericolosi (1976)
- Saxofone (1978)
- Prestami tua moglie (1980)
- Arrivano i gatti (1980)
- Il pap'occhio (1980)
- Una vacanza bestiale (1980)
- Fantozzi contro tuttiFantozzi contro tuttiFantozzi contro tutti is an Italian comedy film, released in 1980) is the third film in the saga of the unlucky clerk Ugo Fantozzi, played by its creator, Paolo Villaggio.It is the first movie in which Fantozzi's wife, Pina, is played by Milena Vukotic....
(1980) - Fico d'India (1980)
- I fichissimi (1981)
- Il tango della gelosia (1981)
- I carabbinieri (1981)
- Viuuulentemente mia (1982)
- Sballato, gasato, completamente fuso (1982)
- Biancaneve & Co. (1982)
- Eccezzziunale... veramenteEccezzziunale... veramenteEccezzziunale... veramente is a 1982 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Vanzina. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.-Cast:...
(1982) - Scusa se è poco (1982)
- Grand Hotel Excelsior (1982)
- Attila flagello di Dio (1982)
- Arrivano i miei (1982)
- Il Ras del quartiere (1983)
- Regalo di natale (1986)
- Un ragazzo di Calabria (1987)
- Ultimo minuto (1987)
- Strana la vita (1987)
- Kamikazen (ultima notte a Milano) (1987)
- I cammelli (1988)
- Marrakech ExpressMarrakech ExpressMarrakech Express is a 1989 Italian film directed by Gabriele Salvatores and starring Diego Abatantuono, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Cristina Marsillach, Giuseppe Cederna, and Gigio Alberti. A classical road movie, it was the first installment of Salvatores' trilogia della fuga , followed by On Tour and...
(1989) - Turné (1989)
- Vacanze di Natale 90 (1990)
- MediterraneoMediterraneo (film)Mediterraneo is an Italian film that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1991. The film is set during World War II, and regards a group of Italian soldiers who become stranded on a Greek island and are left behind by the war...
(1991) - Puerto Escondido (1992)
- Nel continente nero (1992)
- Arriva la bufera (1992)
- Per amore, solo per amore (1993)
- Il toro (1994)
- Viva San Isidro! (1995)
- Camerieri (1995)
- Il barbiere di Rio (1996)
- NirvanaNirvana (film)Nirvana is a science fiction film, produced in Italy in 1997 by director Gabriele Salvatores, starring Christopher Lambert, Diego Abatantuono, Sergio Rubini and Stefania Rocca...
(1997) - Figli di Annibale (1998)
- Paparazzi (1998)
- Matrimoni (1998)
- Il testimone dello sposo (1998)
- Metronotte (2000)
- Concorrenza slealeConcorrenza slealeConcorrenza sleale is a 2001 Italian drama film directed by Ettore Scola. Its original Italian title means Unfair Competition. It was filmed in Cinecittà and some of its sets were used by Martin Scorsese in Gangs of New York, as Ettore Scola said in Néstor Birri's book.-Plot:Rome 1938, Umberto ...
(2000) - Mari del sud (2000)
- AmnèsiaAmnèsiaAmnèsia is an Italian drama film directed by Gabriele Salvatores and released in 2002.-Plot:Several stories unfold simultaneously over three days on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza...
(2001) - Momo alla conquista del tempo (2001)
- La rivincita di Natale (2003)
- Io non ho paura (2003)
- Eccezzziunale... veramente - Capitolo secondo... me (2006)
- Cena per farli conoscere, La (2007)
- L'abbuffata (2007)
- I mostri oggi (2009)
- Gli amici del bar Margherita (2009)
Screenwriter
- Eccezzziunale... veramenteEccezzziunale... veramenteEccezzziunale... veramente is a 1982 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Vanzina. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.-Cast:...
(1982) - Il Ras del quartiere (1983)
- Puerto escondido (1992)
- In barca a vela contromano (1997)
- Figli di Annibale (1998)