Raoul Bova: Making his Passions his Life

Born in Rome on August 14, 1971 to southern Italian parents, Raoul Bova was naturally athletic, starting out with a love of sports. He encountered a freak accident when he was a child and almost drown while frolicking in the sea. That life-changing experience made him confront his fear of water and take up swimming. The sport ended up becoming a huge passion for him and at the age of sixteen, he earned a championship title for the S.S. Lazio team of Rome, one of the oldest and most renowned sport clubs in Europe. He went on to pursue a degree in Physical Education but that was cut short soon after he discovered a passion for acting. Although he never intended to give up sports as a hobby, he knew in his heart that acting was his true love and wanted to pursue it as a career. He enrolled in the drama school, Beatrice Bracco, and never looked back.

Bova started working right away, with his first role as Giuliano Amitrano in Stefano Reali’s 1992 made-for-television movie, "Una storia Italiana." His big screen debut came the following year in Carlo Vanzina’s romantic drama, "Piccolo grande amore" in which he played the role of Marco, a handsome swimming coach, not such a far stretch from his real life persona. Those two early roles made Bova an overnight success in Italy. He continues to work in both television and film, and has shared the screen with the likes of Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn and Angelina Jolie. He's fared well in modelling, having been the face of Armani and appearing in a 1999 Max Factor commercial alongside Madonna.

Read my 2016 Interview with Raoul Bova

Bova's roles are diverse. He has taken on complex characters in movies like Rewind in which he plays a terrorist, “I cavalieri che fecero l’impresa” in which he plays a medieval man whose soul is possessed by the devil and my favorite role to date; Lorenzo in Ferzan Ozpetek’s “Facing Windows”. Lorenzo is the handsome, introverted neighbor of Giovanna, played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno. In the film, she becomes obsessed with Lorenzo as she watches him from her window. here are so many other intricate storylines that surround the two characters, and they each carry their scenes so eloquently that they manage to give some order to the chaos that is unfolding around them.

He has also worked on important film projects behind the camera. Nearly a decade ago, he started a production company called Sanmarco (www.sanmarcofilm.it) which focused on socially conscious documentary-style filmmaking by young directors. The company's mission was to open the lines of communication and educate Italians on social and political concerns. The films shed light on hot topics such as fatal accidents in the workplace, the influence of drugs on teenagers and the controversy surrounding the death penalty, a matter of contention that Bova has spoken publically against.

He also does his share of charity work, and in 2010 was nominated “Goodwill Ambassador” of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, whose headquarters are in Rome. He joined forces with American actress, Susan Sarandon at FAO to fight the battle to eradicate world hunger. He’s also an avid supporter of the project, “Vento e sole” (wind and sun) with 1992 Noble Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchú. The project’s purpose is to develop an ecological system of electric for third world countries, especially in Menchú’s homeland of Guatemala.

Bova currently has a number of projects slated for 2015 releases, including Paolo Genovese's new comedy, "Sei mai stata sulla luna?" which takes him back to his southern roots; this time in Puglia.

For more information on that film and all of Raoul Bova’s projects, check him out online at www.raoulbova.it.

Comments

Anna Foglietta: Actress and Activist with Old School Elegance

One look at actress Anna Foglietta in her any of her roles, and the Golden Age of Italian cinema comes to mind. Among Italy’s most sought-after actresses today, Foglietta brings to the table a classic eloquence of yesterday while representing Italy’s modern woman. Born in Rome in 1979, Foglietta began her career in 2005 with a role in the RAI television series La squadra . Her character Agent Anna De Luca had a two-year run on the series as she was transitioning to cinema with Paolo Virzì’s 2006 ensemble project 4-4-2- Il gioco più bello del mondo . Since then, she has become one of Italy’s most diverse actresses, transforming herself into interesting, layered characters for comedies and dramas alike. Aside from a small part in Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film The American starring George Clooney, Foglietta’s work began reaching mainstream American audiences in 2015. As Elisa in Edoardo Leo’s 2015 comedy Noi e la Giulia , Foglietta showed her funny side playing a goofball pregn...

La Grande Bellezza of Sabrina Ferilli

The 2015 Rome Premiere of "Io e Lei" Sabrina Ferilli has been gracing Italian screens, big and small, since the mid-80s. With her recent role in Paolo Sorrentino's international blockbuster, "La Grande Bellezza" (The Great Beauty), audiences throughout the world are getting the chance to see why she is one of Italy's most beloved treasures. Born in Rome in 1964, Sabrina Ferilli is the daughter of Giuliano Ferilli, the former leader of the Communist Party of the Lazio Region. Ferilli attempted to study her craft at Rome's Experimental Center of Cinematography, but later decided to abandon her studies and dive right into her career. Time has proven that she made the right choice. With dozens of movies to her credit, Ferilli has appeared on television and on the big screen, becoming a household name in Italy. Ferilli is the very portrait of Italian beauty with her infamous figure, long brown locks and dark eyes. But as cliched as it may sound, s...

Director Gianni Di Gregorio explores relationships in later life with 'Never Too Late for Love'

In “Astolfo” (“Never Too Late for Love”), director Gianni Di Gregorio delivers a coming-of-age film for the golden years of life about a retired professor who leaves Rome to return to a tiny mountain village in Abruzzo. The film opens with the title character, played by Di Gregorio, walking through the streets of his Roman neighborhood, groceries in hand, only to find his landlord waiting for him when he arrives home. She is there to announce that he will have to vacate his humble residence to make way for her daughter, who is getting married soon. After some contemplation, he calls his ex-wife to ask her about an old family castle he split with her in their divorce. When she confirms that a portion of the castle is his for the taking, he gleefully returns to his spacious new home only to discover it has been occupied by a squatter, who turns out to be an acquaintance from his childhood who is also down on his luck. Without hesitation, Astolfo adopts the man as his roommate. ...

Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni.. What cinema dreams are made of

The Toronto International Film Festival is wrapping up its retrospective of the cinematic collaboration of husband and wife team, Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni. Over the last few days, the couple have participated in discussions, Q & A sessions and have introduced several of their films. Today, I attended a screening of "La voce della luna" (The voice of the moon). It was Federico Fellini's last film and is a wonderful tribute to the director's signature poetic madness. The film gave Benigni the opportunity to team up with fellow beloved comic, Paolo Villaggio, and the two created a truly unforgettable adventure. Today's screening began with an introduction by Benigni. The moments leading up to his introduction were noticeably serious and somewhat tense. Benigni's publicist and TIFF security staunchly guarded his privacy. There was no interaction and no photos were allowed. Guided by ...

Paola Cortellesi shines as La Befana in a family comedy blending tradition and modernity

A wildly successful Christmastime film, earning over $8 million at the box office when it premiered in 2018, "La befana vien di notte" (“The Legend of the Christmas Witch”) is a wholesome holiday comedy that the whole family can watch. Directed by Michele Soavi, the film stars two of Italy's most diverse contemporary actors, Paola Cortellesi and Stefano Fresi, as gift-giving foes. Paola (Cortellesi) is a grammar schoolteacher by day, but at night, she turns into La Befana, the Christmas witch, a mystical being who brings gifts to the good kids and coal to the naughty ones. On one of her Befana nights, she was attacked by a dog that tore her Befana gift list. When she returned home from a night of riding on her broomstick, delivering gifts to children all over the world, she realized that she had forgotten one child. When she discovered the torn-up list, she figured out who the child was, got back on her broom, and headed straight to his house. Having arrived late, the b...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog