Michele Riondino Italian actor Date of Birth: 14.03.1979 Country: Italy

1. Early Life and Acting Dreams
2. Theatre Breakthrough and Directing Debut
3. Film Success and Critical Acclaim
4. Personal Life and Family
5. Current Projects and Future Endeavors

Early Life and Acting Dreams

Born on March 14, 1979, in Taranto, Italy, Michele Riondino was raised with his brothers, Valerio and Fabio. Despite his parents' aspirations for him to pursue engineering or law, Riondino gravitated towards the arts from a young age. He played guitar and formed a band called "The Sect of Extinct Poets" with friends. However, his true passion lay in acting, much to his parents' initial disapproval. As a high school student, he took private acting lessons, and at the age of 17, he enrolled at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome. After graduating, Riondino continued taking workshops and studying mime and other techniques.

Theatre Breakthrough and Directing Debut

After graduating from the academy, Riondino co-founded the theatre company Il Circo Bordeaux with friends and initially performed anonymously due to his shyness. He went on to perform in numerous classical plays, including "Macbeth," "Orpheus and Eurydice," "Julius Caesar," and "The Master and Margarita." In 2012, he directed the opera "The Dizziness of Dragons." In 2023, he played multiple characters in the play "Portrait of the Artist as a Dead Man."

Riondino admits to being an introverted person who still struggles with performing in front of a live audience. However, he also relishes the process, comparing it to a scrapbook of memories and using the roles to break free from societal constraints.

Film Success and Critical Acclaim

Riondino began his film and television career in 2001, but it was not until 2008 that he gained recognition. He received the L.A.R.A. Award at the Rome Film Festival for Best Actor in the neo-noir film "The Past Is a Foreign Land." Two years later, Riondino took home the Guglielmo Biraghi Award for his performance in the romantic drama "Ten Winters."

Riondino gained widespread popularity through the detective series "Young Montalbano," based on the novels by Andrea Camilleri. Although the showrunners initially doubted its success, its first season aired in 2012, with a sequel released three years later. Riondino had long been a fan of the author and was thrilled to work with his idol.

Another critically acclaimed role came in the romantic drama "And the Whole Sky Between Us," about a forbidden love between a young woman from a Jehovah's Witness family and a former drug dealer. Riondino received several nominations for his performance and shared the Ciak d'oro award with Sara Serraiocco. He also won the Gian Maria Volonté Prize for his artistic merit.

Riondino's next successful project was the film "Our Ghosts," in which he portrayed a widowed father struggling to provide for his son. The family loses their home and secretly takes refuge in an attic, pretending to be ghosts. The actor's performance earned him the Kinéo Award.

In autumn 2023, Riondino premiered the series "The Lions of Sicily," where he played Italian entrepreneur and politician Vincenzo Florio, the patriarch of one of the country's wealthiest families in the late 19th century.

Personal Life and Family

Riondino's personal life is intertwined with makeup artist Eva Nestori. They met in the early 2000s and began dating in 2011 while filming the series "Young Montalbano," where Nestori worked as a makeup artist. By that time, both had ended previous engagements.

Nestori confessed: "I am his number one fan. He is the love of my life, and it would be the case even if Michele were a carpenter."

The couple has repeatedly stated that they do not believe in marriage and do not want imposed commitments. They credit their happy relationship to wearing clothes of the same size so they can swap and not following each other on Instagram or other social media platforms.

Riondino and Nestori married in summer 2023. In January 2014, they welcomed their first child, a daughter named after Frida Kahlo. Riondino admitted: "It was a risk. Having a child is an egotistical act: you do it because you need a new love, to be reborn through it."

In spring 2020, the family grew with the birth of their second daughter, Irma. Posting a photo of Nestori with the newborn, the actor wrote tenderly: "First you gave me beauty, then love, and now you fill me with life."

Riondino is a humble person who enjoys solitude, often visits his mother, and cooks with her. He is absent-minded and has trouble remembering names, faces, and events. Riondino is a workaholic who often helps his colleagues set up sets, lights, and clean up in between takes. He has sustained injuries while working, including breaking his foot on stage, but he finished the performance despite the pain.

Current Projects and Future Endeavors

In 2023, Riondino took center stage in the drama "Palazzina Laf," about a paint factory in Taranto. Not only did Riondino star in the film, but he also made his debut as its director and screenwriter. The project was the culmination of years of work, with the actor having collected material since 2017.

Additionally, Riondino has begun filming for the French series "The Count of Monte Cristo."