--- name: "Paolo Bonacelli" canonical: "https://film.one/person/paolo-bonacelli" roles: ["Actor"] born: "28 February 1937" died: "8 October 2025" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 66 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-20T06:01:29.772744+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Paolo Bonacelli Actor. Born 28 February 1937 in Rome, Italy. Died 8 October 2025. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 28 February 1937, Rome, Italy - **Died:** 8 October 2025 - **Active:** 1978–2006 - **Also known as:** Паоло Боначелли, パオロ・ボナチェリ - **Average Fi1m score:** 66, as actor, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 61 (1), 2000s 70 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Bonacelli, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q435677, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0093678/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4819 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Midnight Express*](https://film.one/film/midnight-express.md) (61) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Biography Paolo Bonacelli was an Italian stage and film actor. He trained at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome and made his stage debut in a production directed by Vittorio Gassman. His first film role came in 1964. Bonacelli appeared as the Duke in Pier Paolo Pasolini's *Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom* (1975), as Rifki in *Midnight Express* (1978), and as Cassius Chaerea in *Caligula* (1979). He also featured in *Night on Earth* (1991), *Johnny Stecchino* (1991), for which he received the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actor, *Mission: Impossible III* (2006), and *The American* (2010). He died in Rome on 8 October 2025. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Mission: Impossible III* (2006), Fi1m 70, as Monsignore — [page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-iii.md) - *Midnight Express* (1978), Fi1m 61, as Rifki — [page](https://film.one/film/midnight-express.md) ## Complete filmography (90) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *In the Hand of Dante* (2026), as Priest Of Alcamo - *Nato il sei ottobre* (2024), Actor - *The Commander* (2023), as Betti - *Noi ce la siamo cavata* (2023), as Sé stesso - *Divine* (2020), Actor - *To the Unknown God* (2019), Actor - *Forse è solo mal di mare* (2019), as Calogero (Voice) - *Magical Nights* (2018), as Ennio 'The Great' - *The Ploy* (2016), as Vescovo - *Furore il vento della speranza* (2014), series, as Niccolò Carbone - *The American* (2010), as Father Benedetto - *Mission: Impossible III* (2006), as Monsignore — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-iii.md) - *13 at a Table* (2004), as Nonno Giulio - *A.A.A. Achille* (2003), as Dott. Aglieri - *The Accidental Detective* (2003), as Direttore Della Galleria Palatina - *Gli astronomi* (2003), as Peters - *Dirty Linen* (1999), as Amedeo - *Alice on the Run* (1998), series, as Luigi Mancini - *Bakunin's Son* (1997), as Giudice - *The Stendhal Syndrome* (1996), as Dr. Cavanna - *Christmas Vacation '95* (1995), as Paolo "Paolone" - *Once a Year, Every Year* (1994), as Romano - *The Teddy Bear* (1994), as Novacek - *Charlemagne, le prince à cheval* (1994), series, as Vitale - *Abraham* (1993), as Melchisedek - *Abraham* (1993), series, as Melchisedek - *Mille bolle blu* (1993), as Mario - *Flusso di coscienza - Razzismo 1993* (1993), Actor - *Ciao, Professore!* (1992), as Ludovico Mazzullo - *Il segno del comando* (1992), as Bonsanti - *Night on Earth* (1991), as Priest - *Johnny Stecchino* (1991), as D'Agata - *Touch and Die* (1991), as Morelli - *Only One Survived* (1990), as Andrade - *Flight from Paradise* (1990), as Eliah - *I promessi sposi* (1989), series, as padre di Gertrude - *La moglie ingenua e il marito malato* (1989), as Carl Rune - *Francesco* (1989), as Francesco's Father - *A Double Victory* (1989), as Guido Sormani - *Lenin: The Train* (1988), as Zinoviev - *Lenin... The Train* (1988), series, as Grigori Jewsejewitsch Zinoviev - *Topo Galileo* (1988), as Professor Zitti - *Rimini Rimini* (1987), as l'ingegnere - *Love Sins* (1987), as Ercole Leoni - *L'ultima mazurka* (1986), as Lanza - *Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime)* (1986), as Tango - *Mother Ebe* (1985), as Don Paolo Monti - *Nothing Left to Do But Cry* (1984), as Leonardo da Vinci - *The Naked Sun* (1984), Actor - *Henry IV* (1984), as Belcredi - *The Commissioner* (1983), as Commissionario - *The Knight, Death and the Devil* (1983), as Nicholas - *Words and Blood* (1982), as Marcucci - *I Remember Nelson* (1982), series, as King Ferdinando - *Delitti, amore e gelosia* (1982), as Commissario Dell'Amore - *The Mystery of Oberwald* (1981), as Count of Foehn - *Calderon* (1981), Actor - *The Persian Lamb Coat* (1980), as Ferdinando - *Le Guignolo* (1980), as Kamal - *Good News* (1979), as Gualtiero Milano - *Caligula* (1979), as Chaerea - *Christ Stopped at Eboli* (1979), as Don Luigi Magalone - *Midnight Express* (1978), as Rifki — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/midnight-express.md) - *Madame Bovary* (1978), series, as Charles Bovary - *Nest of Vipers* (1978), as Paolo Mazzarini - *This Is the Night* (1977), Actor - *Origins of the Mafia* (1976), series, as Vincenzo Biscetta - *Evil Thoughts* (1976), as Antonio Marani - *The Inheritance* (1976), as Paolo Furlin - *La banca di Monate* (1976), as Dottor Defendente Massera - *Illustrious Corpses* (1976), as Dr. Maxia - *Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom* (1976), as The Duke - *Beyond Fear* (1975), as Francesco Grimaldi - *Gli strumenti del potere. 1925/1926 la dittatura fascista* (1975), Actor - *Year One* (1974), as Giorgio Amendola - *The Murri Affair* (1974), as Francesco Bonmartini - *Milarepa* (1974), as Prof. Bennet - *Giordano Bruno* (1973), Actor - *Io e lui* (1973), as Vladimiro - *Il cancelliere Krehler* (1972), as Max - *Maddalena* (1971), Actor - *A Prostitute Serving the Public and in Compliance with the Laws of the State* (1971), Actor - *Tears of Love* (1970), as Cormick - *Seven Times Seven* (1968), Actor - *The Devil in Love* (1966), as Inn's customer - *Pleasant Nights* (1966), as Messenger - *SuperSeven Calling Cairo* (1965), as Capitano Hume - *One Million Dollars* (1964), as Zenone - *I grandi camaleonti* (1964), series, as Babeuf - *Corpse for the Lady* (1964), as Gedeon ## Gallery - ![Paolo Bonacelli](https://film.one/media/person/1077493/gallery-207cfd7f2f37.png) Paolo Bonacelli — Emons Edizioni - Libri e Audiolibri, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Paolo_Bonacelli_2017_Emons_Edizioni.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Screenshot dal film Il padre di famiglia (1975) estratto personalmente (1967)](https://film.one/media/person/1077493/gallery-a3c14f582197.png) Screenshot dal film Il padre di famiglia (1975) estratto personalmente (1967) — Nanni Loy (director) / Armando Nannuzzi (cinematographer), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Il_padre_di_famiglia_07.png/1280px-Il_padre_di_famiglia_07.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Screenshot dal film Il padre di famiglia (1975) estratto personalmente (1967)](https://film.one/media/person/1077493/gallery-49c92d6c672a.png) Screenshot dal film Il padre di famiglia (1975) estratto personalmente (1967) — Nanni Loy (director) / Armando Nannuzzi (cinematographer), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Il_padre_di_famiglia_06.png/1280px-Il_padre_di_famiglia_06.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/paolo-bonacelli