Marco Leonardi makes romantic sincerity persuasive without demanding that we admire the effort. His teenage Totò fits the tenderness of Cinema Paradiso, although the quieter performance cannot quite replace the unruly pleasure of its childhood scenes.
Fi1m perspective
As the teenage Totò in Cinema Paradiso (1988), Marco Leonardi lets the film grow quieter around him. He fits the reflective mood without trying to reproduce Salvatore Cascio’s childhood mischief. We were touched by his romantic passages, because he takes the young man’s feelings seriously even when the film becomes too sweet. We still miss Cascio, though: the romance has less to surprise us than the exchanges with Alfredo.
Giuseppe Tornatore’s casting asks us to recognise one person in three actors, with Jacques Perrin playing Totò as an adult. Editor Mario Morra makes those changes easy to follow, so the changing faces do not become a distraction. Leonardi does not disturb the tenderness that holds the film together. The difficulty is the more deliberate pace: the film gives these recollections plenty of time, sometimes more than they need. We would sooner have a little less lingering than ask him to make the feelings any larger.
Like Water for Chocolate (1992) continued the romantic leading roles, with Leonardi playing Pedro Muzquiz. His physical presence and expressive eyes suit that sort of emotionally direct part. His work subsequently took him into American productions, while he continued in Italian cinema and television. He played Fideo in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). Later Italian roles include Luigi in Black Souls (2014) and Bernardo Fiore in Martin Eden (2019).
What we value in Leonardi is the lack of embarrassment about tenderness. In Cinema Paradiso, he accepts the romantic material on its own terms, and the scenes remain touching even when they run longer than they should. We would not ask him to become more knowing just to protect us from sentiment. Try Like Water for Chocolate next, to see him given another romantic lead.
Biography
Marco Leonardi is an Australian-born Italian actor. He was born on 14 November 1971 in Melbourne to Italian parents and moved to Italy at the age of four.
Leonardi began acting as a teenager and is known for his role as the teenage Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita in Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (1988). He later appeared as Pedro Muzquiz in the Mexican film Like Water for Chocolate (1992) and as Fideo in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). Other credits include From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000), The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) and Martin Eden (2019). He has been nominated twice for the Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor.
Leonardi has worked in Italian, Mexican and American productions and lived in Los Angeles for ten years. He was engaged to Mexican actress Lumi Cavazos from 1991 to 1999.
