L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano Selling Homes Throughout The Bay Area Adele Della Santina "The Right Realtor makes all the di昀erence." 650.400.4747 Adele.DellaSantina@compass.com www.AdeleDS.com DRE# 00911740 Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation! " Dreaming is impor- tant, it's one of the m o s t b e a u t i f u l things in life, and it's free." With this s e n t e n c e , F r a n c o N e r o seems to sum up the entire arc of his career. With more t h a n s i x d e c a d e s o f w o r k b e h i n d h i m a n d o v e r 2 0 0 films made across Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world, Nero has never stopped dreaming – or challenging himself. At 84, t h e I t a l i a n a c t o r h a s j u s t reached one of Hollywood's most symbolic milestones: his name has been engraved among the five points of a star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fame came early, at just 25, in 1966, when he played in Django by Sergio Corbuc- c i , c r e a t i n g a d a r k , s i l e n t hero destined to leave a last- ing mark on the cinematic imagination. Decades later, t h a t c h a r a c t e r w o u l d b e reborn in Quentin Taranti- no's Django Unchained, in w h i c h N e r o a p p e a r s i n a cameo strongly desired by the American director. From t h a t p o i n t o n , h i s c a r e e r unfolded under the banner of versatility: genre cinema and auteur projects, working with directors such as Rainer W e r n e r F a s s b i n d e r , J o h n Huston, Luis Buñuel, Franco Zeffirelli, Elio Petri, and Giu- liano Montaldo, while also directing, writing, and pro- ducing films himself. I t i s w i t h t h i s j o u r n e y behind him that Franco Nero received his star at 1611 Vine Street, becoming the eigh- teenth Italian to be honored in Hollywood. In his speech, balanced between irony and gratitude, Nero paid tribute t o t h e I t a l i a n a r t i s t s w h o came before him, from Anna Magnani to Rodolfo Valenti- no, from Renata Tebaldi to Luciano Pavarotti, and up to his friend Giancarlo Gianni- ni. He also recalled how a remark by Laurence Olivier, o v e r h e a r d o n s e t m a n y years ago, shaped his entire c a r e e r : c h o o s e d i f f e r e n t roles, take risks, accept ups and downs in order never to b e b o r e d a s a n a c t o r . A choice, he says today, he has never regretted. T o d a y , F r a n c o N e r o describes himself as a "citi- zen of the world." He has played more than 250 roles, portraying characters of 30 different nationalities, after coming of age artistically in a time when Italy was pro- ducing hundreds of films a year. And while receiving one of the highest honors of the American industry, he is already looking ahead, con- vinced that everything he h a s d o n e s o f a r i s o n l y a prologue: "My best role," he says, "is still to come." Dur- ing his stay in Los Angeles, Nero also received a Life- t i m e A c h i e v e m e n t Award at the eleventh edi- tion of Filming Italy - Los A n g e l e s , o r g a n i z e d a s always by Tiziana Rocca. Mr. Nero, what does it f e e l l i k e t o b e b a c k i n Los Angeles? I have beautiful memo- ries in this city. I came here for the first time sixty years ago to make this big musi- cal, Camelot. I stayed for a whole year, because the film t o o k e l e v e n m o n t h s t o shoot. I have many friends here, and it's a real pleasure to see them again. Even yes- terday, at the ceremony, so many people came: it truly meant a lot to me. A t t h e t i m e , d u r i n g your Hollywood period, w a s b e i n g I t a l i a n a n advantage or a limita- tion? It was an advantage. Let's not forget that before me there had been the famous Rodolfo Valentino, who was an absolute idol and died very young, just over thirty. W h e n I w a s s h o o t i n g Camelot, the studios were making many films with all the big stars. My set attract- ed a lot of curiosity: every- one wanted to come see this romantic Italian. Y e t y o u d e c i d e d t o return to Italy. Why? B e c a u s e w h e n t h e f i l m e n d e d , m y w i f e , V a n e s s a Redgrave, asked me, "Can y o u c o m e w i t h m e t o Cannes?" My Italian friends, w i t h w h o m I h a d s t a r t e d making short films, told me, "Franco, come back: we can m a k e o u r o w n f i l m . N o w you have a good name." So I went to Jack Warner and said, "Jack, I'm homesick, I want to go back home." He r e p l i e d , " A r e y o u c r a z y ? You're going to become a big star here." I was the only European with a contract at a major American studio, and I tore it up to return to Italy. I don't think there's another case like mine. Looking back, are you h a p p y w i t h t h a t d e c i - sion? Yes. One day, Clint East- wood came to the Camelot set. He said to me, "Look at t h i s v e r y y o u n g I t a l i a n doing a big American film, w h i l e I ' m s t i l l m a k i n g spaghetti westerns in Italy." I replied, "Clint, very soon you'll become a big star here t o o , a n d I ' l l g o b a c k t o Europe, because that's my natural environment." And t h a t ' s e x a c t l y w h a t h a p - pened. You have an impres- s i v e f i l m o g r a p h y . I s t h e r e a r o l e , p e r h a p s considered minor, that w a s f u n d a m e n t a l f o r you on a personal level? I ' v e m a d e m a n y s m a l l , i n d e p e n d e n t f i l m s t h a t didn't have wide distribu- tion. I'm very attached to t h o s e w o r k s . T h e r e ' s o n e called Angelus Hiroshimae by Giancarlo Planta: it's a very small film, without dia- logue, a silent film. It's just an angel and me. The music w a s k i n d l y c o m p o s e d b y Ennio Morricone. When I screened it in Hollywood, many great directors came and said, "If this film goes to the Oscars, it will win." But t o g e t t o t h e O s c a r s , y o u need a huge machine… big c o m p a n i e s , p u b l i c i t y . A great writer once asked me for a copy because he taught at an American university and wanted to show it to his students. W h a t i s t h e F r a n c o N e r o o f 2 0 2 6 o p e n t o professionally? I'm open to a lot. Fortu- n a t e l y , I h a v e m a n y p r o - jects. The first will be a film in Australia in early April, directed by Frank Lotito, of Italian origin. Then I should d o a n A r g e n t i n e f i l m i n Spain, one set in Germany c a l l e d P a r s i f a l . I t ' s n o t Wagner's opera: Parsifal is the name of an Italian chef in Germany who then disap- pears, and there's a beauti- f u l s t o r y b e h i n d i t . A f t e r that, a film in Hungary and one in Greece. In short, I'm working a lot this year. A hundred years from now, when people read y o u r n a m e i n H o l l y - w o o d , h o w w o u l d y o u like to be remembered? A s o n e o f t h e g r e a t s . I want everyone to be able to walk over me, step on me… but without hurting me. SILVIA NITTOLI Franco Nero: sixty years of films, in Italy and Hollywood Franco Nero and Tiziana Rocca, the organiser of Filming Italy Los Angeles, where the Italian actor received a Lifetime Achievement Award (Photo: Daniele Venturelli) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES EVENTS

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