# Saul Nanni
**Saul Nanni** (born 1999) is an Italian actor from Bologna who moved from a [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel) teen lead to period drama and festival cinema, winning the Best Actor award, ex aequo, at the 40th Mar del Plata International Film Festival for *La gioia* (2025).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/saul-nanni/) • [2](https://mardelplatafilmfest.com/41/en/premios-independientes-todas-las-ganadoras-2-copy/) He is represented by the talent agency Studio Giuni.[3](https://filmitalia.org/en/filmography/1/104190/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1999, Bologna, Italy[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/saul-nanni/) • [4](https://www.gqitalia.it/article/saul-nanni-intervista-fino-alla-fine-gattopardo) |
| Breakthrough | Christian, one of the protagonists of all three seasons of the Disney series *Alex & Co* (2015–2016)[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) |
| Television leads | Young Rocco Siffredi in *Supersex* (Netflix, 2024); Tancredi Falconeri in *The Leopard* (Netflix, 2025)[6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-751359/filmographie/) |
| Signature film role | Alessio in *La gioia* by Nicolangelo Gelormini, his first leading film role[7](https://movieplayer.it/articoli/saul-nanni-attore-intervista-la-gioia_37082/) |
| Award | Astor Piazzolla Award for Best Actor, ex aequo, at the 40th Mar del Plata International Film Festival (2025) for *La gioia*[2](https://mardelplatafilmfest.com/41/en/premios-independientes-todas-las-ganadoras-2-copy/) |
| Other notable roles | Brune in *Mio fratello rincorre i dinosauri* (2019); Tommaso in *Brado* (2022); Alessandro Albani in *Love & Gelato* (2022)[6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-751359/filmographie/) |
## Beginnings
Nanni grew up in Bologna as the eldest of three brothers, and his interest in film came from his father, with whom he watched movies projected on a home screen from the age of eight.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2019/08/14/saul-nanni-festival-venezia-pupi-avati-vita-privata-foto-gossip) At twelve his priority was football, and he went to his first audition, a commercial casting, mainly to take a photo with the footballer Kaká, who did not attend.[8](https://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2019/08/14/saul-nanni-festival-venezia-pupi-avati-vita-privata-foto-gossip)
After one advertising spot, his official debut came in 2012 with the miniseries *La Certosa di Parma* directed by Cinzia TH Torrini.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) He then appeared in the series *Questo nostro amore 70* (2014) and made his film debut in Luca Miniero's *Un boss in salotto*, alongside Rocco Papaleo, Paola Cortellesi, and Luca Argentero.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/)
## Alex & Co and the move to adult roles
The Disney series *Alex & Co* made Nanni a familiar face among young audiences across Europe; he played Christian, one of the protagonists, across all three seasons and took part in the albums drawn from the series.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) The fame arrived abruptly, as he described in a 2019 interview: after the series aired, a family holiday in Puglia was dominated by his new recognition.[8](https://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2019/08/14/saul-nanni-festival-venezia-pupi-avati-vita-privata-foto-gossip)
In 2016 he appeared beside Vanessa Incontrada and Lino Guanciale in both seasons of the series *Non dirlo al mio capo*, playing Romeo, a seriously ill teenager, and in Luca Lucini's film *Come diventare grandi nonostante i genitori*.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [9](https://www.rai.it/dl/PortaliRai/Programmi/PublishingBlock-62552d3d-f61b-4c9d-a61c-3bff2d8f0ab4.html?ContentItem-51aa3610-745d-4ac6-acd5-abc419d39c46=) In 2017 he joined the series *Scomparsa*, and his professional turning point came with *Il fulgore di Dony*, directed by Pupi Avati, in which he played the protagonist Marco; the director's mentorship became a formative reference point for him.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2019/08/14/saul-nanni-festival-venezia-pupi-avati-vita-privata-foto-gossip) • [10](https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/2019/07/22/giffoni-film-festival-2019-saul-nanni)
Through the late 2010s he alternated film and television: in 2019 he was Flavio, a gay, drug-addicted photo model, in the series *Made in Italy* about the Milan fashion world, transmitted on Prime Video and from 2021 on Canale 5; he also appeared in *I ragazzi dello Zecchino d'oro*, led the film *Scooter*, and played Brune in *Mio fratello rincorre i dinosauri* by Stefano Cipani, which screened at the Venice festival.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2019/08/14/saul-nanni-festival-venezia-pupi-avati-vita-privata-foto-gossip) • [10](https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/2019/07/22/giffoni-film-festival-2019-saul-nanni)
## Streaming-era work
Nanni's subsequent roles placed him in high-visibility streaming productions. In 2020 he was Marco in *Sotto il sole di Riccione*, a Netflix Italian production written by Enrico Vanzina and directed by the duo YouNuts! (Antonio Usbergo and Niccolò Celaia).[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [11](https://www.iconmagazine.it/just-in/saul-nanni-intervista/) In 2022 he worked on two fronts: as Tommaso, the protagonist of *Brado*, directed by Kim Rossi Stuart, and as Raffaele in *Io sono l'abisso*, written and directed by Donato Carrisi from his own novel; that year he also played [Alessandro Albani](https://www.edgepedia.org/alessandro-albani) in *Love & Gelato*.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-751359/filmographie/)
In 2024 he was Giulio in *Fino alla fine*, Gabriele Muccino's thriller presented at the Festa del Cinema di Roma, and a young [Rocco Siffredi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rocco-siffredi) in the Netflix series *[Supersex](https://www.edgepedia.org/supersex)* alongside Alessandro Borghi.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [12](https://www.gqitalia.it/article/alessandro-borghi-saul-nanni-supersex-liberta-talento)
**The Leopard.** In 2025 Nanni played Tancredi Falconeri in Netflix's six-episode limited series adaptation of [Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa](https://www.edgepedia.org/giuseppe-tomasi-di-lampedusa)'s novel *Il Gattopardo*, written by Richard Warlow and directed by Tom Shankland, Giuseppe Capotondi, and Laura Luchetti, with Kim Rossi Stuart, Benedetta Porcaroli, and [Deva Cassel](https://www.edgepedia.org/deva-cassel).[13](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-leopard-release-date-cast-news) • [14](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) Filmed in Palermo, Syracuse, Catania, and Rome, the series cast him as Don Fabrizio's Redshirt-sympathetic nephew who marries Angelica.[13](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-leopard-release-date-cast-news) His co-star in the series, Deva Cassel, is also his partner in private life.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/saul-nanni/)
## La gioia and recognition
*La gioia*, directed by Nicolangelo Gelormini, cast Nanni as Alessio in his first leading film role, opposite [Valeria Golino](https://www.edgepedia.org/valeria-golino), Jasmine Trinca, and Francesco Colella; the 108-minute film screened in the international competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Exhibition before opening the competition of the 40th Mar del Plata International Film Festival in November 2025.[7](https://movieplayer.it/articoli/saul-nanni-attore-intervista-la-gioia_37082/) • [15](https://static.labiennale.org/files/cinema/2025/Documenti/programma-accreditati-82a.pdf) • [16](https://mardelplatafilmfest.com/41/es/asi-fue-la-primera-jornada-de-la-40-edicion/) He prepared for the audition with help from Deva Cassel, who applied his makeup and lent him a dress for the scene the director requested; the film's part is a fragile, disturbed young man who sells his body, dancing on heels and in drag.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [17](https://www.vanityfair.it/article/saul-nanni-intervista-la-gioia-deva-cassel-film-valeria-golino)
At [Mar del Plata](https://www.edgepedia.org/mar-del-plata), where Italy was the guest of honor country, the festival jury awarded the Astor Piazzolla Award for Best Actor ex aequo to Nanni for *La gioia* and to [Hugo Diego Garcia](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugo-diego-garcia) for *Vache Folle*, praising Nanni's "extraordinary and hypnotic performance"; Gelormini took the Best Director award for the same film.[2](https://mardelplatafilmfest.com/41/en/premios-independientes-todas-las-ganadoras-2-copy/) Italy's Ministry of Culture publicly congratulated both, framing the prizes as evidence of international attention to Italian cinema.[18](https://cultura.gov.it/comunicato/28289)
## Other work and outlook
Nanni also appears as the young [Brunello Cucinelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/brunello-cucinelli) in *Brunello, il visionario garbato*, [Giuseppe Tornatore](https://www.edgepedia.org/giuseppe-tornatore)'s docufilm about the Umbrian entrepreneur, presented at the Taormina Film Festival with Cucinelli and Nanni as guests.[5](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/) • [19](https://www.vanityfair.it/article/brunello-cucinelli-saul-nanni-bar-universita-vita-pene-vero-lusso-avere-tempo-guardare-stelle) His upcoming projects listed by the Italian film industry database Filmitalia include *Dreamcatchers* by Daniela De Francesco, *Gioia* (as distributed internationally), and *Idols* by Mat Whitecross.[3](https://filmitalia.org/en/filmography/1/104190/) In interviews he has stated goals of playing an antagonist and eventually directing.[8](https://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2019/08/14/saul-nanni-festival-venezia-pupi-avati-vita-privata-foto-gossip)
## References
1. [Saul Nanni, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/saul-nanni/)
2. [Official Awards: All the Winners, 41st Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata](https://mardelplatafilmfest.com/41/en/premios-independientes-todas-las-ganadoras-2-copy/)
3. [Saul Nanni, Filmitalia filmography](https://filmitalia.org/en/filmography/1/104190/)
4. [Saul Nanni è come dovrebbero essere gli attori e gli uomini oggi, GQ Italia](https://www.gqitalia.it/article/saul-nanni-intervista-fino-alla-fine-gattopardo)
5. [Saul Nanni biografia, MYmovies.it](https://www.mymovies.it/persone/saul-nanni/332158/)
6. [Saul Nanni: Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-751359/filmographie/)
7. [La gioia, intervista a Saul Nanni, Movieplayer.it](https://movieplayer.it/articoli/saul-nanni-attore-intervista-la-gioia_37082/)
8. [Saul Nanni: «Fatemi fare il pazzo», Vanity Fair Italia](https://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2019/08/14/saul-nanni-festival-venezia-pupi-avati-vita-privata-foto-gossip)
9. [Non dirlo al mio capo, Rai](https://www.rai.it/dl/PortaliRai/Programmi/PublishingBlock-62552d3d-f61b-4c9d-a61c-3bff2d8f0ab4.html?ContentItem-51aa3610-745d-4ac6-acd5-abc419d39c46=)
10. [Giffoni 2019: Saul Nanni ringrazia Pupi Avati e rincorre i dinosauri, Sky TG24](https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/2019/07/22/giffoni-film-festival-2019-saul-nanni)
11. [Giovani promesse: intervista a Saul Nanni, ICON Magazine](https://www.iconmagazine.it/just-in/saul-nanni-intervista/)
12. [Alessandro Borghi e Saul Nanni parlano di Supersex, GQ Italia](https://www.gqitalia.it/article/alessandro-borghi-saul-nanni-supersex-liberta-talento)
13. [The Leopard: Cast, Release Date, Photos, Plot of New Italian Limited Series, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-leopard-release-date-cast-news)
14. ["The Leopard" Coming March 5 Only on Netflix, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix)
15. [82ª Mostra: Programma proiezioni accreditati, La Biennale di Venezia](https://static.labiennale.org/files/cinema/2025/Documenti/programma-accreditati-82a.pdf)
16. [Así fue la primera jornada de la 40ª Edición, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata](https://mardelplatafilmfest.com/41/es/asi-fue-la-primera-jornada-de-la-40-edicion/)
17. [Saul Nanni: «In La gioia interpreto un ragazzo che usa il corpo per soldi…», Vanity Fair Italia](https://www.vanityfair.it/article/saul-nanni-intervista-la-gioia-deva-cassel-film-valeria-golino)
18. [Cinema, Borgonzoni: congratulazioni a Saul Nanni e Nicolangelo Gelormini, Ministero della Cultura](https://cultura.gov.it/comunicato/28289)
19. [Brunello Cucinelli e Saul Nanni: «Il bar è stata la nostra università della vita…», Vanity Fair Italia](https://www.vanityfair.it/article/brunello-cucinelli-saul-nanni-bar-universita-vita-pene-vero-lusso-avere-tempo-guardare-stelle)
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*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: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license