---
name: "Roberto Benigni"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/roberto-benigni"
fi1m_id: "roberto-benigni"
imdb_id: "nm0000905"
tmdb_id: 4818
wikidata_id: "Q23301"
roles: ["Actor","Director"]
born: "27 October 1952"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-03T01:29:39.408988+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."
---

# Roberto Benigni

## Identity

Roberto Benigni

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/roberto-benigni
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** roberto-benigni
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000905
- **TMDB ID:** 4818
- **Wikidata ID:** Q23301
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Benigni, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23301, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000905/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4818

Actor and director. Born 27 October 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo, Italy.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor, Director
- **Born:** 27 October 1952, Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo, Italy
- **Active:** 1986–2019
- **Also known as:** Roberto Remigio Benigni , 羅貝托·貝尼尼, روبرتو بنینی
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 2 acting, 1 directing
- **Frequently works with:** [Nicoletta Braschi](https://film.one/person/nicoletta-braschi.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 2 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (1), 1990s 65 (1), 2010s 76 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Benigni, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23301, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000905/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4818

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Down by Law*](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md) (83)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Pinocchio*](https://film.one/film/pinocchio-2019.md) (76)
- **Apple TV:** [*Life Is Beautiful*](https://film.one/film/life-is-beautiful.md) (65)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Roberto Benigni

> Roberto Benigni's gift is not knowing when to stop, and his films work best when someone on screen or behind the camera refuses to be won over. Jim Jarmusch gave him that in *Down by Law*; directing himself, he tends to take the resistance away.

Watch Roberto Benigni enter a scene and try to find the moment he settles. There is not one. He talks with his hands, his eyebrows and most of his upper body, and he keeps going well past the point at which another actor would let the other person have a turn. In *Down by Law* (1986) he arrives in a cell shared by Tom Waits and John Lurie, two men who have made a style out of looking unimpressed, and he simply does not notice. He chatters, he recites, he is delighted to meet them. The joke is that they cannot make him stop being friendly, and Jim Jarmusch holds the shots long enough for their irritation to turn into something close to affection.

He came up through underground theatre and television in the early 1970s, made his film debut in *Berlinguer ti voglio bene* (1977) and directed his first feature, *Tu mi turbi*, in 1983. Jarmusch put him in front of audiences outside Italy, in *Down by Law* and again in *Night on Earth* (1991), and at home he became a director-star with *Johnny Stecchino* (1991) and *The Monster* (1994). Then came *Life Is Beautiful* (1997), which he wrote with Vincenzo Cerami, directed and starred in, and which made him known everywhere. Since then he has written, directed and played the lead in *Pinocchio* (2002) and *The Tiger and the Snow* (2005), and taken acting parts for others, in *To Rome with Love* (2012) and another *Pinocchio* (2019). He has said that Charlie Chaplin "has influenced everything I've ever done. Just everything." You can see it in every gesture.

His comedy needs a wall to bounce off. In *Down by Law* the wall is Waits and Lurie. In *Life Is Beautiful* it is Nicoletta Braschi's Dora, who has to be courted at length, and the courtship is the film's best stretch because she takes so long to give in. We laughed at how much labour he puts into being ridiculous, because he does it without a flicker of embarrassment. Braschi has played opposite him in six films and knows how to stand still while he does not.

The trouble comes when he directs himself and the wall is removed. The second half of *Life Is Beautiful* asks Guido's inventiveness to carry a Holocaust story, and the script keeps admiring him where it should be showing us what he cannot control. We were moved, more than we expected to be, in the stretch where the smile starts to cost him something: the strain finally shows, and the clowning has a reason. But the film protects him. Nobody in it is allowed to be unconvinced for long, and reassurance is handed out where the setting demands doubt. Some critics have said the film turns the camp into a fable, and we think the charge sticks.

Start with *Down by Law*, then *Life Is Beautiful* for the courtship and for the moments when the smile costs him something. He is at his best as a guest in someone else's film, where the host decides when the party ends.

## Biography

Roberto Benigni is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and film director. He was born on 27 October 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, a frazione of Castiglion Fiorentino in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany. His father had been imprisoned in a German forced-labour camp during the Second World War.

Benigni briefly attended a Jesuit seminary in Florence and worked as a magician’s assistant before joining an underground theatre group in the late 1960s. He made his directorial debut with *Tu mi turbi* (1983), which he also wrote and starred in, and gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the 1997 tragicomedy *Life Is Beautiful* (*La vita è bella*).

For *Life Is Beautiful* he received the Academy Award for Best Actor and the film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Other notable credits include *Johnny Stecchino* (1991), *Pinocchio* (2002) and *To Rome with Love* (2012).

*Sources: britannica.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Performed in (2) — the average rests on these

- *Pinocchio* (2019), Fi1m 76, as Mister Geppetto — [page](https://film.one/film/pinocchio-2019.md)
- *Down by Law* (1986), Fi1m 83, as Roberto — [page](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md)

### Directed (1)

- *Life Is Beautiful* (1997), Fi1m 65, as Guido — [page](https://film.one/film/life-is-beautiful.md)

## Complete filmography (51)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Pietro - A Man in the Wind* (2025), Actor
- *The Singing Priest* (2025), as Dr. John
- *The Dream* (2025), Actor
- *Francesco - The Canticle* (2022), Producer, Writer
- *I magnifici 4 della risata* (2022), Actor
- *Pinocchio* (2019), as Mister Geppetto — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/pinocchio-2019.md)
- *La voce di Fantozzi* (2017), as Sé stesso
- *Opinioni di un clown - Roberto Benigni* (2012), Actor
- *To Rome with Love* (2012), as Leopoldo
- *La commedia di Amos Poe* (2010), as Narrator (voice)
- *Roberto Benigni - Tutto Dante* (2008), series, as Roberto Benigni · Creator
- *I Vicerè* (2007), Thanks
- *Collezione di risate* (2006), series, Actor
- *The Tiger and the Snow* (2005), as Attilio de Giovanni · Director, Writer
- *Coffee and Cigarettes* (2004), as Roberto (segment "Strange to Meet You")
- *Pinocchio* (2002), as Pinocchio · Screenplay, Director, Story
- *Asterix and Obelix Take On Caesar* (1999), as Lucius Detritus
- *Life Is Beautiful* (1997), as Guido · Screenplay, Director, Story — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/life-is-beautiful.md)
- *TuttoBenigni 95/96* (1996), as Roberto Benigni · Director, Stage Director, Writer, Idea, Story, Screenplay
- *The Monster* (1994), as Loris · Director, Producer, Story, Screenplay
- *Peter and the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy* (1993), as Narrator (voice, Italian version)
- *Son of the Pink Panther* (1993), as Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli
- *Look to the Sky* (1993), Thanks
- *Night on Earth* (1991), as Cab Driver Rome
- *Johnny Stecchino* (1991), as Dante Ceccarini / Johnny Stecchino · Screenplay, Director, Story
- *The Voice of the Moon* (1990), as Ivo Salvini
- *Mystery Train* (1989), Thanks
- *The Little Devil* (1988), as Giuditta · Story, Director, Screenplay
- *Coffee and Cigarettes* (1987), as Roberto · Writer
- *Down by Law* (1986), as Roberto — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md)
- *Nothing Left to Do But Cry* (1984), as Saverio · Director, Story, Screenplay
- *Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer* (1984), Director
- *FF.SS. cioè '...che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?'* (1983), as Lo sceicco Beige
- *Roberto Benigni: TuttoBenigni* (1983), Writer, Idea, Story, Screenplay
- *You Upset Me* (1983), as Benigno · Director, Screenplay, Story
- *Morto Troisi, viva Troisi!* (1982), as The anonymous childhood friend / Self
- *The Soup* (1981), as Il maestro
- *The Days Are Numbered* (1979), as Il professore
- *Seeking Asylum* (1979), as Roberto · Writer
- *Luna* (1979), as Upholsterer
- *Womanlight* (1979), as Bartender at Clapsy's
- *Tigers in Lipstick* (1979), as The Principal
- *Cinématon* (1978), as N°801
- *Ladra di sogni* (1978), Actor
- *Il parolaio* (1978), as Cliente
- *Vita da Cioni* (1978), Actor
- *Il comizio* (1978), Screenplay
- *Berlinguer: I Love You* (1977), as Mario Cioni · Screenplay, Story
- *Onda Libera* (1976), series, as Mario Cioni · Writer
- *TuttoDante*, series, Creator
- *Roberto Benigni - Inno Di Mameli*, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Roberto Benigni](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-95da289b776a.jpg) Roberto Benigni — Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Roberto_Benigni-5274.jpg/1280px-Roberto_Benigni-5274.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Uno scatto raffigurante l'opera intitolata "Alla Creatività" e dedicata all'attore Roberto Benigni. (2022)](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-d31a9b56494c.jpg) Uno scatto raffigurante l'opera intitolata "Alla Creatività" e dedicata all'attore Roberto Benigni. (2022) — Jacopo Bucciantini, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/%27Alla_Creativit%C3%A0%27.jpg/1280px-%27Alla_Creativit%C3%A0%27.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Roberto Benigni appena premiato col Leone d'Oro alla carriera (2021)](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-c40417e15a57.jpg) Roberto Benigni appena premiato col Leone d'Oro alla carriera (2021) — Davide Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/78a_mostra_del_Cinema_di_Venezia_04.jpg/1280px-78a_mostra_del_Cinema_di_Venezia_04.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![roberto benigni nel 1990](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-0de3df9ef38c.jpg) roberto benigni nel 1990 — Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Benigni1.jpg/1280px-Benigni1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Roberto Benigni](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-4358b5dbbf4c.jpg) Roberto Benigni — Image via TMDB
- ![Roberto Benigni](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-39052b478f21.jpg) Roberto Benigni — Image via TMDB
- ![Roberto Benigni](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-926dcd7cd509.jpg) Roberto Benigni — Image via TMDB
- ![roberto benigni nel 1990](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-3bc4baf37b39.jpg) roberto benigni nel 1990 — Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Benigni2.jpg/1280px-Benigni2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![roberto benigni nel 1990](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-211e9b7d3a5b.jpg) roberto benigni nel 1990 — Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Benigni2_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Benigni2_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Roberto Benigni](https://film.one/media/person/87938/gallery-b76a2715b15a.jpg) Roberto Benigni — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- 1999: Best Actor (won), for *Life Is Beautiful*
- 1999: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Life Is Beautiful*
- 1999: Best Director (nominated), for *Life Is Beautiful*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 1 won

- 1999: Best Actor in a Leading Role (won)

### Venice Film Festival — 1 won

- 2021: Lifetime Achievement (won)

### Other awards — 11 won

- Honorary Lumière Award 2020: Honorary Lumière Award (won)
- honorary doctor of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 2007: honorary doctor of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (won)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic 2005: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (won)
- European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award 2000: European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award (won)
- David di Donatello for Best Actor 1998: David di Donatello for Best Actor (won), for *Life Is Beautiful*
- European Film Award for Best Actor 1998: European Film Award for Best Actor (won), for *Life Is Beautiful*
- European Film Award for Best Film 1998: European Film Award for Best Film (won), for *Life Is Beautiful*
- Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor 1998: Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor (won)
- Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor 1992: Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor (won)
- David di Donatello for Best Actor 1989: David di Donatello for Best Actor (won), for *The Little Devil*
- Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor 1987: Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/roberto-benigni