Rubini, Sergio

(1959-)

   Actor, director, screenwriter. After studies at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome, Rubini worked on the stage, both as an actor and director, as well as writing and performing plays for radio. He made his acting debut in cinema as the drug-addicted son in Valentino Orsini's Figlio mio infinitamente caro (My Dearest Son, 1985) before also playing the son of kidnapped Italian statesman, Aldo Moro, in Giuseppe Ferrara's Il caso Moro (The Moro Affair, 1986). His film acting career received its biggest boost, however, when Federico Fellini cast him as his young alter ego in Intervista (Fellini's Intervista, 1987). Rubini thereafter appeared in Giuseppe Piccioni's popular coming-of-age saga Il grande Blek (The Mighty Blek, 1987) and Andrea Del Carlo's Treno dipanna (Cream Train, 1988) before directing himself and his wife, Margherita Buy, in his first feature film, La stazione (The Station, 1990). Adapted from a play by Umberto Marino, which Rubini had already performed onstage, the film was showered with praise and received both the David di Donatello and the Nastro d'argento for Best New Director as well as the International Federation of Film Critics Award.

   Continuing to display great talent and versatility, he subsequently appeared in a wide variety of films, including Carlo Verdone's Al lupo al lupo (Wolf, Wolf, 1992), Giuseppe Tornatore's Unapura formality (A Pure Formality, 1994), Gabriele Salvatores's Nirvana (1997), and Francesca Archibugi's L'albero dellepere (Shooting the Moon, 1998) while also directing himself in Prestazione straordinaria (Working Overtime, 1994) and Il viaggio della sposa (The Bride's Journey, 1997). With his reputation extending beyond Italy, he has also appeared in international productions including Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), in which his interpretation of the police inspector earned him a Silver Ribbon nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2002), where he played the Good Thief. His most recent film as director, La terra (The Land, 2006), a taut family drama set in southern Italy in which Rubini himself played a loan shark, was nominated for six David di Donatello awards.

   Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema by Alberto Mira