Editing Roberto Benigni (section)

==Career==

===Early roles===
In 1980 he met [[Cesena]]te actress [[Nicoletta Braschi]], who became his wife on 26 December 1991 and who has starred in most of the films he has directed.

In June 1983 he appeared during a public political demonstration by the [[Italian Communist Party]], with which he was a sympathiser, and on this occasion, he lifted and cradled the party's national leader [[Enrico Berlinguer]]. It was an unprecedented act, given that until that moment Italian politicians were proverbially serious and formal. Benigni was censored again in the 1980s for calling [[Pope John Paul II]] something impolite during an important live TV show (''Wojtylaccio'', meaning 'Bad Wojtyla' in Italian, but with a somewhat friendly meaning in Tuscan dialect).

Benigni's first film as director was ''[[Tu mi turbi]]'' (''You Upset Me'') in 1983. This film was also his first collaboration with Braschi.

In 1984, he played in ''[[Nothing Left to Do But Cry|Non ci resta che piangere]]'' ('Nothing Left to Do but Cry') with comic actor [[Massimo Troisi]]. The story was a fable in which the protagonists are suddenly thrown back in time to the 15th century, just a little before 1492. They start looking for [[Christopher Columbus]] in order to stop him from discovering the Americas (for very personal reasons), but are not able to reach him.

===Hollywood roles===
{{Refimprove-BLP|section|date=March 2025}}
[[File:Benigni3.jpg|thumb|250px|Benigni with [[Giorgio Gaber]] in 1990]]

Beginning in 1986, Benigni starred in three films by American director [[Jim Jarmusch]]. In ''[[Down by Law (film)|Down By Law]]'' (1986) (which in Italy had its title spelt "Daunbailò", in Italian phonetics<ref>{{cite web | last=Jarmusch | first=Jim | title=Film card | website=Torino Film Fest | date=28 October 2019 | url=https://www.torinofilmfest.org/en/4-festival-internazionale-cinema-giovani/film/down-by-law/4349/ | access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref>) he played Bob, an innocent foreigner living in the United States, convicted of manslaughter, whose irrepressible good humour and optimism help him to escape and find love (the film also starred Braschi as his beloved). In ''[[Night on Earth]]'', (1991) he played a cabbie in Rome, who causes his passenger, a priest, great discomfort and a heart attack by confessing his bizarre sexual experiences. Later, he also starred in the first of Jarmusch's series of short films, ''[[Coffee and Cigarettes]]'' (2003).{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In 1990, he was a member of the Jury at the [[40th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1990/04_jury_1990/04_Jury_1990.html |title=Berlinale: 1990 Juries |access-date=2011-03-14 |work=berlinale.de |archive-date=31 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331175001/https://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1990/04_jury_1990/04_Jury_1990.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1993, he starred in ''[[Son of the Pink Panther]]'', directed by veteran [[Blake Edwards]]. Benigni played [[Peter Sellers]]' Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son who is assigned to save the Princess of Lugash. The film bombed in the US, but was a hit in his homeland.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Benigni had a rare serious role in [[Federico Fellini]]'s last film, ''[[The Voice of the Moon|La voce della luna]]'' ('The Voice of the Moon') (1989). In earlier years Benigni had started a long-lasting collaboration with screenwriter [[Vincenzo Cerami]], for a series of films which scored great success in Italy: ''[[The Little Devil|Il piccolo diavolo]]'' ('The Little Devil') with [[Walter Matthau]], ''[[Johnny Stecchino]]'' ('Johnny Toothpick'), and ''[[The Monster (1994 film)|Il mostro]]'' ('The Monster').{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

===''Life Is Beautiful''===
[[File:Roberto Benigni Nicoletta Braschi.jpg|thumb|Benigni and wife [[Nicoletta Braschi]] at the [[1998 Cannes Film Festival]]]]
Benigni is widely known outside Italy for his 1997 [[tragicomedy]] ''[[Life Is Beautiful]]'' (''La vita è bella''), filmed in [[Arezzo]], also written by Cerami. The film is about an Italian Jewish man who tries to protect his son's innocence during his internment at a [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[concentration camp]], by telling him that [[the Holocaust]] is an elaborate game and he must adhere very carefully to the rules to win. Benigni's father had spent three years in a [[concentration camp]] in [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp|Bergen-Belsen]],<ref name="brinson">{{cite news|first=Claudia Smith|last=Brinson|title=Live your life with exuberance, and happiness may come|work=[[The State (newspaper)|The State]]|location=Columbia, SC|date=March 23, 1999|page=A10}}</ref> and ''La vita è bella'' is based in part on his father's experiences. Benigni was also inspired by the story of Holocaust survivor [[Rubino Romeo Salmonì]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Nick|last=Squires|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/8631266/Life-Is-Beautiful-Nazi-death-camp-survivor-dies-aged-91.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919004239/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/8631266/Life-Is-Beautiful-Nazi-death-camp-survivor-dies-aged-91.html|archive-date=2012-09-19|title=Life Is Beautiful Nazi death camp survivor dies aged 91|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=11 July 2011|access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> Although the story and presentation of the film had been discussed during production with different Jewish groups to limit the offence it might cause, the film was attacked by some critics, who accused it of presenting the Holocaust without much suffering, while others argued that a comedy about such a subject was not appropriate. More favourable critics praised Benigni's artistic daring and skill to create a sensitive comedy involving the Holocaust, a challenge that [[Charlie Chaplin]] confessed he would not have taken on with ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' had he been aware of the true horrors occurring in ghettos and concentration camps in Europe at the time.

In 1998, the film was nominated for seven [[Academy Awards]]. At the [[71st Academy Awards|1999 ceremony]], the film was awarded the Oscar for [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] (which Benigni accepted as the film's director), [[Academy Award for Best Music (Scoring)#1990s|Best Original Dramatic Score]] (the score by [[Nicola Piovani]]), and Benigni received the award for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] (the first for a male performer in a non-English-speaking role, and only the third overall acting Oscar for non-English-speaking roles).

Overcome with giddy delight after ''Life Is Beautiful'' was announced as the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, Benigni climbed over and then stood on the backs of the seats in front of him and applauded the audience before proceeding to the stage. After winning his Best Actor Oscar later in the evening, he said in his acceptance speech, "This is a terrible mistake because I used up all my English!" To close his speech, Benigni quoted the closing lines of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' (''Divina Commedia''), referencing "the love that moves the sun and all the stars". At the [[72nd Academy Awards|following year's ceremony]], when he read the nominees for [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] (won by [[Hilary Swank]] for ''[[Boys Don't Cry (1999 film)|Boys Don't Cry]]''), host [[Billy Crystal]] playfully appeared behind him with a large net to restrain Benigni if he got excessive with his antics again.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zD5L-ja8O0|title=Hilary Swank Wins Best Actress: 2000 Oscars|date=26 October 2010|publisher=Oscars|via=[[YouTube]]|access-date=25 January 2021|archive-date=2 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702122401/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zD5L-ja8O0|url-status=live}}</ref>  On a 1999 episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', host [[Ray Romano]] played him in a sketch parodying his giddy behavior at the ceremony.

===Beyond ''Life Is Beautiful''===
[[File:Benigni.jpg|thumb|180px|Benigni receiving a prize in [[Terni]], February 2006]]
Benigni played one of the main characters in ''[[Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar]]'' as Detritus, a corrupt Roman provincial governor who wants to kill Julius Caesar, thereby seizing control of the [[Roman Republic]].

[[File:Sanremo 17-02-2011. Teatro Ariston. Terza serata del 61° Festival della Canzone Italiana. Nella foto, Roberto Benigni. Foto di Canio Romaniello per Emme Foto-Olycom - Sanremo. - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Benigni at the [[Sanremo Music Festival 2011]]]]
That same year, he gave a typically energetic and revealing interview to Canadian filmmaker [[Damian Pettigrew]] for ''[[Fellini: I'm a Born Liar]]'' (2002), a cinematic portrait of the maestro that was nominated for Best Documentary at the [[European Film Awards]]. The film went on to win the prestigious Rockie Award for Best Arts Documentary at the [[Banff World Media Festival|Banff World Television Festival]] (2002) and the ''Coup de Coeur'' at the International Sunnyside of the Doc Marseille (2002).

In 2003, Benigni was honored by the [[National Italian American Foundation]] (NIAF), receiving the Foundation's NIAF Special Achievement Award in Entertainment.

His film ''La tigre e la neve'' (''[[The Tiger and the Snow]],'' 2005) is a love story set during the initial stage of the [[Iraq War]].

[[File:Roberto Benigni-5765.jpg|thumb|Benigni at the [[Berlin International Film Festival]] 2020]]
On 15 October 2005, he performed an impromptu [[striptease]] on Italy's most watched evening news program, removing his shirt and draping it over the newscaster's shoulders. Prior to removing his shirt, Benigni had already hijacked the opening credits of the news program, jumping behind the newscaster and announcing: "Berlusconi has resigned!" (Benigni is an outspoken critic of media tycoon and then former Prime Minister [[Silvio Berlusconi]]). The previous day, he had led a crowd of thousands in Rome on Friday in protest at the centre-right government's decision to cut state arts funding by 35 per cent.

On 2 February 2007, he was awarded the degree of [[Honorary degree|Doctor Honoris Causa]] by the [[KU Leuven|Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]], Belgium. On 22 April 2008, the degree of [[Honorary degree|Doctor Honoris Causa]] was conferred on him by the [[University of Malta]], celebrated by a ''Settimana Dantesca'' including Benigni's first stage appearance at a university and the premiere of his performing with Dante scholar [[Robert Hollander]].

In 2012, he starred in the [[Woody Allen]] film, ''[[To Rome with Love (film)|To Rome with Love]]''.

In 2019, he starred as [[Geppetto]] in [[Matteo Garrone]]'s 2019 adaptation of ''[[Pinocchio (2019 film)|Pinocchio]]''.

===''TuttoDante''===
[[File:Roberto Benigni in TuttoDante a Padova.jpg|thumb|Benigni on the stage of ''TuttoDante'' in [[Padua]], June 2008]]
Benigni is an improvisatory poet (''poesia estemporanea'' is a form of art popularly followed and practised in [[Tuscany]]), appreciated for his explanation and recitations of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' (''Divina Commedia'') from memory.

During 2006 and 2007, Benigni had a lot of success touring Italy with his 90-minute "one-man show" ''TuttoDante'' ('Everything About Dante'). Combining current events and memories of his past narrated with an ironic tone, Benigni then begins a journey of poetry and passion through the world of the ''Divine Comedy''.

''TuttoDante'' has been performed in numerous Italian piazzas, arenas, and stadiums for a total of 130 [[performance|shows]], with an estimated audience of about one million spectators. Over 10 million more spectators watched the [[Television show|TV show]], ''Il V canto dell'Inferno'' ('The 5th Song of Hell'), broadcast by [[Rai 1]] on 29 November 2007, with re-runs on [[Rai Italia|Rai International]].

Benigni began North American presentations of ''TuttoDante'' with an announcement that he learned English to bring the gift of Dante's work to English speakers. The English performance incorporates dialectic discussion of language and verse and is a celebration of modernity and the concept of human consciousness as created by language.

Benigni brought ''TuttoDante'' to the United States, Canada and Argentina in the TuttoDante Tour between 2008 and 2009 with performances in San Francisco, Boston and Chicago. Benigni was feted in San Francisco at a special reception held by the National Italian American Foundation in his honour on 24 May 2009. Following his U.S. premiere Benigni performed his last presentation on 16 June 2009, in [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina where he was awarded ''Honorary Citizenship of the City of Buenos Aires'' in a ceremony held at the [[Buenos Aires City Legislature Palace|Legislative Palace]] in homage to the notable [[Italian Argentines|Italian diaspora and culture]] in Argentina.<ref name="Buenos Aires: Un Benigni Da Nobel">{{cite web|url=http://www.unbenignidanobel.it/tag/buenos-aires/|title=Roberto Benigni è stato nominato 'Huésped de Honor de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires'|trans-title=Roberto Benigni was appointed "Guest of Honour of the City of Buenos Aires"|language=it|website=Un Benigni da Nobel|access-date=2009-06-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302044959/http://www.unbenignidanobel.it/tag/buenos-aires/|archive-date=2009-03-02 }}</ref>