Roberto Benigni, (born October 27, 1952, Misericordia, Arezzo, Italy), Italian actor and director known for his comedic work, most notably La vita è bella (1997; Life Is Beautiful), for which he won an Academy Award for best actor. Benigni was the son of a poor tenant farmer who had worked in a German forced-labour camp during World War II. The elder Benigni used humour in retelling his experiences, which helped shape his son’s comedic skill. Benigni briefly attended a Jesuit seminary in Florence, and, after a stint as a magician’s assistant, he joined an underground theatre group in the late 1960s.

Filmography

• 2025Pietro - A Man in the Wind
• 2025The Dream
• 2025The Singing Priest — Dr. John
• 2022Francesco - The Canticle — Self - Host, Producer, Writer
• 2022I magnifici 4 della risata
• 2019Pinocchio — Mister Geppetto
• 2017La voce di Fantozzi — Sé stesso
• The Ten Commandments — Himself, Creator
• 2012Opinioni di un clown - Roberto Benigni
• 2012To Rome with Love — Leopoldo
• The Biggest Show After the Weekend
• 2010La commedia di Amos Poe — Narrator (voice)
• Roberto Benigni - Tutto Dante — Roberto Benigni, Creator
• 2007I Vicerè — Thanks
• Collezione di risate
• 2005The Tiger and the Snow — Attilio de Giovanni, Director, Writer
• 2004Coffee and Cigarettes — Roberto (segment "Strange to Meet You")
• 2002Pinocchio — Pinocchio, Screenplay, Director, Story
• 1999Asterix and Obelix Take On Caesar — Lucius Detritus
• HARDtalk
• 1997Life Is Beautiful — Guido, Screenplay, Director, Story
• 1996TuttoBenigni 95/96 — Roberto Benigni, Director, Stage Director, Writer, Idea, Story, Screenplay
• 1994The Monster — Loris, Director, Producer, Story, Screenplay
• 1993Look to the Sky — Thanks
• 1993Peter and the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy — Narrator (voice, Italian version)
• 1993Son of the Pink Panther — Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• 1991Johnny Stecchino — Dante Ceccarini / Johnny Stecchino, Screenplay, Director, Story
• 1991Night on Earth — Cab Driver Rome
• 1990The Voice of the Moon — Ivo Salvini
• 1989Mystery Train — Thanks
• 1988The Little Devil — Giuditta, Story, Director, Screenplay
• 1987Coffee and Cigarettes — Roberto, Writer
• 1986Down by Law — Roberto
• 1984Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer — Self, Director
• 1984Nothing Left to Do But Cry — Saverio, Director, Story, Screenplay
• 1983FF.SS. cioè '...che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?' — Lo sceicco Beige
• 1983Roberto Benigni: TuttoBenigni — Himself, Writer, Idea, Story, Screenplay
• 1983You Upset Me — Benigno, Director, Screenplay, Story
• 1982Morto Troisi, viva Troisi! — The anonymous childhood friend / Self
• Telepatria international ovvero niente paura siamo italiani — Dante Alighieri
• 1981The Soup — Il maestro
• 1979Luna — Upholsterer
• 1979Seeking Asylum — Roberto, Writer
• 1979The Days Are Numbered — Il professore
• 1979Tigers in Lipstick — The Principal
• 1979Womanlight — Bartender at Clapsy's
• 1978Cinématon — N°801
• 1978Il comizio — Screenplay
• 1978Il parolaio — Cliente
• 1978Ladra di sogni
• 1978Vita da Cioni
• 1977Berlinguer: I Love You — Mario Cioni, Screenplay, Story
• Onda Libera — Mario Cioni, Writer
• Roberto Benigni - Inno Di Mameli
• TuttoDante — Creator

Appearances as themselves (36)

• 2023Sanremo 2023. Tra Palco e realtà — Self
• 2021Alida Valli: In Her Own Words — Self
• 2021We Are Cinema — Self (archive footage)
• 2020Paolo Conte, Come Away with Me — Self
• 2019Cecchi Gori - Una famiglia italiana — Self
• 2019Once Upon a Time: Tonino Delli Colli, Cinematographer — Himself
• 2019Untouchable — Self (archive footage)
• 2017Evviva Giuseppe — Himself
• 2017Marco Ferreri: Dangerous But Necessary — Self
• 2016Cinque mondi — Self
• 2016The Last Laugh — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2014Red Chairs - Parma and the Cinema — Self (archive footage)
• 2012Close Up — Self (archive footage)
• 2012Revisiting Life is Beautiful 15 Years After — Self - (archival audio)
• 2012The Most Beautiful in the World — Himself
• 2010Isabella Rossellini - Aus dem Leben eines Schmetterlings — Self
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• Rockpolitik — Self
• 2003Caterina in the Big City — Self
• 2003Cesare Zavattini — Self
• 2003Fellini: I'm a Born Liar — Self - La Voce della Luna
• 2003Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special — Self
• 2002The Magic of Fellini — Self (archive footage)
• 2001La strana coppia. Incontro con Age e Scarpelli — Self
• Ulisse - The Pleasure of Discovery — Self
• Beckmann — Self
• Vivement dimanche — Self
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self
• Willemsens Woche — Self
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien — Self - Guest
• 1990Towards the Moon with Fellini — Himself
• Wetten, dass..? — Self
• 1980Il resto del Pap'occhio — self
• 1980In the Pope's Eye — self
• The Oscars — Self
• Sanremo Music Festival — Self - Special Guest, Self - Host