In December 1987, a 26-year-old Colombian woman named Mauricia Mena filed a paternity suit against Nero claiming the actor was the father of her three-week old son. Nero admitted being friends with Mena, a cook with the family where he was staying in Cartagena while filming Django 2 - Il grande ritorno (1987), but denied they had a sexual relationship.
Franco Nero (born 23 November 1941) is an Italian actor. He is best known for his roles as the title character in Sergio Corbucci’s Spaghetti Western film Django (1966), as Sir Lancelot in the 1967 film Camelot, and as the titular character in Enzo G. Castellari’s 1980 film The Inglorious Bastards.
Nero has appeared in over 200 films in his career. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and has won a Nastro d’Argento and a Golden Globe.
Early Life
Nero was born in San Prospero Parmense, the son of Luca Nero, a farmer, and Maria Masi, a housewife. He attended the “Giovanni XXIII” high school in Parmesan city center. His first job was as a laborer on his family’s farm. When he was 18, he moved to Parma to work as an assistant photographer.
Career
Nero’s first film role was a small part in Pietro Germi’s 1961 film Divorce Italian Style (Divorzio all’italiana). In 1966, Nero played the title character in Sergio Corbucci’s Spaghetti Western film Django, a role that made him a star. He also appeared in Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard (Il Gattopardo, 1963), as well as Roger Corman’s The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) and Francesco Rosi’s The Mattei Affair (1972).
In 1967, Nero appeared as Sir Lancelot in the film Camelot, and as the titular character in Enzo G. Castellari’s 1980 film The Inglorious Bastards. He has also appeared in many other films, such as John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981), Lina Wertmüller’s Swept Away (1974), and Ridley Scott’s Legend (1985).
Nero has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and has won a Nastro d’Argento and a Golden Globe. His net worth is estimated to be $20 million.
Relationships
Nero married Vanessa Redgrave in 2006. They have one son, Carlo Nero, who was born in December 2006. Nero also has two sons from previous relationships: Claudio Nero (born 1973) and Francesco Nero (born 1981).
General Info
Full Name
Franco Nero
Height
1.8 m
Profession
Screenwriter, Film producer, Voice Actor
Nationality
Italian
Family
Spouse
Vanessa Redgrave
Children
Carlo Gabriel Nero, Franquito Sparanero
Accomplishments
Awards
David di Donatello for Best Actor
Nominations
Golden Globe Award for Best New Star of the Year – Actor, AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama
Movies
Django, Django Unchained, Keoma, Camelot, Letters to Juliet, Die Hard 2, Massacre Time, The Mercenary, Compañeros, Enter the Ninja, Texas, Adios, Querelle, Django Strikes Again, Force 10 from Navarone, Hitch-Hike, Cars 2, The Bible: In the Beginning..., Cry, Onion!, Tristana, High Crime, Long Live ...
I am the busiest actor. Why? Because an actor either decides he wants to be a star and play the same role over and over, or be an actor and change all the time.
2
[on his two-month stint at acting school] They wanted to *teach* me to act. But to act is natural. It is ten percent acting and ninety percent being smart.
3
[to L.A. Times columnist Roderick Mann] If you're a big Hollywood star, you make one movie a year at the most. I can make five in Europe.
[interview in Toronto Globe and Mail, 11/12/1982] I would speak to Vanessa's [Vanessa Redgrave] father [Sir Michael Redgrave], or Laurence Olivier or John Gielgud, and they told me that, at a certain point, I had to make a choice. I could be a star and maybe make lots of money, or I could change roles all the time and have a more interesting--and longer--career. People will criticize you, they said, but if you keep changing, you'll win in the end.
Facts
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Fact
1
In December 1987, a 26-year-old Colombian woman named Mauricia Mena filed a paternity suit against Nero claiming the actor was the father of her three-week old son. Nero admitted being friends with Mena, a cook with the family where he was staying in Cartagena while filming Django 2 - Il grande ritorno (1987), but denied they had a sexual relationship.
2
A popular (though incorrect) urban legend in Europe is that Sergio Corbucci discovered Nero for the leading role of Django (1966) while the latter was working the pumps at a gas station. Nero had, in fact, appeared in several films (though never in a leading role) before he was cast.
