Giuseppe Battiston

Burly, charismatic actor Giuseppe Battiston started his career on stage to great acclaim. He landed a few roles in film productions in the 1990s, but it was his role in Silvio Soldini's romantic comedy "Bread & Tulips" that made audiences really take notice of Battiston's talent. The film, which focuses on the comedic exploits of an Italian housewife who hitchhikes to Venice after getting separated from her family, was an international hit. Battiston played an uncouth plumber who is hired by the woman's husband to find her and bring her home. The film swept the Italian Donatello Awards and Battiston garnered a Best Supporting Actor award as well. Battiston and Soldini would collaborate again over the next few years on the romantic comedy "Agata and the Storm," the relationship drama "Days and Clouds," and the social drama "Come Undone." He can also be seen in Roberto Benigni's idiosyncratic Iraq War comedy/drama "The Tiger and the Snow." Non-Italian directors have also seen the great value in Battiston's appeal, and he co-starred in Peter Greenaway's installation piece "Peopling the Palaces at Venaria Reale." He is also a regular on the musical comedy show "Fool for Love," and in 2011 the actor won a literary prize for a short story.