Gabriel Garko
Not surprisingly, the very handsome Gabriel Garko first gained some attention working the catwalk as a male fashion model. He's also a former Mr. Italy. But strutting his stuff for fashion shoots and admiring oglers was not enough for the strapping Garko, and he started landing acting roles in the mid-1990s, mostly in television movies such as "Witness Run," "Angelo nero," and thr thriller "Il morso del serpente." In 2001, as Garko's stardom grew bigger, he was cast in notorious director Tinto Brass's erotic motion picture "Senso '45." A mix of kinkiness, Nazi kitsch, and plenty of flesh, the film featured Garko as a blonde, blue-eyed Nazi officer stationed in Venice, desperate to be reunited with his beautiful wife Livia, played by Anna Galiena. His next film, "Callas Forever," was another historical film (set in the 1970s), though this time directed by Franco Zeffirelli and focusing on the life of legendary opera singer Maria Callas, played by Fanny Ardant. Garko played the tenor Marco who performs with the aging Calas and is attracted to her. Garko regularly appears on a number of Italian television dramas and miniseries, including "Il sangue e la rosa," "Il peccato e la vergogna," and "Viso d'angelo."