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

A Conversation with Actor Mirko Frezza of David di Donatello Winner "Il più grande sogno"

The 2017 David di Donatello award show, which took place on Monday, was an exciting event that celebrated many great contemporary talents of Italian cinema. I was fortunate to have seen most of the nominees. Among my personal favorites is Michele Vannucci's Il più grande sogno simply because it is based on one of the most inspiring, beautiful stories I've ever heard, and the person behind that story is as authentic and down-to-earth as they come. The film won the 3 Future Award, which is determined by the public. With Director Michele Vannucci and Actor Mirko Frezza I first saw Il più grande sogno last September when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. I didn't make it to Venice, but thanks to a great online platform called Festival Scope , which offers a handful of premieres to be screened on the web, I felt like I was there. The film itself blew me away, and then when I realized it was based on a true story, I knew t...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

Film at Lincoln Center honors Monica Vitti with retrospective featuring restored classics

Photo Courtesy of Archivio Luce-Cinecitt à A retrospective dedicated to the films of Italian cinema icon Monica Vitti will be held from June 6 to June 19 at Lincoln Center in New York City. The 14-film series, titled "Monica Vitti: La Modernista," is presented by Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà and marks the first North American retrospective celebrating Vitti's 35-year career. "We are pleased to partner with Cinecittà to celebrate one of Italy's most revered actresses," said Film at Lincoln Center Vice President of Programming Florence Almozini. "It is a privilege to present decades' worth of films from Monica Vitti's illustrious and prolific career, especially with many restored versions of her legendary works." Monica Vitti, a key figure in film history, began her career in the mid-1950s and quickly became a captivating presence on screen. Her collaboration with director Michelangelo Antonioni produced memorable films in the 196...

Golden Age Masterpiece: Luchino Visconti’s 1957 “White Nights”

Photo Credit: Archivio Luce Cinecittà Luchino Visconti’s 1957 film, “White Nights” (“Le notti bianche”), offers a thoughtful and poignant exploration of themes such as loneliness, desire and emotional vulnerability. Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella of the same name, it transports the tale from 19th-century St. Petersburg to a dreamy mid-20th-century Italian setting. While Visconti remains largely faithful to Dostoevsky’s narrative, his characteristic style infuses the film with emotional depth, striking visuals, and a focus on class and societal constraints. The story follows a young man named Matteo, played by Marcello Mastroianni, who lives a solitary life in a small Italian town. One evening, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Natalia, portrayed by Austrian-Swiss actress Maria Schell, who is also feeling isolated. Although she is initially reluctant, Natalia eventually confides in Matteo about her love for a man who has promised to return and marry her, but he ha...

The Sweetness and Genius of Giulietta Masina

Fellini and Masina on the set of "La Strada" As open-hearted and sunny as Federico Fellini was dark and complex, they were perfect counterpoints during a half-century of marriage and professional collaboration. Nicknamed a “female Chaplin” and described by Chaplin himself as the actress who moved him most, Giulietta Masina confronted the tragedy of her characters with an eternal innocence and enthusiasm that gave Italians hope in the most challenging of times. Born in 1921 in San Giorgio di Piano, a commune north of Bologna, Masina was the oldest of four children born to a father who was a music professor and violinist and a mother who was a grade-school teacher. Her parents sent her as a child to live in Rome with her widowed aunt while she attended school there. As Masina took an early interest in gymnastics, her aunt saw in her a passion for performing and encouraged her to pursue acting. So after high school, Masina attended Rome’s La...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog