Gabriele Ferzetti
Biography
Gabriele Ferzetti, born Pasquale Ferzetti on 17 March 1925 in Rome, Italy, was an Italian actor whose career spanned film, television and stage. He accumulated more than 160 credits, listed as 154 known credits, and was active primarily in the 1950s and 1960s, a period regarded as the peak of his work. Ferzetti’s first leading role came in the 1950 film Lo Zappatore. He portrayed composer Giacomo Puccini twice, in Puccini (1953) and Casa Ricordi (1954), and achieved international recognition as a restless playboy in Michelangelo Antonioni’s controversial L’Avventura (1960). He later appeared as Lot in John Huston’s biblical epic The Bible: In… and was described in Italy as an elegant, debonair, aristocratic‑looking leading man. He died on 2 December 2015 at the age of 90.
Career overview
Gabriele Ferzetti, born Pasquale Ferzetti on 17 March 1925 in Rome, Italy, was an Italian actor whose career spanned more than half a century. He entered the film world with his first leading role in the 1950 picture Lo Zappatore, and soon after portrayed the composer Giacomo Puccini in two separate biographical films, Puccini (1953) and Casa Ricordi (1954). The international breakthrough came in 1960 when he appeared as a restless playboy in Michelangelo Antonioni’s controversial L’Avventura. Following a series of romantic parts, Ferzetti became known in Italy for his elegant, debonair, and aristocratic screen presence, establishing himself as a leading man of the 1950s and 1960s.
Across film, television and stage, Ferzetti accumulated a prolific body of work, with more than 160 credits documented and TMDB listing 154 known entries. Among his later notable performances was the role of Lot in John Huston’s biblical epic The Bible: In. He continued to act into his later years, maintaining a respected position in Italian cinema until his death on 2 December 2015 at the age of 90. His extensive career left a lasting imprint on both national and international screen history.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full Filmography
152 titles- I Am Love (2010) as Edoardo Recchi Senior
- 18 Years Later (2010) as Enrico
- 1612: Chronicles of the Dark Time (2007)
- Pope John Paul I: The Smile of God (2006) as Card. Giuseppe Siri
- Pope John Paul I: The Smile of God (2006) as Card. Giuseppe Siri
- Callas & Onassis (2005) as Livanos
- Callas & Onassis (2005) as Livanos
- Concorso di colpa (2005) as Vito Santamaria
- The Wages of Sin (2003) as Self - Actor
- An Opera of Violence (2003) as Self - Actor
- Something to Do with Death (2003) as Self - Actor
- Lost Love (2003) as Tommaso Pasini
- L'avvocato de Gregorio (2003) as Alfonso
- Le ragazze di Miss Italia (2002) as professor De Lollis
- Porzûs (1997) as Strono vecchio
- Con rabbia e con amore (1997) as Leone
- Othello (1995) as The Duke of Venice
- Black as the Heart (1994) as Signor Noé Alga Croce
- First Action Hero (1994) as Ben Costa
- Weihnachtsfest mit Hindernissen (1994) as Vittorio
- Private Crimes (1993) as Dr. Guido Braschi
- Die Ringe des Saturn (1993)
- Suffocating Heat (1991) as Gaetano Castelli
- Édouard et ses filles (1990) as Antoine di Marco
- Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair (1990)
- Una fredda mattina di maggio (1990) as Signor Mantoni
- Gli angeli del potere (1990) as Dr. Donhal
- Around the World in 80 Days (1989) as Italian Chief of Police
- Julia and Julia (1988) as Alfredo
- Computron 22 (1988) as Il Nonno
- La voglia di vincere (1987) as Professor Besson
- Quo Vadis? (1985) as Pisone
- Delitto e castigo (1983) as Svidrigajlov
- Return to Lisca Bianca Island (1983) as Sandro (voice) (archive footage)
- Die goldenen Schuhe (1983) as Marquesade Buenaventa
- The Basileus Quartet (1983) as Mario Cantone
- Grog (1982) as Alberto
- Death in the Vatican (1982) as Cardinale Ixaguirre
- Quasi quasi mi sposo (1982) as Ingegnere
- Inchon (1981) as Turkish Brigadier
- The Devil's Game (1981) as Master Gomin
- The Possessed Hand (1981) as Maestro Gomin
- I Vecchi E I Giovani (1979)
- The Burning Years (1979) as Padre di Saverio
- Encounters in the Deep (1979) as Miles
- End of the Game (1978) as Dr. Lutz
- Mon Premier Amour (1978) as Georges
- Last In, First Out (1978) as Herzog
- Suggestionata (1978) as Gregorio
- Pigs with a P.38 (1978) as Max Astarita
- The Psychic (1977) as Emilio Rospini
- Oedipus Orca (1977) as Valerio
- La Orca (1976) as Valerio
- A Matter of Time (1976) as Antonio Vicari
- Nick the Sting (1976) as Maurice
- The Hornet's Nest (1976) as Gaspard
- Lezioni di violoncello con toccata e fuga (1976) as Il padre di Stella
- Calling All Police Cars (1975) as Professor Andrea Icardi
- Smiling Maniacs (1975) as Prandó
- A Curious Man (1975) as Moriondo
- Appassionata (1974) as Dr. Emilio Rutelli
- The Night Porter (1974) as Hans
- Quick Trial (1974) as L'avvocato Finaldi
- The Proof of love (1974) as Angela Father
- Kidnap (1974) as Don Francesco Salvatore
- Hospitals: The White Mafia (1973) as Prof. Daniele Vallotti
- Divorce His, Divorce Hers (1973) as Turi Livicci
- Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) as Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel
- High Voltage (1972) as Pablo Moncada
- 3000 Million Without an Elevator (1972) as Raphaël
- Beggars and Proud Ones (1972)
- The Boxer (1972) as Nick La Caterina / Tony La Monica
- Million Dollar Eel (1971) as Vasco
- Cold Sweat (1970) as (uncredited)
- Cannabis (1970) as Inspector Bardeche
- The Confession (1970) as Kohoutek
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) as Marc Ange Draco
- Machine Gun McCain (1969) as Don Francesco DeMarco
- That Splendid November (1969) as Biagio
- L'amica (1969) as Paolo Marchesi
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) as Morton
- Come Play With Me (1968) as Stefano
- Love Problems (1968) as Guido
- Escalation (1968) as Augusto Lambertinghi
- The Protagonists (1968) as Il Commissario
- Bandits in Rome (1968) as Commissioner
- A Devil Under the Pillow (1968) as Anselmo
- Better a Widow (1968) as Don Calogero Minniti
- We Still Kill the Old Way (1967) as Avvocato Rosello
- The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) as Lot
- The Devil in Love (1966) as Lorenzo de' Medici
- Crime on a Summer Morning (1965) as Victor Dermott
- Three Rooms in Manhattan (1965) as le comte Larsi
- Death, Where Is Your Victory? (1964) as Max
- Crucero de verano (1964) as Carlos Brul y Betancourt
- La calda vita (1964) as Guido
- Desideri d'estate (1964)
- The Shortest Day (1963) as Tenente in trincea
- Torpedo Bay (1963) as Leonardi
- A Sentimental Attempt (1963) as Giulio
- Jessica (1962) as Edmondo Raumo
- Rencontres (1962) as Ralph Scaffari
- Imperial Venus (1962) as Freron
- Eruption (1962) as Roberto Santi
- Cross of the Living (1962) as Abbot Delcourt
- Beach Casanova (1962) as Avvocato Leblanc
- The Nun of Monza (1962) as Gian Paolo Osio
- L'Avventura (1960) as Sandro
- Love, the Italian Way (1960) as Alberto Bressan
- Long Night in '43 (1960) as Franco Villani
- Red Lips (1960) as Avvocato Paolo Martini
- Il carro armato dell'8 settembre (1960) as Tommaso
- Hannibal (1959) as Senator Quintus Fabius
- The Great Deception (1959) as Bernard Turquet de Mayenne
- Everyone's in Love (1959) as Arturo
- Love on the Riviera (1958) as Giulio Ferrari
- So Much Love Lost (1958) as Frédéric Solingen
- March's Child (1958) as Sandro
- Angel in a Taxi (1958) as Andrea
- It Happened in Rome (1957) as Lawyer Alberto Cortini
- Parola di ladro (1957) as Desiderio
- Donatella (1956) as Maurizio
- Defend My Love (1956) as Pietro Leonardi
- Il prezzo della gloria (1956) as Comandante Alberto Bruni
- Le Amiche (1955) as Lorenzo
- Un po' di cielo (1955) as Frank Lo Giudice
- Adriana Lecouvreur (1955) as Maurizio di Sassonia
- 100 Years of Love (1954) as Carlo, the Political Prisoner (segm. "Gli ultimi dieci Minuti")
- Clothing the Naked (1954) as Ludovico Nota
- Sins of Casanova (1954) as Casanova
- House of Ricordi (1954) as Giacomo Puccini
- Modern Virgin (1954) as Gabriele Demico
- Camilla (1954) as Dott. Mario Rossetti
- The Wayward Wife (1953) as Professor Franco Vagnuzzi
- Puccini (1953) as Giacomo Puccini
- Empty Eyes (1953) as Fernando Maestrelli
- Three Forbidden Stories (1952) as Mario
- Inganno (1952) as Andrea Vannini
- The Forbidden Christ (1951) as (uncredited)
- The Counterfeiters (1951) as Dario
- Gli amanti di Ravello (1951) as Sandro Deodata
- Lo zappatore (1950)
- Welcome Reverend! (1950) as The veteran
- Mountain Smugglers (1950) as Leutnant Berti
- Sigillo rosso (1950)
- Fabiola (1949) as Claudio
- Rondini in volo (1949) as Ufficiale d'aviazione
- William Tell (1948)
- Vertigine d'amore (1948)
- Les Misérables (1948) as (uncredited)
- Felicità perduta (1946)
- La contessa Castiglione (1942) as (uncredited)
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Gabriele Ferzetti best known for?
Gabriele Ferzetti is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including I Am Love (2010), Boys Over Flowers (2009), Around the World in 80 Days (1989), Quo Vadis? (1985).
When and where was Gabriele Ferzetti born?
Gabriele Ferzetti was born on March 17, 1925 in Rome, Italy. They passed away on December 2, 2015.
How many credits does Gabriele Ferzetti have?
Gabriele Ferzetti has accumulated over 152 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1942 to 2010.
What is Gabriele Ferzetti's background in cinema and television?
Gabriele Ferzetti, born Pasquale Ferzetti on 17 March 1925 in Rome, Italy, was an Italian actor whose career spanned film, television and stage. He accumulated more than 160 credits, listed as 154 known credits, and was active primarily in the 1950s and 1960s, a period regarded as the peak of his work. Ferzetti’s first...
Gabriele Ferzetti by the numbers
Age in their best-rated roles
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) as Morton — aged about 43
- L'Avventura (1960) as Sandro — aged about 35
- The Confession (1970) as Kohoutek — aged about 45
- The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) as Lot — aged about 41
- Rencontres (1962) as Ralph Scaffari — aged about 37
- The Psychic (1977) as Emilio Rospini — aged about 52
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