# Riccardo Scamarcio
**Riccardo Scamarcio** (born 1979) is an Italian actor, screenwriter, and film producer, one of the most prominent Italian screen performers of the twenty-first century. He trained at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, reached popular fame with the teen film *Tre metri sopra il cielo* (2004), and built a career spanning Italian auteur cinema, Hollywood productions, and French and other European films, while also producing through his own companies.[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) • [2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979, Trani, Apulia, Italy[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/riccardo-scamarcio) |
| Training | Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Rome[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) |
| Breakthrough | *Tre metri sopra il cielo* (2004); Golden Globe (Globo d'oro) for Best Male Newcomer[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/) |
| International profile | EFP Shooting Star at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival; Santino D'Antonio in *John Wick: Chapter 2* (2017)[5](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/61232) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/riccardo-scamarcio) |
| Major award | Silver Ribbon for Best Supporting Actor for *Loro* (2018); Orizzonti Award for Best Male Interpretation at the 83rd Venice Film Festival for *I figli della scimmia* (2026)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/) • [6](https://www.ansa.it/puglia/notizie/2026/09/12/il-premio-orizzonti-per-la-migliore-interpretazione-maschile-a-riccardo-scamarcio_ec3607f0-c184-4f5a-838f-2c83ef1c9268.html) |
| Producing | Co-founder of Buena Onda with Valeria Golino and Viola Prestieri; later the company Lebowski[7](https://www.screendaily.com/cannes/cannes-riccardo-scamarcio-on-buena-ondas-sweet-success/5103885.article) • [8](https://filmitalia.org/en/filmography/1/11890/) |
| Output | About 80 films between cinema and television; IMDb lists 21 wins and 21 nominations[9](https://www.fondazionecsc.it/corso/laboratorio-intensivo-di-recitazione-con-riccardo-scamarcio-a-cortina-24-e-25-marzo-2026/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/) |
## Training and early roles
Scamarcio was born in Trani, in Apulia, in 1979, and moved to Rome to study at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Italy's national film school.[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/riccardo-scamarcio) His first screen work came on television in 2001, in the miniseries *Ama il tuo nemico 2* and the series *Compagni di scuola*, where he played Michele Reale.[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/riccardo-scamarcio)
His film debut came in 2003 with two releases: a small part in Marco Tullio Giordana's *La meglio gioventù* (*The Best of Youth*), a six-hour family epic that won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes, and a larger role in Lucio Pellegrini's *Ora o mai più* (*Now or Never*), a coming-of-age comedy that ends amid the police violence at the 2001 Genoa protests.[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) • [10](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/61232) • [2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27)
## Breakthrough and Italian cinema
**Teen stardom.** The 2004 adaptation of Federico Moccia's novel *Tre metri sopra il cielo* (*Three Steps Over Heaven*), directed by Luca Lucini, made Scamarcio known to the general public and earned him the Globo d'oro for Best Male Newcomer.[1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/) • [11](https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en/slope-of-fame/riccardo-scamarcio) He played Step, a leather-clad middle-class juvenile delinquent, and the film's success made him a teen idol with a large female fanbase; he repeated the romantic-lead register in *L'uomo perfetto* (2005) and in *Ho voglia di te* (2007), a sequel also drawn from a Moccia novel.[2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27)
He then moved deliberately toward more demanding material. In Michele Placido's *Romanzo criminale* (2005), an official selection at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival about the Banda della Magliana criminal gang, he took a supporting role associated with nightclubs, kung fu, and cocaine.[11](https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en/slope-of-fame/riccardo-scamarcio) • [2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27) In Daniele Luchetti's *Mio fratello è figlio unico* (*My Brother Is an Only Child*, 2007) he played Manrico, an impulsive older brother drawn toward political extremism, in a tragic double act with Elio Germano that film scholarship has called one of the great cinematic pairings of its decade; the role brought a David di [Donatello](https://www.edgepedia.org/donatello) nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/) Further political-historical roles followed in Renato De Maria's *La prima linea* (2009) and, later, *Lo spietato* (*The Ruthless*, 2019), films that place modern Italian crime cinema in dialogue with the gangster tradition of [Brian De Palma](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-de-palma), Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese.[2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27)
A different register came with Ferzan Özpetek's *Mine vaganti* (*Loose Cannons*, 2010), in which he plays a man planning to come out as gay at a family dinner until his brother comes out first; the film won him a Golden Ciak for Best Actor and CinEuphoria awards for Best Actor and Best Ensemble.[2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/) He has also worked repeatedly with major Italian directors, including Mario Martone, the Taviani brothers, [Paolo Sorrentino](https://www.edgepedia.org/paolo-sorrentino), and Nanni Moretti, the last casting him in *Tre piani* (*Three Floors*, 2021).[12](https://boxofficebiz.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IC_04_2022.pdf) • [1](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/)
## International work
Scamarcio was the Italian nominee for the European Film Promotion Shooting Star award at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, a platform for launching emerging European actors internationally.[10](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/61232) His international filmography includes Costa-Gavras's *Eden is West* (2009), playing an illegal immigrant trying to reach Paris; [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s *To Rome with Love* (2012), in a single scene as a gun-toting hotel thief; Maïwenn's *Polisse* (2011); [Abel Ferrara](https://www.edgepedia.org/abel-ferrara)'s *Pasolini* (2014), as the actor Ninetto Davoli; and the Azerbaijani-set *Ali and Nino* (2016).[11](https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en/slope-of-fame/riccardo-scamarcio) • [2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27) • [13](https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/riccardo-scamarcio/)
In Hollywood he played the principal antagonist Santino D'Antonio in *John Wick: Chapter 2* (2017) and returned for *John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum* (2019), and he appeared as Vitale Portfoglio in [Kenneth Branagh](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-branagh)'s *A Haunting in Venice* (2023).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/riccardo-scamarcio) • [14](https://www.metacritic.com/person/riccardo-scamarcio/) In 2024 he starred as [Amedeo Modigliani](https://www.edgepedia.org/amedeo-modigliani) in [Johnny Depp](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-depp)'s second film as director, *Modi – Three Days on the Wing of Madness*, which premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.[15](https://los40.com/2024/09/23/quien-es-riccardo-scamarcio-el-mario-casas-italiano-que-protagoniza-la-ultima-pelicula-dirigida-por-johnny-depp/)
## Producing
Scamarcio entered production by necessity rather than plan: nobody wanted to produce *Miele* (*Honey*), the 2013 directorial debut of [Valeria Golino](https://www.edgepedia.org/valeria-golino), with whom he had both a professional and a personal relationship, so he and Golino, together with producer Viola Prestieri, founded the company Buena Onda to make it.[7](https://www.screendaily.com/cannes/cannes-riccardo-scamarcio-on-buena-ondas-sweet-success/5103885.article) • [2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27) *Miele* played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, and Buena Onda's next film, Stefano Mordini's *Pericle il nero* (2016), starring Scamarcio, was programmed in the same section; within four years the company had films in four different festivals.[7](https://www.screendaily.com/cannes/cannes-riccardo-scamarcio-on-buena-ondas-sweet-success/5103885.article) He has described his ambition in production as creating a kind of [United Artists](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-artists), putting the bureaucracy of financing under the power of creativity.[13](https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/riccardo-scamarcio/) He later founded the production company Lebowski, credited as co-producer on films including *I figli della scimmia*.[8](https://filmitalia.org/en/filmography/1/11890/) • [16](https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/cinema/2026/09/07/scamarcio-un-romanzo-di-formazione-di-un-giovane-padre_63cfb60c-35b0-42a3-8c28-3a42b4c6b081.html) He also has screenwriting credits, including *Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia* (2024) and *The Last Paradiso* (2020), both of which he also produced.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/riccardo-scamarcio)
## Awards
IMDb records 21 wins and 21 nominations for Scamarcio.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/) Beyond the 2004 Globo d'oro and the 2006 [Shooting Star](https://www.edgepedia.org/shooting-star), his honors include two Pasinetti Special Mentions at the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival), for *Il grande sogno* (2009) and *La prima luce* (2015); the 2018 Silver Ribbon (Nastro d'argento) for Best Supporting Actor for Sorrentino's *Loro*; the Kineo Award as Male Personality of the Year (2007) and for *Miele* (2013); and the FICE Award for Best Actor for Pupi Avati's *Un ragazzo d'oro* (2014).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/) He has been nominated three times for the Silver Ribbon as Best Actor, for *La prima luce*, *Nessuno si salva da solo*, and the 2019 group nomination covering *Euforia*, *Il testimone invisibile*, and *Lo spietato*.[11](https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en/slope-of-fame/riccardo-scamarcio) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/)
## 2026: Venice recognition and current projects
At the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in September 2026, Scamarcio won the Orizzonti Award for Best Male Interpretation for *I figli della scimmia*, the debut feature of Tommaso Landucci, in which he plays Dario, the father of a boy with severe motor disabilities who redirects his paternal instincts toward his teenage nephew; the film also won the Orizzonti award for Best Screenplay, by Landucci and Damiano Femfert, and was the only Italian film awarded at that edition of the festival.[6](https://www.ansa.it/puglia/notizie/2026/09/12/il-premio-orizzonti-per-la-migliore-interpretazione-maschile-a-riccardo-scamarcio_ec3607f0-c184-4f5a-838f-2c83ef1c9268.html) • [17](https://filmitalia.org/it/film/209417/) Scamarcio dedicated the prize "to all the fathers of the world" and symbolically shared it with the young actor Andrea Aggio, who plays his son.[18](https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/cinema/2026/09/08/i-figli-della-scimmia-film) The 110-minute drama, co-produced by his Lebowski with Lungta Film and Mosaicon Film, was released in Italian theaters on 17 September 2026.[16](https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/cinema/2026/09/07/scamarcio-un-romanzo-di-formazione-di-un-giovane-padre_63cfb60c-35b0-42a3-8c28-3a42b4c6b081.html) • [17](https://filmitalia.org/it/film/209417/)
His Apulian roots have returned to the center of his work. He plays Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, known as *Stupor Mundi*, in Francesco Lopez's *La meraviglia del mondo*, shot partly at [Castel del Monte](https://www.edgepedia.org/castel-del-monte) in Andria, with Scamarcio also co-producing through Lebowski, and he has announced a separate documentary project on the emperor.[19](https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/cinema/2026/05/19/scamarcio-e-federico-ii-in-la-meraviglia-del-mondo-riprese-in-corso_fe56dda4-1576-4687-9f7a-7278e7a6e8b3.html) • [20](https://www.rainews.it/tgr/puglia/video/2026/09/riccardo-scamarcio-federico-svevia-295b8c7b-7753-4407-87ec-f269fe44e973.html) Among his upcoming roles is [Pontius Pilate](https://www.edgepedia.org/pontius-pilate) in *The Resurrection of the Christ*, the two-part film by [Mel Gibson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-gibson) scheduled for 2027 and 2028.[21](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052)
## Assessment
A scholarly chapter in *Italian Contemporary Screen Performers* (2024) reads Scamarcio's career as an articulation of energy, first in teen movies, then in auteur cinema and Hollywood action roles, and finally in his work as a producer since 2012, and argues that he occupies a position once held by Marcello Mastroianni as a figure of global stardom who is also the face of contemporary Italian cinema.[2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27) His roles typically move from action to introspection, and his characters often carry a private secret or a troubled interior life behind a "bad boy" surface, a pattern visible from *Tre metri sopra il cielo* through *Lo spietato* and *I figli della scimmia*.[2](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27)
## References
1. [Scamarcio, Riccardo, Treccani Enciclopedia on line](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/riccardo-scamarcio/)
2. [Louis Bayman, "Riccardo Scamarcio: The Transference of Energy and the Enigmas of Intimacy," in *Italian Contemporary Screen Performers* (Springer, 2024)](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67310-8_27)
3. [Riccardo Scamarcio, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/riccardo-scamarcio)
4. [Riccardo Scamarcio – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052/awards/)
5. [Riccardo Scamarcio, IMDb main page](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052)
6. [Il Premio Orizzonti per la migliore interpretazione maschile a Riccardo Scamarcio, ANSA (12 September 2026)](https://www.ansa.it/puglia/notizie/2026/09/12/il-premio-orizzonti-per-la-migliore-interpretazione-maschile-a-riccardo-scamarcio_ec3607f0-c184-4f5a-838f-2c83ef1c9268.html)
7. [Cannes: Riccardo Scamarcio on Buena Onda's sweet success, Screen Daily (2016)](https://www.screendaily.com/cannes/cannes-riccardo-scamarcio-on-buena-ondas-sweet-success/5103885.article)
8. [Riccardo Scamarcio – filmography, Filmitalia](https://filmitalia.org/en/filmography/1/11890/)
9. [Laboratorio intensivo di recitazione con Riccardo Scamarcio, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia](https://www.fondazionecsc.it/corso/laboratorio-intensivo-di-recitazione-con-riccardo-scamarcio-a-cortina-24-e-25-marzo-2026/)
10. [Scamarcio Italian nominee, Cineuropa (2005)](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/61232)
11. [Riccardo Scamarcio, Les Arcs Film Festival – Slope of Fame](https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en/slope-of-fame/riccardo-scamarcio)
12. [Italian Contemporary interview, Italian Cinema (Boxoffice.biz, 2022)](https://boxofficebiz.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IC_04_2022.pdf)
13. [Riccardo Scamarcio, Alain Elkann Interviews](https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/riccardo-scamarcio/)
14. [Riccardo Scamarcio, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/riccardo-scamarcio/)
15. [Quién es Riccardo Scamarcio, LOS40 (2024)](https://los40.com/2024/09/23/quien-es-riccardo-scamarcio-el-mario-casas-italiano-que-protagoniza-la-ultima-pelicula-dirigida-por-johnny-depp/)
16. [Venezia, Scamarcio: 'Un romanzo di formazione di un giovane padre', ANSA (7 September 2026)](https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/cinema/2026/09/07/scamarcio-un-romanzo-di-formazione-di-un-giovane-padre_63cfb60c-35b0-42a3-8c28-3a42b4c6b081.html)
17. [I figli della scimmia, Filmitalia](https://filmitalia.org/it/film/209417/)
18. [I figli della scimmia, cosa sapere del film che ha premiato Scamarcio a Venezia, Sky TG24 (2026)](https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/cinema/2026/09/08/i-figli-della-scimmia-film)
19. [Scamarcio è Federico II in La Meraviglia del mondo, ANSA (2026)](https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/cinema/2026/05/19/scamarcio-e-federico-ii-in-la-meraviglia-del-mondo-riprese-in-corso_fe56dda4-1576-4687-9f7a-7278e7a6e8b3.html)
20. [Riccardo Scamarcio pronto a stupirci col suo "Stupor Mundi", Rai News Puglia (2026)](https://www.rainews.it/tgr/puglia/video/2026/09/riccardo-scamarcio-federico-svevia-295b8c7b-7753-4407-87ec-f269fe44e973.html)
21. [Riccardo Scamarcio, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249052)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Italian actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license