Luigi Maria Burruano

Beefy character actor Luigi Burruano, often credited under his full name of Luigi Maria Burruano, was born in the Sicilian city of Palermo and began his career in local theater, often performing exclusively in the Sicilian dialect. Although he made a few film and television appearances early in his career, most notably in the 1970 erotic drama "L'amore conjugale," Burruano focused on live theater well into the late 1980s. Beginning in the 1990s, Burruano began appearing regularly in small roles in films and on television, most often as fathers, policemen or other authority figures. By the end of the decade, he graduated into larger supporting roles, including a turn as a lawyer in the epic Mafia miniseries "La piovra"'s eighth chapter, the 1950s period piece "Lo scandalo." Also during this era, he had recurring roles in popular television series such as "Turbo," "Raccontami," and "Il giudice Mastrangelo." In 2006, Burruano's personal life hit the newspaper headlines when he was arrested after stabbing his former son-in-law during an argument. The scandal was short-lived, however, and by 2008, he was back on television in the police procedural "Io e mio figlio - Nuove storie per il commissario Vivaldi," followed by the drama "Il segreto dell'acqua."