Michele Placido

He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Bellocchio, winning the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Actor for his performance in the 1979 film Ernesto. He is known internationally for portraying police inspector Corrado Cattani on the crime drama television series La piovra (1984–2001). Placido's directorial debut, Pummarò, was screened Un Certain Regard at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Three of his films have competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He is a five-time Nastro d'Argento and four-time David di Donatello winner. In 2021, Placido was appointed President of the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara.

Michele Placido
Born	(1946-05-19) 19 May 1946 (age 77) Ascoli Satriano, Apulia, Italy
Alma mater	Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico
Occupations	Actor film director screenwriter
Years active	1972–present
Spouses	Simonetta Stefanelli ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 1994)​ Federica Vincenti ​ ​ (m. 2012; div. 2017)​
Children	4, including Violante
Relatives	Gerardo Amato (brother)

Placido was born at Ascoli Satriano, into a poor family from Rionero in Vulture, Basilicata; he is a descendant of the known brigand Carmine Crocco. Placido had a number of jobs since his youth. For a time, he worked as a police officer in Rome, and was involved in the Battle of Valle Giulia. He studied acting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, and with Silvio D'Amico at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica.

 

Placido made his debut as an actor in the play Midsummer Night's Dream in 1969. Two years later he started film work under directors such as Luigi Comencini, Mario Monicelli, Salvatore Samperi, Damiano Damiani, Pasquale Squitieri, Francesco Rosi, Walerian Borowczyk, Marco Bellocchio, Paolo Cavara and Carlo Lizzani. His first success came with the role of soldier Paolo Passeri in Marcia trionfale (1976, directed by Bellocchio), for which he won a David di Donatello. Two years later he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor award at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival for his role of the homosexual worker in ironical melodrama Ernesto (1978, by Samperi).

He appeared in several TV movies in the 1970s, but 1983 marked the beginning of his greatest television popularity when he played the lead as a police inspector investigating the Mafia in Damiano Damiani's TV series La piovra. He went on to play the same part in the subsequent three seasons, until his character's assassination. Afterwards he would appear as a law enforcement official in a number of other films and TV productions dealing with organized crime, including a semi-biographical movie about Giovanni Falcone, where he acted as the titular judge. In 2008, in a reversal of roles, he portrayed longtime Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano in the TV movie L'ultimo padrino. A recognizable role to US audiences is that of an Italian businessman in the 1988 comedy Big Business.

 

Until a divorce in 1994, he was married to actress Simonetta Stefanelli. Their daughter Violante Placido is also an actress.

In 2012, he married actress Federica Vincenti (born 1983) after over 10 years of dating. The couple divorced in December 2017.

He supported the candidacy for mayor of Rome of the italian entrepreneur Alfio Marchini in the 2016 Italian local elections. His nephew, Alessandro Onorato, is the Councilor for Major Events, Sport and Tourism for Rome.

Actor

Director

• Pummarò (1990)
• Close Friends (1992)
• Un eroe borghese (1995)
• Of Lost Love (1998)
• Un Altro mondo è possibile (2001)
• A Journey Called Love (2002)
• Ovunque sei (2004)
• Romanzo criminale (2005)
• The Big Dream (2009)
• L'Aquila 2009 - Cinque registi tra le macerie (2009)
• Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male (2010)
• Le Guetteur (2012)
• The Choice (2015)
• 7 Minutes (2016)
• Caravaggio's Shadow (2022)