Massimo Ranieri

Already a pop sensation when he made his first movie, Massimo Ranieri began to wow critics as early as his first movie: Mauro Bolognini's "Metello," in which Ranieri played the title role. He started his singing career while he was young and was already serenading restaurants and social functions at the age of 10; by 13, he was recording music in New York City under the stage name of "Gianni Rock"; and by 18, he was performing on national television in his native Italy in front of thousands of swooning girls. In his follow-up to "Metello," a TV movie called "La Sciantosa," he was paired with the world-renowned actress Anna Magnani. He continued to have a successful career as both a musician and an actor for several years until the former went limp and he began to concentrate on the latter. In "Born Winner" he costarred with the Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro, and in the miniseries "Lo scialo" he played against Marisa Berenson. Although he was still getting lead roles, he shifted focus to TV movies for awhile before making a musical comeback in 1988. Back on the big screen, Ranieri worked with the acclaimed French director Claude Lelouch in "Le courage d'aimer" and "Ces amours-là" and appeared in a film by the American actor John Turturro, "Passione."