About
| Birth Name: | Francesco Sparanero |
| Birth Notes: | 23 November 1941, San Lazzaro, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| Height: | 5' 11" |
| Family: | * Vanessa Redgrave (31 December 2006 - present); 1 child |
| Biography: | Blue-eyed well-built Italian actor Franco Nero, once was a painting photographer, when he was discovered as an actor by director John Huston . Grew up in provincial northern Italian town in the family of a strict police sergeant, Nero got on the scene at six-years-old. Studied economics and trade in Milan University and, during that time, he was appearing in popular Italian photo-novels. This gave him a chance to gain a little role in Carlo Lizzani's La Celestina P... R... (1965). Year later, the handsome face of Nero was noticed by John Huston who chose him for the role of "Abel" in The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) (aka La Bibbia). But success came after he got the role of the lonely gunfighter, dragging a coffin in one of the best spaghetti-westerns; Sergio Corbucci's Django (1966). Nero then filmed a few other westerns of that style as Ferdinando Baldi's Texas, addio (1966) and Lucio Fulci's Tempo di massacro (1966) and furthered his career by filming in all genres of the cinema and TV. During filming of Joshua Logan 's _Camelot (1967), he met actress Vanessa Redgrave, who become his long-time partner. Played with Catherine Deneuve in Luis Buñuel's Tristana (1970) and with Sergei Bondarchuk in the war drama Bitka na Neretvi (1969). Later, director Bondarchuk cast Nero for the role of famous American reporter "John Reed" in two-part "Krasnye kolokola II" (1982). In the late 60s and during the 70s, Nero played many different roles, but most of them connected with political and criminal genre, criticized Italian justice system. In the early 80s, Nero was chosen for the role of the white ninja, "Cole", in Enter the Ninja (1981) and in 1990 as terrorist "Gen. Esperanza", opposite Bruce Willis in Renny Harlin's Die Hard 2 (1990). Being a personage from more than 25 different nationalities; from Russian to American, from Egyptian to Israeli, with 150 roles. He worked with the top European directors from Carlo Lizzani, Damiano Damiani, Luigi Zampa, Luis Buñuel, Elio Petri, Mihalis Kakogiannis, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Claude Chabrol, Vatroslav Mimica', 'Marco Bellocchio, etc. At the beginning of the 80s, he also began producing, writing and directing. Between films, he participates in various theatrical events. Apart from his cinematographic work, Nero also works for charitable organizations. |
Filmography
| Camelot (1967) as Lancelot |
| Enter the Ninja (1981) as Cole |
| Force 10 from Navarone (1978) as Lescovar |
| Keoma (1976) as Keoma |
| Letters to Juliet (2010) as Lorenzo Bartolini |
| Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling (2009) as Enrico Puzzo |
| Querelle (1982) as Lieutenant Seblon |
| Amelia Lópes O'Neill (1990) as Fernando |
| Amore e libertà - Masaniello (2006) as Vicerè D'Arcos |
| André schafft sie alle (1985) as André |
| Autostop rosso sangue (1977) as Walter Mancini |
| Banovic Strahinja (1981) as Banovic Strahinja |
| Bastardi (2008) as Rene Iuvara |
| Bathory (2008) as King Mathias II |
| Bitka na Neretvi (1969) as Capt. Michael Riva |
| Cattive inclinazioni (2003) as Vagrant |
| Chimera (2001) as Imprenditore |
| Cipolla Colt (1976) as Onion Stark |
| Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica (1971) as Deputy D.A. Traini |
| Corruzione al palazzo di giustizia (1975) as Judge Dani |
| Der Bauer von Babylon - Rainer Werner Fassbinder dreht Querelle (1983) as Himself |
| Der Fall Lucona (1993) as Enzo Lombardo |
| Diceria dell'untore (1990) as Gesualdo |
| Die 8. Todsünde: Das Toskana-Karussell (2002) as Giuseppe Mantaldo |
| Die Hard 2 (1990) as Gen. Ramon Esperanza |
| Dio è con noi (1969) as Ens. Bruno Grauber |
| Django (1966) as Django |
| Django 2: il grande ritorno (1987) as Django |
| Drop-out (1970) as Bruno |
| Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s (2009) as Himself |
| Forever Blues (2005) as Luca |
| Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso (2009) as Himself |
| Frankie Facciatosta and the Search for Success (2008) as Himself |
| Fratelli e sorelle (1991) as Franco |
| From Time to Time (1992) as Leonardo da Vinci |
| Fumata blanca (2002) as Cardenal Tura |
| Gente di rispetto (1975) as Professore Michele Belcore |
| Giornata nera per l'ariete (1971) as Andrea Bild |
| Gli uomini dal passo pesante (1965) as Charley Garvey |
| Grog (1982) as Nicola Fanelli |
| Guardiani delle nuvole (2004) |
| Ha-Italkim Ba'im (1996) as Luigi |
| Hans (2006) as Homeless/Magistrate |
| Honfoglalás (1996) as Árpád |
| I criminali della galassia (1965) as Jake, Lieutenant |
| I diafanoidi vengono da Marte (1966) as Lt. Jake Jacowitx |
| I guappi (1974) as Nicola Bellizzi |
| Il bandito dagli occhi azzurri (1980) as Renzo Dominici |
| Il cacciatore di squali (1979) as Mike di Donato |
| Il cittadino si ribella (1974) as Ing. Carlo Antonelli |
| Il delitto Matteotti (1973) as Giacomo Matteotti |
| Il giorno del Cobra (1980) as Larry Stanziani |
| Il giorno della civetta (1968) as Capt. Bellodi |
| Il giovane Toscanini (1988) as Claudio Toscanini (old) |
| Il mercenario (1968) as Sergei Kowalski, the Polish |
| Il pentito (1985) as Falco |
| Il ritorno di Zanna Bianca (1974) as Jason Scott |
| Il terzo occhio (1966) as Mino |
| Il tocco: la sfida (1997) as Jesus Barro |
| Io e il re (1995) as Maggiore Ferri |
| Io la conoscevo bene (1965) as Italo - The garage attendant |
| Jonathan degli orsi (1993) as Jonathan |
| Kamikaze 1989 (1982) |
| Krasnye kolokola, film pervyy - Meksika v ogne (1982) as John Reed |
| Krasnye kolokola, film vtoroy - Ya videl rozhdenie novogo mira (1983) as John Reed |
| L'istruttoria è chiusa: dimentichi (1971) as Vanzi |
| L'ultimo pistolero (2002) as Pistolero |
| L'uomo, l'orgoglio, la vendetta (1968) as Don José |
| La Celestina P... R... (1965) as Fabrizio |
| La medaglia (1997) as Ing. Ferrero |
| La polizia incrimina la legge assolve (1973) as Vice-Commissioner Belli |
| La rabbia (2008) as Mentore |
| La ragazza in prestito (1964) |
| La ragion pura (2001) |
| La vacanza (1971) as Osiride |
| Le moine (1972) as Ambrosio |
| Les magiciens (1976) as Sadry |
| Li chiamarono... briganti! (1999) as Il caporale dei carabinieri Nerza |
| Los amigos (1972) as Johnny Ears |
| Lullaby (2009) as Angelo della morte |
| Maestrale (2000) as Michele Giangrande |
| Mafia: Farewell to the Godfather (2011) as Rutario Pazzi |
| Magdalene (1989) as Janza |
| Marcia trionfale (1976) as Captain Asciutto |
| Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001) as Gen. Francini |
| Mineurs (2007) as Michele Acucella |
| Mirka (2000) |
| Mussolini: Ultimo atto (1974) as Walter Audisio 'Valerio' |
| Márió, a varázsló (2008) as Mario |
| Palestrina - princeps musicae (2009) as Domenico Ferrabosco |
| Pelle viva (1962) |
| Perché si uccide un magistrato (1974) as Giacomo Solaris |
| Pope Joan (1972) as Louis |
| Post coitum (2004) as Bakchus, photographer |
| Prigioniero di un segreto (2010) |
| Prova di memoria (1992) as Paul Herzog |
| Pygmalion 88 (1988) |
| Rasputin (2010) as Narrator |
| Run for Your Life (1988) as Commissare |
| Sacra Corona (2001) as Bishop Gellért |
| Sahara Cross (1977) as John Ballard |
| Scandalo (1976) as Armand |
| Senza ragione (1973) as Mosquito |
| Sequestro di persona (1968) as Gavino |
| Soltanto un nome nei titoli di testa (2008) as Himself |
| Stridulum (1979) as Jesus Christ |
| Sweet Country (1987) as Paul |
| Talk of Angels (1998) as Dr. Vicente Areavaga |
| Tecnica di un omicidio (1966) as Tony Lo Bello |
| Tempo di massacro (1966) as Tom Corbett |
| Texas, addio (1966) as Burt Sullivan |
| The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) as Abel |
| The Girl (1986) as Johan (John) Berg |
| The Innocent Sleep (1996) as Adolfo Cavani |
| The Man with Bogart's Face (1980) as Hakim |
| The Rite (2011) |
| The Salamander (1981) as Carabinieri Colonel Dante Matucci |
| The Story of Camelot (1967) as Himself |
| The Versace Murder (1998) as Gianni Versace |
| The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970) as The Gypsy |
| Ti stramo (2008) as Il barbone |
| Top Line (1988) as Ted Angelo |
| Tre giorni ai tropici (1986) as Francis, il marinaio |
| Tristana (1970) as Horacio |
| Two Families (2007) as Morandi |
| Ultimo stadio (2002) as Antonio |
| Un detective (1969) as Commissario Stefano Belli |
| Un dramma borghese (1979) as Guido |
| Un tranquillo posto di campagna (1969) as Leonardo Ferri |
| Una storia di lupi (2008) as Hermit |
| Uninvited (1999) as Avvocato Ralph Barolo |
| Vamos a matar, compañeros (1970) as Yodlaf Peterson |
| Viaggio in corso nel cinema di Carlo Lizzani (2007) as Himself |
| Zanna Bianca (1973) as Jason Scott |
| Zoloto (1992) |
| ¡Viva la muerte... tua! (1971) as Prince Dmitri Vassilovich Orlowsky |
| Forever Blues (2005) |
Trivia
|
* Father, with Vanessa Redgrave, of Carlo Gabriel Nero. * His luggage always includes a suitcase full with medicines. * His favourite color is black. * Gave away Natasha Richardson at her wedding to Liam Neeson. * Stepfather of Natasha Richardson and Joely Richardson. * Brother-in-law of Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave. * Son-in-law of Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. |
Quotes
|
* [interview in Toronto Globe and Mail, 11/12/1982] I would speak to Vanessa's father [Sir Michael Redgrave], or Laurence Olivier or John Gielgud, and they told me that, at a certain point, I had to make a choice. I could be a star and maybe make lots of money, or I could change roles all the time and have a more interesting - and longer - career. People will criticize you, they said, but if you keep changing, you'll win in the end. * [quoted on 11/27/1978] I was working as a set photographer on ['Dino De Laurentiis (I)' (qv)'] The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966). Director John Huston had seen a photo of me and said, "That's the face I want". |
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