Roberto Benigni

Acting

Roberto Benigni

Born 1952-10-27 · Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo, Italy

Roberto Benigni, (born October 27, 1952, Misericordia, Arezzo, Italy), Italian actor and director known for his comedic work, most notably La vita è bella (1997; Life Is Beautiful), for which he won an Academy Award for best actor. Benigni was the son of a poor tenant farmer who had worked in a German forced-labour camp during World War II. The elder Benigni used humour in retelling his experiences, which helped shape his son’s comedic skill. Benigni briefly attended a Jesuit seminary in Florence, and, after a stint as a magician’s assistant, he joined an underground theatre group in the late 1960s.

Acting credits

Life Is Beautiful poster
8.4

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

Life Is Beautiful

1997

Coffee and Cigarettes poster
6.9

An anthology of eleven vignettes featuring star-studded casts of extremely unique individuals who all share the common activities of conversing while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

Coffee and Cigarettes

2004

Asterix and Obelix Take On Caesar poster
6.0

Set in 50 B.C., Asterix and Obelix are living in a small but well-protected village in Gaul, where a magic potion concocted by Druids turns the townsfolk into mighty soldiers. When Roman troops carve a path through Gaul to reach the English Channel, Caesar and his aide de camp Detritus discover the secret elixir and capture the Druid leader who knows its formula, and Asterix and Obelix are sent off to rescue them.

Asterix and Obelix Take On Caesar

1999

Night on Earth poster
7.5

A quintet of cabbies in five cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.

Night on Earth

1991

To Rome with Love poster
5.8

Four tales unfold in the Eternal City: While vacationing in Rome, architect John encounters a young man whose romantic woes remind him of a painful incident from his own youth; retired opera director Jerry discovers a mortician with an amazing voice, and he seizes the opportunity to rejuvenate his own flagging career; a young couple have separate romantic interludes; a spotlight shines on an ordinary man.

To Rome with Love

2012

Pinocchio poster
6.6

Old woodcarver Geppetto fashions a wooden puppet, Pinocchio, who magically comes to life. Pinocchio longs for adventure and is easily led astray, encountering magical beasts, fantastical spectacles, while making friends and foes along his journey. However, his dream is to become a real boy, which can only come true if he finally changes his ways.

Pinocchio

2019

Luna poster
6.3

While touring in Italy, a recently-widowed American opera singer has an incestuous relationship with her 15-year-old son to help him overcome his heroin addiction.

Luna

1979

Down by Law poster
7.4

A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.

Down by Law

1986

Son of the Pink Panther poster
4.6

The illegitimate son of Inspector Clouseau is on the case of the kidnapped Princess Yasmin.

Son of the Pink Panther

1993

The Monster poster
7.0

A vicious serial sex killer is on the loose, and landscape gardener and shop-window outfitter Loris is the prime suspect, thanks to his unfortunate habit of getting caught in compromising situations (for which there is always a totally innocent explanation that the police fail to spot). Undercover policewoman Jessica is assigned by eccentric police psychologist Taccone to follow Loris.

The Monster

1994

Pinocchio poster
5.7

Roberto Benigni adapts the classic children's tale by Carlo Collodi for the big-budget family-oriented comedy Pinocchio.

Pinocchio

2002

Cinque mondi poster
6.5

Roberto Benigni, Bernardo Bertolucci, Gabriele Salvatores, Paolo Sorrentino and Giuseppe Tornatore talk about their idea of cinema.

Cinque mondi

2016

Untouchable poster
6.5

The inside story of the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein reveals how, over decades, he acquired and protected his power even when scandal threatened to engulf him. Former colleagues and accusers detail the method and consequences of his alleged abuse, hoping for justice and also to inspire change.

Untouchable

2019

The Tiger and the Snow poster
6.7

Love and injury in time of war. Attilio de Giovanni teaches poetry in Italy. He has a romantic soul, and women love him. But he is in love with Vittoria, and the love is unrequited. Every night he dreams of marrying her, in his boxer shorts and t-shirt, as Tom Waits sings. Vittoria travels to Iraq with her friend, Fuad, a poet; they are there with the second Gulf War breaks out. Vittoria is injured. Attilio must get to her side, and then, as war rages around him, he must find her the medical care she needs. In war, does love conquer all?

The Tiger and the Snow

2005

We Are Cinema poster
9.5

An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.

We Are Cinema

2021

The Last Laugh poster
7.0

Feature documentary about humor and the Holocaust, examining whether it is ever acceptable to use humor in connection with a tragedy of that scale, and the implications for other seemingly off-limits topics in a society that prizes free speech.

The Last Laugh

2016

Johnny Stecchino poster
7.3

Good hearted but not very wordly-wise, Dante is happy driving the school bus for a group of mentally handicapped children, while feeling he is somehow missing out on life and love. So he is very excited when after nearly being knocked down by her car he meets Maria, who seems immediately enamoured of him. He is soon invited to her sumptuous Palermo villa, little suspecting that this is part of a plot. He bears an amazing likeness to Maria's stool-pigeon gangster husband and it would be convenient for them if the mobster, in the shape of Dante, was seen to be dead and buried.

Johnny Stecchino

1991

Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special poster
7.0

Conan O'Brien celebrates ten years of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in this one-hour special. Many guest appearances and clip montages show us how funny his show has been.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special

2003

Womanlight poster
5.8

Having both suffered extreme losses, two disparate souls try to form a relationship for consolation rather than romance.

Womanlight

1979

The Little Devil poster
6.7

Father Maurice, a priest living in a residential college for priests in Rome, is called out one day to "exorcise" the devil from someone. The devil turns out to be in the form of a fun-loving man called Giuditta. What Father Maurice doesn't know is that this type of devil will turn his life around.

The Little Devil

1988

The Voice of the Moon poster
6.7

Odd couple Ivo Salvini, recently released from a mental asylum, and former prefect Gonnella wander through the countryside and discover a dystopia made of television commercials, beauty pageants, rock music, Catholicism, and pagan rituals.

The Voice of the Moon

1990

Close Up poster
9.5

More than 150 silent short films about singers, actors and directors captured during Press Conferences in Cannes, Venice and Berlin, between 1993 and 2002. Presented the first time in 2012 (ten years after the last shooting) in Napoli Film Festival and in 2013 at the Art Institute of California in Santa Ana. An anthropological experiment on the facial expressions of famous people showing the human being aspect. All original footage from Mel Gibson to Peter Jackson, from George Lucas to Catherine Deneuve, from Michael Douglas to Giancarlo Giannini and many others.

Close Up

2012

Seeking Asylum poster
6.0

A new teacher introduces radical ideas at a nursery school and it leads to various reactions from the students and the parents.

Seeking Asylum

1979

You Upset Me poster
6.6

The first movie directed by Roberto Benigni in four surreal short stories: "Durante Cristo" (During Christ), "Angelo" (Angel), , "In Banca" (At the Bank) and "I Due Militi" (The Two Soldiers). An excursus in Benigni's satirical views on man, religion and society.

You Upset Me

1983

Behind the camera

Life Is Beautiful poster
8.4

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

Life Is Beautiful

1997

Life Is Beautiful poster
8.4

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

Life Is Beautiful

1997

The Monster poster
7.0

A vicious serial sex killer is on the loose, and landscape gardener and shop-window outfitter Loris is the prime suspect, thanks to his unfortunate habit of getting caught in compromising situations (for which there is always a totally innocent explanation that the police fail to spot). Undercover policewoman Jessica is assigned by eccentric police psychologist Taccone to follow Loris.

The Monster

1994

The Monster poster
7.0

A vicious serial sex killer is on the loose, and landscape gardener and shop-window outfitter Loris is the prime suspect, thanks to his unfortunate habit of getting caught in compromising situations (for which there is always a totally innocent explanation that the police fail to spot). Undercover policewoman Jessica is assigned by eccentric police psychologist Taccone to follow Loris.

The Monster

1994

The Monster poster
7.0

A vicious serial sex killer is on the loose, and landscape gardener and shop-window outfitter Loris is the prime suspect, thanks to his unfortunate habit of getting caught in compromising situations (for which there is always a totally innocent explanation that the police fail to spot). Undercover policewoman Jessica is assigned by eccentric police psychologist Taccone to follow Loris.

The Monster

1994

Pinocchio poster
5.7

Roberto Benigni adapts the classic children's tale by Carlo Collodi for the big-budget family-oriented comedy Pinocchio.

Pinocchio

2002

Pinocchio poster
5.7

Roberto Benigni adapts the classic children's tale by Carlo Collodi for the big-budget family-oriented comedy Pinocchio.

Pinocchio

2002

The Tiger and the Snow poster
6.7

Love and injury in time of war. Attilio de Giovanni teaches poetry in Italy. He has a romantic soul, and women love him. But he is in love with Vittoria, and the love is unrequited. Every night he dreams of marrying her, in his boxer shorts and t-shirt, as Tom Waits sings. Vittoria travels to Iraq with her friend, Fuad, a poet; they are there with the second Gulf War breaks out. Vittoria is injured. Attilio must get to her side, and then, as war rages around him, he must find her the medical care she needs. In war, does love conquer all?

The Tiger and the Snow

2005

The Tiger and the Snow poster
6.7

Love and injury in time of war. Attilio de Giovanni teaches poetry in Italy. He has a romantic soul, and women love him. But he is in love with Vittoria, and the love is unrequited. Every night he dreams of marrying her, in his boxer shorts and t-shirt, as Tom Waits sings. Vittoria travels to Iraq with her friend, Fuad, a poet; they are there with the second Gulf War breaks out. Vittoria is injured. Attilio must get to her side, and then, as war rages around him, he must find her the medical care she needs. In war, does love conquer all?

The Tiger and the Snow

2005

Johnny Stecchino poster
7.3

Good hearted but not very wordly-wise, Dante is happy driving the school bus for a group of mentally handicapped children, while feeling he is somehow missing out on life and love. So he is very excited when after nearly being knocked down by her car he meets Maria, who seems immediately enamoured of him. He is soon invited to her sumptuous Palermo villa, little suspecting that this is part of a plot. He bears an amazing likeness to Maria's stool-pigeon gangster husband and it would be convenient for them if the mobster, in the shape of Dante, was seen to be dead and buried.

Johnny Stecchino

1991

Johnny Stecchino poster
7.3

Good hearted but not very wordly-wise, Dante is happy driving the school bus for a group of mentally handicapped children, while feeling he is somehow missing out on life and love. So he is very excited when after nearly being knocked down by her car he meets Maria, who seems immediately enamoured of him. He is soon invited to her sumptuous Palermo villa, little suspecting that this is part of a plot. He bears an amazing likeness to Maria's stool-pigeon gangster husband and it would be convenient for them if the mobster, in the shape of Dante, was seen to be dead and buried.

Johnny Stecchino

1991

The Little Devil poster
6.7

Father Maurice, a priest living in a residential college for priests in Rome, is called out one day to "exorcise" the devil from someone. The devil turns out to be in the form of a fun-loving man called Giuditta. What Father Maurice doesn't know is that this type of devil will turn his life around.

The Little Devil

1988

The Little Devil poster
6.7

Father Maurice, a priest living in a residential college for priests in Rome, is called out one day to "exorcise" the devil from someone. The devil turns out to be in the form of a fun-loving man called Giuditta. What Father Maurice doesn't know is that this type of devil will turn his life around.

The Little Devil

1988

Seeking Asylum poster
6.0

A new teacher introduces radical ideas at a nursery school and it leads to various reactions from the students and the parents.

Seeking Asylum

1979

You Upset Me poster
6.6

The first movie directed by Roberto Benigni in four surreal short stories: "Durante Cristo" (During Christ), "Angelo" (Angel), , "In Banca" (At the Bank) and "I Due Militi" (The Two Soldiers). An excursus in Benigni's satirical views on man, religion and society.

You Upset Me

1983

You Upset Me poster
6.6

The first movie directed by Roberto Benigni in four surreal short stories: "Durante Cristo" (During Christ), "Angelo" (Angel), , "In Banca" (At the Bank) and "I Due Militi" (The Two Soldiers). An excursus in Benigni's satirical views on man, religion and society.

You Upset Me

1983

Nothing Left to Do But Cry poster
7.7

Two 20th-century friends accidentally stumble into the year 1492, where they meet a charming teen and try to alter history.

Nothing Left to Do But Cry

1984

Nothing Left to Do But Cry poster
7.7

Two 20th-century friends accidentally stumble into the year 1492, where they meet a charming teen and try to alter history.

Nothing Left to Do But Cry

1984

Il comizio poster
NR

Short film by Paolo Brunatto with Roberto Benigni performing a fake political rally in Capalbio. Shot for the Italian television.

Il comizio

1978

Coffee and Cigarettes poster
6.9

In a vignette called "Strange to meet you," Roberto sits at a small table in a coffee bar. Five cups of coffee and two ashtrays are in front of him; he drinks and smokes. Steven joins him. They start a conversation about cigarettes and coffee. Steven likes to drink coffee before he sleeps, so he can dream faster. The conversation jumps around. "You know my mother?" asks Roberto. Steven describes coffee Popsicles. They switch seats; then switch back. Steven has to leave for a dental appointment he's not looking forward to. Roberto makes a startling offer, inspired no doubt by the coffee and cigarettes.

Coffee and Cigarettes

1987

Berlinguer: I Love You poster
6.7

A young poet falls in love with a sophisticated woman who hates poetry. But the poet wants to win her with poetry — and a bit of help from his mum.

Berlinguer: I Love You

1977

Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer poster
6.5

A film of Enrico Berlinguer's funeral in Rome, briefly tracing his career as leader of the Italian Communist Party.

Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer

1984

Roberto Benigni: TuttoBenigni poster
7.8

The film presents many clips taken from the television and theatrical shows of the Tuscan comedian who makes fun of the habits of the Italians and of the governing politics of the eighties.

Roberto Benigni: TuttoBenigni

1983

Roberto Benigni: TuttoBenigni poster
7.8

The film presents many clips taken from the television and theatrical shows of the Tuscan comedian who makes fun of the habits of the Italians and of the governing politics of the eighties.

Roberto Benigni: TuttoBenigni

1983