Paolo Kessisoglu (born 25 July 1969, in Genoa, Italy) is an Italian

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, comedian and

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

. He is best known for the duo Luca e Paolo, formed with his friend, Luca Bizzarri. Kessisoglu was also a member of the comedian group "Cavalli Marci" (Rotten Horses).

Biography

Kessisoglu was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

family.Luca e Paolo: «Aiuto! Ci avete messo in mezzo»
/ref> As a child his paternal grandfather moved with his family from

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

(today

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

, Turkey) to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and later to

to escape from the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

.Anna Maria Giordano, L'ultimo atto di un genocidio è la sua negazione, Rai Radio 3, 2013. The family settled in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

for several years before finally moving to

. The original surname, Keshishian, during the escape was turkized in Keşişoğlu (with the addition of the

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

ending -oğlu) to arouse less attention. In June 2003, Kessisoglu married TV anchor and journalist Sabrina Donadel with whom he has a daughter, Lunitta (b. 2003).

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessisoglu, Paolo 1969 births Living people Italian male actors Italian male comedians Italian people of Armenian descent Italian people of Turkish descent Mass media people from Genoa