
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Born
1941-11-23
Place of Birth
San Prospero Parmense, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Franco Nero
Biography
Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born November 23, 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film Django (1966), which made him a pop culture icon and launched an international career that includes over 200 leading and supporting roles in a wide variety of films and television programmes.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Nero was actively involved in many popular Italian "genre trends", including poliziotteschi, gialli, and Spaghetti Westerns. His best-known films include The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), Camelot (1967), The Day of the Owl (1968), The Mercenary (1968), Battle of Neretva (1969), Tristana (1970), Compañeros (1970), Confessions of a Police Captain (1971), The Fifth Cord (1971), High Crime (1973), Street Law (1974), Keoma (1976), Hitch-Hike (1977), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Enter the Ninja (1981), Die Hard 2 (1990), Letters to Juliet (2010), Cars 2 (2011), and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017).
Nero has had a long relationship with Vanessa Redgrave, which began during the filming of Camelot. They were married in 2006, and are the parents of the actor Carlo Gabriel Nero.
Gallery




Known For
Acting History
2025
The Estate
2025The Run as Hunter
2025In the Hand of Dante as Don Lecco
2024Titanus 1904 as Self
2024Compagni d'arte
2023Silent Life: The Story of the Lady in Black as Valentino's Spirit
2023Giorni felici as Antonio
2023On Our Way
2023The Pope's Exorcist as The Pope
2023The Man Who Drew God as Emanuele
2023Django as Reverend
2022The Man from Rome as The Pope
2022Buon Lavoro
2021The Duel
2021We Are Cinema as Self (archive footage)
2021Django & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained as Self - Actor
2021Marina Cicogna - La vita e tutto il resto as Self
2021Off the Rails as Giovanni
2021Two Men Alone as Himself
2021The Match as Old Branko
2020The Dark Dance as L'Impresario
2020Harmonie
2020Immortalist as Paolo Spersoni
2020Entree Des Artists as Henry's Grandfather
2020The Jester from Transylvania as One-eye
2019Havana Kyrie as Vittorio Arditi De Bellis
2019Christmas in Rome as Luigi Forlinghetti
2019Recon as Angelo
2019A Rose in Winter as Rainer Praeger
2019The Collini Case as Fabrizio Collini
2019Ed è subito sera
2018Red Land as Professor Ambrosin
2017Iceman as Ditob
2017The Broken Key as Hiram Abif
2017Agony as Carlo
2017The Neighborhood as Guglielmo
2017Il crimine non va in pensione as il primario
2017The Lost City of Z as Baron de Gondoriz
2017The Time of Their Lives as Alberto
2017John Wick: Chapter 2 as Julius
2016Delicious as Joe Benelli
2016Emigratis as Self
2016Road to Ruin as Self
2016Along the River as Frank De Ville
2015Sergio Corbucci: The Smiling Man as Himself
2015Earth
2015Road to Capri as Guido
2014Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films as Self - Actor
2014Figli di Maam
2014Love Island as Marquis Polesini
2014Red Chairs - Parma and the Cinema as Self
2014Killer Mermaid as Niko
2014Obsessive Rhythms as Carmine
2014Django, Sartana, Trinita' et les autres… as Lui-même
2013Handy as Frank The Black
2013Istintobrass as Self
2013Memories They Told Me as Paolo
2013The Outsider: The Cinema of Antonio Margheriti as Self
2013I Tarantiniani as Self
2012Django Unchained as Amerigo Vessepi
2012The Last Alchemist as Felix the Alchemist
2012Crazy Dog as Alvaro Genta
2012Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s as Self
2012New Order as Dr. Cornelius Van Morgen
2011Cars 2 as Uncle Topolino (voice)
2011Father as Enrico
2010Rasputin as Narratore
2010Prigioniero di un segreto as Il barbone
2010Letters to Juliet as Lorenzo
2010Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire as Augustinus (age 76)
2010Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire as Augustine of Hippo
2009Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso
2009Killing Is My Business, Honey as Enrico Puzzo
2008Rosamunde Pilcher's Four Seasons as Max Freeman
2008Márió, a varázsló as Mario
2008A Night at the Grand Hotel as Ferran Moreno
2008Mein Herz in Chile as Carlos Sanchez
2008Il sangue e la rosa as Conte Uberto Mancini
2008Bathory: Countess of Blood as King Mathias
2008La rabbia as Mentore
2008Bastardi as Rene Iuvara
2008Mein Herz in Chile as Carlos Sanchez
2007Mineurs as Michele Acucella
2007The Final Inquiry as Caifa
2007L'inchiesta - Anno Domini XXXIII as Caifa
2007Two Families as Morandi
2006The Holy Family as Zachary
2006Amore e libertà - Masaniello as Vicerè
2006Denn sie kennen kein Erbarmen - Der Italowestern as Self
2006Hans as Giudice/barbone
2006Giornata Nera
2005Summer Solstice as Lorenzo
2005Forever Blues as Luca
2005Elio Petri: Notes About a Filmmaker as Self
2005The Spaghetti West as Self
2005Vasco Rossi - È solo un rock'n'roll show as Judge
2005Rosamunde Pilcher - Magic of Love
2004Post Coitum as Bakchus
2004Guardians of the Clouds as Padre
2003Bad Inclination as Il barbone
2003Der Fürst und das Mädchen
2003The Uncrowned Heart as Bear's Trainer
2002The Last Gunfighter as The pistolero
2002Die achte Todsünde: Das Toskana-Karussell as Giuseppe Mantaldo
2002Through the Night with... as Self
2002Ultimo stadio as Antonio
2002Fumata blanca as Cardenal Tura
2002Liebe, Lügen, Leidenschaften as Fashion Billionaire
2001In the Company of Compañeros as Self
2001La ragion pura as Marito
2001The Crusaders as Ibnazul
2001Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 as General Francini
2001La voce del sangue as Antonio Castaldi
2001Chimera as Imprenditore
2001Sacra Corona as Bishop Gellért
2001Ulisse - Il piacere della scoperta as Self
2001Franco Nero: Back in the Saddle as Self
2001The Crusaders as Ibnazul
2000Saint Paul as Gamaliel
2000Saint Paul as Gamaliel
2000Winds of Passion as Michele Giangrande
2000Uninvited as Ralph Barolo
2000Mirka as Il Sindaco
1999Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Roberto Distasio
1999Li chiamarono... briganti! as Caporale Nerza
1998Talk of Angels as Dr. Vicente Areavaga
1998Il tesoro di Damasco as Andrea
1998The Versace Murder as Gianni Versace
1997Painted Lady as Robert Tassi
1997Bella Mafia as Mario Domino
1997Desert of Fire as Marcel Duvivier
1997The Medal as Ing. Ferrero
1997Rack Up as Jesus Barro
1997David as Nathan
1997David as Natan
1997Davide as Nathan
1997Desert of Fire as Marcel Duvivier
1996The Conquest as Árpád vezér
1996Il Ritorno di Sandokan as Yogi Azim
1996The Innocent Sleep as Adolfo Cavani
1995Viva el lunes as Self
1995Io e il re as Maggiore Ferri
1995Jonathan of the Bears as Jonathan
1995Desideria e l'anello del drago as Dragon King
1994The Dragon Ring as Dragon King
1993Das Babylon Komplott as Chris Lang
1993Test of Memory as Paul Herzog
1993Der Fall Lucona as Enzo Lombardi
1993Azzurro profondo as Luca Morinari
1992Brothers and Sisters as Franco
1992Gold as Gabriele da Poppi
1992From Time to Time as Leonard De Vinci
1992Amelia Lópes O'Neill as Fernando
1991Young Catherine as Count Vorontsov
1991Touch and Die as Aquani
1990Breath of Life as Angelo
1990Die Hard 2 as General Ramon Esperanza
1989I promessi sposi as fra Cristoforo
1989Blaues Blut as Sandro Castellani
1989A Double Victory as Saverio Pallucca
1988Magdalene as Janza
1988Young Toscanini as Claudio Toscanini
1988Top Line as Ted Angelo
1988Race to Danger as Francis, il marinaio
1988Run for Your Life as Commissario
1987Django Strikes Again as Django
1987The Girl as Johan (John) Berg
1987Sweet Country as Paul
1986Un altare per la madre as -
1985The Repenter as Falco
1985André schafft sie alle as Andre
1985Devil's Crude as Nick
1984Die Försterbuben as Böhme
1984The Last Days of Pompeii as Arbaces
1983The Hitchhiker as Dr. Peter Milne
1983The Falcon as Banović Strahinja
1982Red Bells Part II: I Saw the Birth of a New World as John Reed
1982Querelle as Lieutenant Seblon
1982Grog as Nicola Fanelli
1982Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Last Works as Self
1982Kamikaze '89 as Weiss
1982Na sowas! as Self
1982Red Bells Part I: Mexico on Fire as John Reed
1982Red Bells as John Reed
1981Enter the Ninja as Cole
1981The Salamander as Carabinieri Colonel Dante Matucci
1980The Man with Bogart's Face as Hakim
1980Day of the Cobra as Larry Stanziani
1980The Blue-Eyed Bandit as Renzo Dominici
1979The Shark Hunter as Mike di Donato
1979Le rose di Danzica as General Konrad von Der Berg
1979Mimi as Guido
1979The Visitor as Jesus Christ
1978The Pirate as Baydr Al Fay
1978Force 10 from Navarone as Lescovar
1977Sahara Cross as Jean Ballard
1977Hitch Hike as Walter Mancini
197621 Hours at Munich as Issa
1976Keoma as Keoma
1976Submission as Armand
1976Victory March as Captain Asciutto
1975The Legend of Valentino as Rudolph Valentino
1975The Flower in His Mouth as Professore Michele Belcore
1975Death Rite as Sadry
1975Cry, Onion! as Onion Stark
1975How to Kill a Judge as Giacomo Solaris
1975Smiling Maniacs as Judge Dani
1974Challenge to White Fang as Jason Scott
1974Street Law as Carlo Antonelli
1974Der große Preis as Self
1974The Last Four Days as Walter Audisio
1974Blood Brothers as Nicola Bellizzi
1973White Fang as Jason Scott
1973The Assassination of Matteotti as Giacomo Matteotti
1973High Crime as Commissario Belli
1973Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears as Johnny Ears
1973Redneck as Mosquito
1972The Monk as Ambrosio
1972Pope Joan as Louis
1972The Harder They Come as Django (archive footage)
1971Don't Turn the Other Cheek as Prince Dimitri Vassilovich Vladek Orlowsky
1971The Case Is Closed, Forget It as Vanzi
1971Vacation as Osiride
1971The Fifth Cord as Andrea Bild
1971Confessions of a Police Captain as Sostituto Procuratore Traini
1970Compañeros as Yodlaf Peterson
1970Dropout as Bruno
1970The Virgin and the Gypsy as The gypsy
1970The Fifth Day of Peace as Bruno Grauber
1970Tristana as Horacio
1969The Battle of Neretva as Capitano Michele Rossi
1969Detective Belli as Commissario Stefano Belli
1968The Mercenary as Sergei Kowalski, The Polish
1968A Quiet Place in the Country as Leonardo Ferri
1968Sardinia Kidnapped as Gavino
1968The Day of the Owl as Captain Bellodi
1967Man, Pride and Vengeance as José
1967Camelot as Lancelot Du Lac
1966The Bible: In the Beginning... as Abel
1966Texas, Adios as Burt Sullivan
1966Massacre Time as Tom Corbett
1966War of the Planets as Lt. Jake Jacowitx
1966The Wild, Wild Planet as Lt. Jake
1966The Third Eye as Mino Alberti (as Frank Nero)
1966Django as Django
1966The Hired Killer as Tony Lo Bello
1965The Tramplers as Charley Garvey
1965I Knew Her Well as Italo - The garage attendant
1965La Celestina P… R… as Fabrizio
1964Italian Engagement
1963Un delitto
1962Scorched Skin
—La battaglia di Gorthene
—The Temptation Of Gracie
—Django Lives! as Django
—Roma elastica









