Christian De Sica
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Christian De Sica | |
|---|---|
 De Sica in 2007 | |
| Born | 5 January 1951 Rome, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, scriptwriter |
| Spouse | Silvia Verdone (m. 1980) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Vittorio De Sica (father) María Mercader (mother) |
| Relatives | Manuel De Sica (brother) Carlo Verdone (brother-in-law) |
Christian De Sica (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkristjan de ˈsiːka]; born 5 January 1951) is an Italian actor and film director.
Life
[edit]De Sica was born in Rome, the second son of Italian director Vittorio De Sica and Spanish actress María Mercader. His first cousin once removed was Ramón Mercader, the murderer of Leon Trotsky.[1][2] After attending Liceo classico in Rome, where he had Carlo Verdone as his deskmate,[3] De Sica worked in a hotel in Venezuela, where he began his career as an artist. He enrolled in Lettere (Literature and Arts) at La Sapienza university (1970) but did not graduate.
He was attracted to music, and participated in the Sanremo Festival singing "Mondo mio" ("My World") (1973). However, the results convinced him to follow in his father's footsteps and devote himself to acting. De Sica developed his own style of comedy and entertainment also in Rai television shows, such as Bambole, non c'è una lira, which gave him a large success in 1978.
Acting career
[edit]With his father's help, he was able to take his first steps in the movie world with such teachers and mentors as Roberto Rossellini (Blaise Pascal, 1971), Vittorio De Sica himself (Una breve vacanza, 1973), Pupi Avati (Bordella, 1976) and Salvatore Samperi (1979 Liquirizia and 1981 Casta e pura).
He married Silvia Verdone, sister of Carlo, with whom he had two children, Brando and Mariarosa. He achieved fame in the 1980s: in 1982 Borotalco was released, together with his brother-in-law Verdone, then he filmed Sapore di Mare with Jerry Calà as well as Yuppies, Yuppies 2, Grandi Magazzini and Compagni di Scuola.[4]
After Night club, the last film directed by Italian director Sergio Corbucci, Christian De Sica became one of the most famous interpreters of the "cine-panettone" (comedies that reach movie theatres during the Christmas season) and formed till 2005 a partnership with actor Massimo Boldi. They acted together in the series of Vacanze di Natale and A spasso nel tempo (1996), Paparazzi (1998), Tifosi (1999) and Christmas in Love (2004). By 2002, their films had grossed 300 billion lire ($150 million).[5] Afterwards, he starred in Natale a New York (2006), Natale in crociera (2007) and Natale a Rio (2008). These films, done in burlesque style, tend to be well received at the box office, if not by critics, at times even outstripping better known and expensively made movies such as the Harry Potter series.[6]
As an actor, De Sica has won three David di Donatello awards: a prize for Giovannino in 1976, a special one together with Massimo Boldi in 2000, and the third one in 2009.
He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2016.
Directing career
[edit]Since 1990, Christian De Sica has also been a director: he debuted with Faccione, whose script he wrote and tailor-made for actress Nadia Rinaldi. After Count Max, a homage to the cinema of his father and of Mario Camerini, that he interpreted with Ornella Muti, Anita Ekberg and his mother Maria Mercader, De Sica went on self-directing in Ricky & Barabba (1992), Men Men Men (1995), Tre (1996), Simpatici & antipatici (1998), and The Clan (2005).
A great admirer of Frank Sinatra and above all of Marlon Brando, he named his first child Brando in honour of the American actor. Criticism has often likened his acting to that of Alberto Sordi, from whom De Sica has drawn a lot of his expressions.
Filmography
[edit]Films
[edit]Television
[edit]| Title | Year | Role(s) | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaise Pascal | 1972 | Lieutenant | Rai 1 | Miniseries; cameo appearance |
| Alle sette della sera | 1974–1975 | Himself / Host | Rai 2 | Variety show |
| La compagnia stabile della canzone con varietà e con comica finale | 1975 | Rai 1 | Special | |
| Bambole, non c'e una lira | 1978 | Various | Variety show | |
| Paris-Vichy | 1979 | Arnold | France 2 | Television movie |
| Studio 80 | 1980 | Himself / Host | Rai 1 | Variety show |
| Sotto le stelle | 1982 | Musical program (season 2) | ||
| Flipper | 1983 | Photographer | Television movie | |
| Cinema che follia! | 1988 | Himself / Host | Rai 2 | Variety show |
| Belli freschi | 1993 | Various | Canale 5 | Sketch comedy |
| Lo zio d'America | 2002–2006 | Massimo Ricciardi | Rai 1 | 12 episodes |
| Attenti a quei tre | 2004 | Luca | Miniseries | |
| Tale e quale show | 2012–2014, 2017, 2021 | Himself / Judge | Talent show (seasons 1–4, 7, 11) | |
| Un matrimonio | 2013–2014 | Pippo Dagnini | 6 episodes | |
| Striscia la notizia | 2015 | Himself / Guest host | Canale 5 | Variety show (from September 28–October 24) |
| Mozart in the Jungle | 2016 | Mr. Beppi | Prime Video | 5 episodes |
| Miss Italia | 2017 | Himself / Judge | La7 | Annual beauty contest |
| Christian De Sica: Una serata tra amici | 2021 | Himself / Host | Rai 1 | Special |
| Gigolò per caso | 2023 | Giacomo Bremer | Prime Video | 6 episodes |
References
[edit]- ^ María Mercader, la actriz catalana que amó a De Sica. El Pais, 30 Jan. 2011
- ^ Essere Liberi Archived 5 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 3 May 2004 (in Italian)
- ^ "Quell'amico che ti segue tutta la vita. Un anno senza il compagno di banco" [The friend who follow you for all the life. A year without the deskmate]. Il Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 29 August 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "Christian De Sica compie 70 anni: "Sono un saltimbanco, un attore e uno showman"". la Repubblica (in Italian). 5 January 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ Rooney, David (7 January 2002). "Local yokels deliver a boffo B.O holiday gift". Variety. p. 30.
- ^ Harford, Sonia (17 January 2003). "Diary/Rome". The Age (Melbourne, Australia). p. 4.
External links
[edit]
- 1951 births
- 20th-century Italian male actors
- Italian male comedians
- Italian film directors
- Italian people of Spanish descent
- 20th-century Italian screenwriters
- 21st-century Italian screenwriters
- Living people
- Nastro d'Argento winners
- David di Donatello Career Award winners
- People of Lazian descent
- 21st-century Italian male actors
- Italian male screenwriters
- Male actors from Rome
- Comedians from Rome