Accorsi, Stefano

(1971-)

   Actor. One of the most charismatic of the new generation of actors who emerged in the Italian cinema of the 1990s, Accorsi landed a supporting role in Pupi Avati's Fratelli e sorelle (Brothers and Sisters, 1991) soon after graduating from high school. He then moved to Bologna and joined the Teatro Stabile dell'Arena del Sole. While working in the theater he came to national prominence through a television advertisement for a well-known brand of ice cream, directed by the young Daniele Luchetti. His reputation was enhanced by a subsequent appearance in Enza Negroni's popular generational film Jack Frusciante e uscito dal gruppo (Jack Frusciante Left the Band, 1995).

   After more work on the stage, Accorsi returned to the cinema in a very moving interpretation of a young Resistance fighter's coming of age in Luchetti's Piccoli maestri (Little Teachers, 1998). This was followed by the lead role in Luciano Ligabue's Radiofreccia (Radio Arrow, 1998), which earned him a David di Donatello and the Premio Amidei. Following his appearance in the enormously popular television miniseries Come quando fuori piove (Hens, Ducks, Chicken and Swine, 2000), directed by Mario Monicelli, he played the young homosexual lover in Ferzan Ozpetek's Le fate ignoranti (The Ignorant Fairies, 2001), a demanding role that was recognized with a Nastro d'argento. A year later he was awarded the Volpi Cup at Venice for his interpretation of the poet Dino Campana in Michele Placido's Un viaggio chiamato amore (A Journey Called Love, 2002). After a two-year break he returned to the big screen in Carlo Mazzacurati's sentimental love story L'amore ritrovato (An Italian Romance, 2004) and more recently has taken the lead in Placido's romantic crime drama, Romanzo criminale (Crime Novel, 2005).