ORLANDO, SILVIO

(1957-)

Actor. One of the new generation of actors who emerged in the 1990s, Orlando graduated to film after working onstage withGabriele Salvatoresat the Teatro dell'Elfo, making his first appearance on the big screen in Salvatores'sKamikazen ultima notte a Milano(Last Night in Milan, 1987). After distinguishing himself in a strong supporting role inNanni Moretti'sPalombella rossa(Red Wood Pigeon, 1989), he starred as the affable and honest schoolteacher forced to turn speechwriter for a corrupt politician inDaniele Luchetti'sIlportaborse(The Yes Man, 1991), a characterization he would reprise in Luchetti'sLa scuola(School, 1995).Following the film's extraordinary success, not least for the way in which it anticipated all the revelations of systematic corruption in Italian politics subsequently revealed by theMani puliteinvestigations, Orlando came to work with all the directors of theNew Italian Cinema, with Salvatores again inSud(South, 1993) andNirvana(1994), withCarlo MazzacuratiinUn'altra vita(Another Life, 1992) andVesna va veloce(Vesna Moves Quickly, 1995), withPaolo VirziinFerie d'agosto(Summer Holidays, 1996), and withGiuseppe PiccioniinFuori dal mondo(Not of This World, 1999) andLuce dei miei occhi(Light of My Eyes, 2000).

In the late 1990s he also often returned to the stage, playing Caliban in Giorgio Barberio Corsetti's 1999 production of Shakespeare'sThe Tempestand directing himself in several comedies byPeppino De Filippo. Having already won aNastro d'argentofor his lead role inMimmo Calopresti'sPreferisco il rumore del mare(I Prefer the Sound of the Sea, 2000), he was more recently awarded theDavid di Donatelloand nominated for the European Film Award for his brilliant performance in Nanni Moretti'sIl caimano(The Caiman, 2006).