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Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
in the
Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
film '' Django'' (1966), which made him a
pop culture icon Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
and launched an international career that includes over 200 leading and supporting roles in a wide variety of films and television programmes. During the 1960s and 1970s, Nero was actively involved in many popular Italian "
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...
trends", including ''
poliziotteschi Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ' ...
'', ''gialli'', and Spaghetti Westerns. His best-known films include '' The Bible: In the Beginning...'' (1966), ''
Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
'' (1967), ''
The Day of the Owl ''The Day of the Owl'' ( it, Il giorno della civetta ) is a crime novel about the Sicilian Mafia by Leonardo Sciascia, finished in 1960 and published in 1961. As the author wrote in his preface of the 1972 Italian edition, the novel was writt ...
'' (1968), '' The Mercenary'' (1968), ''
Battle of Neretva Case White (german: Fall Weiss), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive ( sh, Četvrta neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during ...
'' (1969), ''
Tristana Tristana may refer to: * ''Tristana'' (novel), a novel published in 1892 by Benito Pérez Galdós ** ''Tristana'' (film), a 1970 Spanish film directed by Luis Buñuel based on the eponymous novel * ''Tristana'' (song), a 1987 song recorded by the ...
'' (1970), '' Compañeros'' (1970), ''
Confessions of a Police Captain ''Confessions of a Police Captain'' ( it, Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica, also known as ''Confessions of a Police Commissioner to the District Attorney'') is an Italian crime-drama film. The film won the ...
'' (1971), ''
The Fifth Cord ''The Fifth Cord'' (Italian: ''Giornata nera per l'ariete'', lit. "Black Day for Aries") is a 1971 Italian giallo film directed by Luigi Bazzoni. The film's Italian title reprises Dario Argento's practice of using animals in the titles of his th ...
'' (1971), ''
High Crime ''High Crime'' ( it, La polizia incrimina la legge assolve, es, La policía detiene, la ley juzga) is a 1973 Italian-Spanish ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. The film stars Franco Nero, James Whitmore, Delia Boccardo and ...
'' (1973), ''
Street Law Street Law (also known as ''StreetLaw'') is a global program of legal and civics education geared at secondary school students. Street Law is an approach to teaching practically relevant law to grassroots populations using interactive teaching m ...
'' (1974), ''
Keoma Keoma is a hamlet in southern Alberta under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County. Keoma is located approximately 35 km (21 mi) northeast of Downtown Calgary, on Highway 566, 2.0 km (1.2 mi) east of Highway 9 and 19 km (12 mi) north of the ...
'' (1976), ''
Hitch-Hike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads ha ...
'' (1977), '' Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978), ''
Enter the Ninja ''Enter the Ninja'' is a 1981 American martial arts film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George, Sho Kosugi and Christopher George. The film is about a martial artist named Cole (Nero) who is visiting his friend F ...
'' (1981), ''
Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
'' (1990), '' Letters to Juliet'' (2010), ''
Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American computer-animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to '' Cars'' (2006), the second film in the ''Cars'' franchise, and the 12th animated film from ...
'' (2011), and '' John Wick: Chapter 2'' (2017). Nero has had a long relationship with
Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...
, which began during the filming of ''Camelot''. They were married in 2006, and are the parents of the actor
Carlo Gabriel Nero Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Nero (born Carlo Gabriel Sparanero; 16 September 1969) is an Italian-English screenwriter and film director. Biography The son of actors Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave, his maternal half-sisters are actresses Joely ...
.


Early life

Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero was born in
San Prospero Parmense Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...
(
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...
,
Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...
), the son of a commissioned officer in the
Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
. His parents were originally from
San Severo San Severo (; formerly known as Castellum Sancti Severini, then San Severino and Sansevero; locally ) is a city and comune of c. 51,919 inhabitants in the province of Foggia, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. Rising on the foot of the spur of Gargano ...
(
Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...
,
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
). He grew up in Bedonia and in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
. He studied briefly at the Economy and Trade faculty of the local university, before leaving to study at the
Piccolo Teatro di Milano The Piccolo Teatro di Milano (translation: "Little Theatre of the City of Milan") is a theatre in Milan, Italy. Founded in 1947, it is Italy's first permanent theatre, and a national "teatro stabile", or permanent repertory company, and is conside ...
.


Acting career

Nero's first film role was a small part in '' Pelle viva'' (1962), and he had his first lead role in Sergio Corbucci's '' Django'' (1966) a
Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
and one of his best-known films. In 1966 from ''Django'' he went on to appear in eight more films released that year including '' Texas, Adios'' (1966) and ''
Massacre Time ''Massacre Time'' ( it, Le colt cantarono la morte e fu... tempo di massacro, lit=The Colt Sang Death and it was... Massacre Time) is a 1966 Italian Spaghetti Western film starring Franco Nero and George Hilton. Plot In New Mexico, Tom Corbett ...
''. In 1967, he appeared in ''
Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
'' as
Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...
, where he met his longtime romantic partner, and later his wife,
Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...
. Following this he appeared in the mafia film '' Il giorno della civetta'' opposite
Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...
released in 1968. A lack of proficiency in English tended to limit these roles, although he also appeared in other English-language films including ''
The Virgin and the Gypsy ''The Virgin and the Gipsy'' is a short novel (or novella) by English author D.H. Lawrence. It was written in 1926 and published posthumously in 1930. Today it is often entitled ''The Virgin and the Gypsy'' which can lead to confusion because fir ...
'' (1970), '' Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978), ''
Enter the Ninja ''Enter the Ninja'' is a 1981 American martial arts film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George, Sho Kosugi and Christopher George. The film is about a martial artist named Cole (Nero) who is visiting his friend F ...
'' (1981) and ''
Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
'' (1990). Although often typecast in films like '' Los amigos'' (1973) or ''
Keoma Keoma is a hamlet in southern Alberta under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County. Keoma is located approximately 35 km (21 mi) northeast of Downtown Calgary, on Highway 566, 2.0 km (1.2 mi) east of Highway 9 and 19 km (12 mi) north of the ...
'' (1976) he has attempted an impressive range of characters, such as
Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...
in
John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
's epic '' The Bible: In The Beginning'' (1966), the humiliated engineer out for revenge in ''
Street Law Street Law (also known as ''StreetLaw'') is a global program of legal and civics education geared at secondary school students. Street Law is an approach to teaching practically relevant law to grassroots populations using interactive teaching m ...
'', the gay lieutenant in ''
Querelle ''Querelle'' is a 1982 West German-French English-language arthouse film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and starring Brad Davis, adapted from French author Jean Genet's 1947 novel ''Querelle of Brest''. It was Fassbinder's last film, rel ...
'' (1982) and
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...
mediaeval hero in '' The Falcon'' (1983). He has appeared in over 150 films, and has written, produced and starred in one: '' Jonathan degli orsi'' (1993). More recently, he starred in Hungarian director 's '' Honfoglalás (Conquest)'' in 1996, in '' Li chiamarono... briganti!'' (1999) by
Pasquale Squitieri Pasquale Squitieri (27 November 1938 – 18 February 2017) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Naples, Squitieri graduated in law, then was briefly involved in stage, as author ("''La battaglia''") and even a ...
and subsequently in Koltay's ''Sacra Corona (Holy Crown)'' in 2001. In 2009 he played an eccentric author called "Mario Puzzo" in '' Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling'' ("Murder is my trade, darling", Italian title "Tesoro, sono un killer"). German critics found his performance was the best part of the film: "Having Franco Nero playing in this film is really a great joy – it is only regrettable that after his appearances there is still so much film left." In 2010, Nero appeared in the film '' Letters to Juliet'' with Redgrave. In 2011 he appeared as a guest star on the season 13 premiere episode of Law and Order: SVU. His character, although Italian, was based on
Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist P ...
. In the same year, he received a star on the
Italian Walk of Fame The Italian Walk of Fame (IWOF) located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful persons of Italian descent. The walk of fame is located in the downtown Little Italy distri ...
in
Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada. In 2012, Nero made a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in the film ''
Django Unchained ''Django Unchained'' () is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson, with Walton Goggins, Dennis C ...
'' in one scene alongside
Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...
, who stars as Django Freeman in the film. Nero, playing the original Django, questions Foxx's Django about how his name is spelled, and asks him to spell it, referencing a scene from Nero's role as Django in the original '' Django'' film. Upon learning that their names are spelled the same way, Nero's Django says "I know" to Foxx's Django. In 2016 and 2017 he interpreted Gabriele Tinti's poetry, giving voice to the masterpieces in the National Roman Museum. Nero appears in the dark comedy feature film ''The Immortalist'' in 2020, along with
Sherilyn Fenn Sherilyn Fenn (born Sheryl Ann Fenn; February 1, 1965) is an American actress and author. She came to attention for her performance as Audrey Horne on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) for which she was nominated for a Go ...
, Paul Rodriguez,
Aries Spears Aries Spears (born April 3, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian and actor from New Jersey. Spears was a regular on Fox's sketch comedy series ''MADtv'', appearing in 198 episodes, making him the second longest-serving cast member on the sho ...
and Jeff DuJardin, directed by Vlad Kozlov.


Personal life

His romantic involvement with English actress
Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...
began in 1966 when they met on the set of ''
Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
''. In 1969, they had a son, Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Sparanero (known professionally as
Carlo Gabriel Nero Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Nero (born Carlo Gabriel Sparanero; 16 September 1969) is an Italian-English screenwriter and film director. Biography The son of actors Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave, his maternal half-sisters are actresses Joely ...
), a screenwriter and director. After separating for many years, during which they both had relationships with other people, they reunited and married on 31 December 2006. Carlo Nero directed Redgrave in the cinematic adaptation of Wallace Shawn's play '' The Fever''. Nero dated actresses
Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
,
Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...
, and
Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...
in the 1970s. In 1983 he had a second son, Frank Sparanero (also known as Frankie Nero or Frank Nero Jr). Born in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, Nero began his acting career with Pupi Avati in 1996 at a film festival and then 1999 with the film Buck and the Magic Bracelet by Tonino Ricci. In addition to being an actor, he is also an artist, architect and photographer. In December 1987, a paternity suit in a Court was filed against him in
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
South America. where he was at that time doing a movie, after a brief romantic affair with Mauricia Mena, who claimed that he was the father of her little son Franquito. In 1994, Nero walked his future stepdaughter Natasha Richardson (1963–2009) down the aisle when she married actor
Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on '' Th ...
. Her father,
Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones''. Early ...
, had died in 1991.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


Discography

*1985 – ''Will Change The World''/''Cambierà'' (Lovers, LVNP 802, 7" – with his son Carlo)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nero, Franco 1941 births Living people David di Donatello winners Italian expatriates in the United Kingdom Italian male film actors Male Spaghetti Western actors Male Western (genre) film actors People from the Province of Modena People of Apulian descent Redgrave family