Luca Marinelli
Luca Marinelli was born in Rome in 1984 and graduated from the Silvio D’Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2009, performing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Carlo Cecchi. In the two years following his graduation, this final thesis performance evolved into a full-fledged production that toured Italy for two theater seasons. During one of these performances, Marinelli was noticed and cast as the co-protagonist in The Solitude of Prime Numbers, directed by Saverio Costanzo and based on the novel of the same name by Paolo Giordano. The film was presented in competition at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.
In 2011, the actor played the role of Roberta in the science fiction film The Last Man on Earth, directed by GIPI and competing at the Venice Film Festival. He then participated in the feature film Waves, directed by Corrado Maria Sassi, and in Nina, a film by Elisa Fuksas. That same year, he was part of the international cast of the TV movie Mary of Nazareth, directed by Giacomo Campiotti.
In 2012, under the direction of Paolo Virzì, Marinelli starred in Every Blessed Day, earning his first nomination for Best Actor at the David di Donatello Awards. That same year, he appeared in the Oscar-winning film The Great Beauty by Paolo Sorrentino. In 2013, at the Berlin International Film Festival, he received the Shooting Star Award from the European Film Promotion, recognizing him as one of the ten most promising talents in European cinema.
That same year, he co-starred in Il mondo fino in fondo, the debut film by Alessandro Lunardelli, presented at the Rome Film Festival. In 2014, his performance in They Call Me Jeeg, directed by Gabriele Mainetti, earned him prestigious awards, including the Ciak d’Oro, the Nastro d’Argento, and the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor. His television career continued in 2014 with A Dangerous Fortune, a TV film for the German market directed by Christian Schwochow. In 2015, he co-starred in Claudio Caligari’s Don't Be Bad, which was screened out of competition at the 72nd Venice Film Festival and brought him his second David di Donatello nomination.
In 2015, he starred in Slam – All for a Girl, directed by Andrea Molaioli, and Let Yourself Go, directed by Francesco Amato, both of which won him another Ciak d’Oro for Best Supporting Actor. In 2016, he co-starred in Fabio Mollo’s There Is a Light, earning nominations for the Globo d’Oro and the Nastro d’Argento. He then played the lead role in Rainbow: A Private Affair, directed by the Taviani brothers and based on the novel by Beppe Fenoglio, which won him the Globo d’Oro for Best Actor. In 2017, Marinelli lent his voice to the audiobook Portnoy’s Complaint for Emons Audiolibri.
In 2018, he co-starred in Ricordi?, directed by Valerio Mieli and presented at the Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival. He also portrayed Fabrizio De André in the miniseries Fabrizio De André – Free Prince, earning another David di Donatello nomination. Around this time, Marinelli began working on international productions, appearing in the TV series Trust, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle, and in 2020, starring alongside Charlize Theron in the action movie The Old Guard, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.
In 2019, Marinelli played the lead role in Martin Eden, based on Jack London's novel and directed by Pietro Marcello. The film was presented at the 76th Venice Film Festival, where Marinelli won the prestigious Volpi Cup for Best Actor and was nominated for Best Actor at the European Film Awards. In 2020, during the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, he served on the international jury, presided over by Jeremy Irons. In 2021, he portrayed Diabolik in the film of the same name, directed by the Manetti Bros.
In 2022, Marinelli co-starred alongside Alessandro Borghi in The Eight Mountains, directed by Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, based on the novel by Paolo Cognetti, winner of the 2018 Premio Strega. The film won the Jury Prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival and the David di Donatello for Best Film. Marinelli himself won the 2023 Nastro d’Argento for Best Actor, sharing the award with Borghi.
In 2023, he returned for the sequel The Old Guard 2, directed by Victoria Mahoney. He is currently working on the Sky Original production M – Son of the Century, directed by Joe Wright, in which he will portray Benito Mussolini.