Actor Roberto Ciufoli - Four Decades of Comedy

With Roberto Ciufoli at the 2015 Festa del Cinema in Rome

Born in Rome in 1960, Roberto Ciufoli has earned a reputation as a diverse comedy actor that goes from big screen to small screen to stage. He rose to fame in the late 80’s as a member of the 20-year-long comedy quartet, La Premiata Ditta. The group was made up of two actors and two actresses- Roberto Ciufoli, Pino Insegno, Tiziana Foschi e Francesca Draghetti. La Premiata Ditta became a household name while regularly appearing on a number of television shows including RAI’s "Pronto, chi gioca?" and "Pronto, è la Rai?." Through the 90’s, the group kept up their pace and even made a film titled, "L'assassino è quello con le scarpe gialle." Then in 2000, they struck gold with the sitcom, "Finché c'è ditta c'è speranza." La Premiata Ditta parted ways in 2006 but reunited on stage for a theater production called, "Abbiamo fatto 30...Facciamo 31."

When not appearing on camera or on stage, Ciufoli is the voice of many adored Italian characters. He's done voice-overs for several children's animation shows such as the Italian cartoon, "La gabbianella e il gatto" and the American films "Galline in fuga" (Chicken Run) and "L'era glaciale 4 - Continenti alla deriva" (Ice Age: Continental Drift) plus the Korean cartoon "Pucca."

In a 2013 interview for La Prima Pagina, he didn’t have a positive outlook on contemporary Italian cinema, saying that he feels the themes and players are usualy the same and don’t grow. For example, there is still too much focus of themes of organized crime. He feels that Italian filmmakers should move on and write about something else. That was 2 years ago. With the release of two huge films this year that focus on organized crime- "Suburra" and "Non essere cattivo," I doubt his viewpoint has not changed. In 2015, Ciufoli's focus has been on theater with some television appearances here and there including the popular RAI 2 variety show, "Stasera tutto è possibile" and an interview spot for Nuovo IMAIE during the Festa de Cinema in Rome. From what I could see of 2016, it looks like Ciufoli will continue with his focus on theater. If you’re in Italy and able to attend any of his performances, I’d highly recommend it. His television work is hilarious and most likely, he carries that gift for comic timing over to the stage. To find out about his upcoming stage productions, follow him on Twitter.

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