nino castelnuovo

Born on October 28, 1936, in Lecco (Lombardy), Francesco Castelnuovo –his full name– was the second of four brothers. After practicing dance and artistic gymnastics, in 1955 he moved to Milan, where he studied at the Giorgio Strehler School of the Teatro Piccolo in Milan. He kicked off his career with supporting roles in modest films in the late ’50s, before appearing in  Luchino Visconti ‘s classic Rocco and His Brothers  (1960) . From there, he enjoyed popularity in his native country, especially thanks to the television adaptation of the masterpiece of Italian literature  The Betrothed,  by Alessandro Mazoni.

Nino Castelnuovo became a world star for his role as the young Guy Foucher, in love with Geneviève ( Catherine Deneuve ) in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg , with which Jacques Demy won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1964. The musical broke ground, counting a story with great realism, and songs whose lyrics seem like real conversations. The actor did not speak French, but he was dubbed by a professional singer.  

Despite everything, Nino Castelnuovo did not take advantage of the film’s success, as he was relegated to second-rate roles, in titles such as  The Chastity Belt  or  The Divorce ,  and the spaghetti westerns  An Army of Five Men ,  Seven Against Death, The Price of a head and The pistols sang death . He starred in Italian television series, such as I promessi sposi, Vino e pane and Al filo de la memoria .

Separated from the actress Danila Trebbi, with whom he had a son, Nino Castelnuovo joined the also interpreter Maria Cristina Di Nicola, who has accompanied him until his death.

In 1996,  Nino Castelnuovo was part of the cast of The English Patient , playing an Italian archaeologist D’Agostino.