Massimo Serato

Massimo Serato began his prolific acting career in Italian cinema at the age of 24, with his role in the 1938 drama "Inventiamo L'amore." It wasn't long before Serato found a niche playing athletically inclined roles in Italian sword-and-sandal pictures and historical dramas; he scored several starring roles over the next decade, including a well-known turn as the affluent nobleman Franco Maironi in 1941's "Piccolo Mondo Antico." Serato captured Italy's Silver Ribbon award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Major Heinrich in the 1946 war drama "Il Sole Sorge Ancora," but it wasn't until the 1960s that he would really find international recognition. Transitioning his career path towards roles with greater emotional depth, Serato soon found himself working alongside such film icons as Orson Welles in the 1960 epic "David e Golia." He also made appearances in major international films like the Oscar-nominated "El Cid," where Serato shared screen time with Charlton Heston, and the BAFTA-winning 1973 film "Don't Look Now." Outside of his film career, Serato is often noted for having experienced a torrid love affair early in his career with the iconic Italian actress Anna Magnani, with the relationship resulting in Magnani's only child in 1942.