He made his showbiz debut in a cabaret act at Milan’s Derby venue, and with the group Gatti di Vicolo Miracoli. Spotted by Renzo Arbore, he was given a part in the cast of the film “In the Pope’s eye (Il Pap’occhio)” (1980). All the while he was fine-tuning the characteristics of his hilarious southerner character, or “terrunciello”, a young man who has moved to northern Italy from the south, and who speaks an odd mixture of dialects: the character was an instant success, appearing in films directed mostly by Carlo Vanzina – the most well-know being “I fichissimi” (1981) and “Eccezzziunale...veramente” (1982) – and appreciated above all by young movie-goers. As soon as audiences showed signs of tiring of the character, Abatantuono took a break from the big screen to work in theatre (in 1984 he played Sganarello in “Don Giovanni” by Molière). His return to cinema came with Pupi Avati’s “Christmas present (Regalo di Natale)” (1986): the Bolognese filmmaker brought out Abatantuono’s ability as a stage actor in what is a tense, bitter tale set around a poker table. After starring in two films by Giuseppe Bertolucci, “Strana la vita” (1987) and “The camels (I cammelli)” (1988), he b

hat was to prove a long and fruitful relationship with director Gabriele Salvatores in “Kamikazen” (1987). In “Marrakech Express” (1989), he was a member of a group of buddies who travelled to Morocco to help a friend in need; in “Turné” (1990) he co-starred alongside Fabrizio Bentivoglio in a tale revolving around the sentimental vicissitudes of a group of actors; in “Mediterraneo” (1990, which won an Oscar as best foreign film), he played the character of sergeant Lorusso. He was to work with Salvatores on another four occasions: in the dubious “Puerto Escondido” (1993, taken from a Pino Cacucci novel); in the atypical sci-fi epic “Nirvana” (1996); in the over-ambitious “Amnèsia” (2002) and in the recent, wonderful “I’m not scared (Io non ho paura)” (2003), in which he adroitly sketches the portrait of a wicked individual. We are also duty-bound to mention excellent performances in “The bull (Il toro)” (1994) by Carlo Mazzacurati and in “Marriages (Matrimoni)” (1998) by Cristina Comencini, as well as the odd relapse into commercial movies (“Paparazzi” by Neri Parenti, 1998)