Actor. Born Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni in Fontana Liri, Italy the son of Ida Irolle and Ottone Mastroianni, a carpenter. The family moved to Turin and then Rome, where he attended school. At 14, his father insisted he go to work, and he then engaged in odd jobs including small parts in movies. During the Second World War, he was assigned to a civilian unit that drew military maps. He was then sent to a German labor camp in northern Italy. After escaping, he led a impoverished existence in Venice. After the war, he returned to Rome where he worked as a clerk with a British film distribution company. He began studies at the Centro Universiatio Teatrale, where he was spotted by director Luciano Visconti, who cast him in 'A Streetcar Named Desire.' He then gave him the starring part in his adaptation 'Le Notti Bianche' (1957) followed by the comedy 'Big Deal on Madonna Street' (1958). But his breakthrough came in 1960, when he was cast in Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' (1960). Other films included 'Divorce Italian Style' (1961), '8 ½' (1963), 'The 10th Victim' (1965), 'The Priest's Wife' (1970), 'It Only Happens to Others' (1971), 'Love to Eternity' (1972), 'A Special Day' (1977), 'Macaroni' (1985), and 'Dark Eyes' (1987). He garnered three Academy Award nominations, the most ever for an actor in a foreign language film. He was one of only three men to twice win Best Actor at Cannes. Despite his 45 year marriage, he was also romantically linked to Faye Dunaway, Amouk Aimee, Claudia Cardinale, Ursula Andress and Catherine Deneuve, with whom he had a daughter. In later years, his career slowed but never stopped, later films included 'Used People' (1992), 'Ready-to-Wear' (1994), and 'Three Lives and Only one Death' (1996), and his last work, a touring production of the play 'The Last Moons' which concluded about two months prior to his death. In 1998, the Marcello Mastroianni Award was established, to be presented to the actor with the best debut performance, at the Venice Film Festival.
Actor. Born Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni in Fontana Liri, Italy the son of Ida Irolle and Ottone Mastroianni, a carpenter. The family moved to Turin and then Rome, where he attended school. At 14, his father insisted he go to work, and he then engaged in odd jobs including small parts in movies. During the Second World War, he was assigned to a civilian unit that drew military maps. He was then sent to a German labor camp in northern Italy. After escaping, he led a impoverished existence in Venice. After the war, he returned to Rome where he worked as a clerk with a British film distribution company. He began studies at the Centro Universiatio Teatrale, where he was spotted by director Luciano Visconti, who cast him in 'A Streetcar Named Desire.' He then gave him the starring part in his adaptation 'Le Notti Bianche' (1957) followed by the comedy 'Big Deal on Madonna Street' (1958). But his breakthrough came in 1960, when he was cast in Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' (1960). Other films included 'Divorce Italian Style' (1961), '8 ½' (1963), 'The 10th Victim' (1965), 'The Priest's Wife' (1970), 'It Only Happens to Others' (1971), 'Love to Eternity' (1972), 'A Special Day' (1977), 'Macaroni' (1985), and 'Dark Eyes' (1987). He garnered three Academy Award nominations, the most ever for an actor in a foreign language film. He was one of only three men to twice win Best Actor at Cannes. Despite his 45 year marriage, he was also romantically linked to Faye Dunaway, Amouk Aimee, Claudia Cardinale, Ursula Andress and Catherine Deneuve, with whom he had a daughter. In later years, his career slowed but never stopped, later films included 'Used People' (1992), 'Ready-to-Wear' (1994), and 'Three Lives and Only one Death' (1996), and his last work, a touring production of the play 'The Last Moons' which concluded about two months prior to his death. In 1998, the Marcello Mastroianni Award was established, to be presented to the actor with the best debut performance, at the Venice Film Festival.
Bio by: Iola
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