Life and career

Giannini was born in La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. He studied at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome, and made his film debut in a small part in I criminali della metropoli in 1965. He appeared in supporting roles in Anzio and The Secret of Santa Vittoria, and starred in the original version of Swept Away. In 1971, he appeared in E le stelle stanno a guardare, a television adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel, The Stars Look Down.

In 1976, he starred in Seven Beauties, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, which is unusual in that his performance was given entirely in Italian. He dubbed Jack Nicholson's voice in the Italian release of both The Shining and Batman; he is the official Italian dubber of Al Pacino. His fluency in English has brought him a number of featured roles in Hollywood productions, most notably as Inspector Pazzi in Hannibal. He also appeared in Man on Fire.

Giannini's best-known starring roles have been in films directed by Lina Wertmüller. In addition to Swept Away and Seven Beauties, he also appeared in The Seduction of Mimi, Love and Anarchy, A Night Full of Rain, and Francesca e Nunziata.

He played the role of the protective father, Alberto Aragón, in A Walk in the Clouds in 1995. He played the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV in the 2000 Dune miniseries. In 2002, he starred in the horror film Darkness.

Perhaps his best-known recent role is as French agent René Mathis in the 21st and 22nd James Bond films, Casino Royale and its sequel Quantum of Solace.

He has a son, Adriano Giannini, who is also an actor and dubber. In 2002, Adriano reprised his father Giancarlo's role in the remake of Swept Away.

In 2009, Giannini received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Canada.

Selected filmography

• Anzio (1968) as Pvt. Cellini
• Fräulein Doktor (1969) as Lt. Hans Rupert
• The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) as Fabio
• The Pizza Triangle (1970)
• Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
• La prima notte di quiete (1972)
• The Seduction of Mimi (aka Mimi metallurgico ferito nell'onore) (1972)
• Love and Anarchy (1973) as Antonio Soffiantini 'Tunin'
• How Funny Can Sex Be? (1973)
• It Was I (1973)
• Swept Away (1974) as Gennarino Carunchio
• The Sensual Man (1974)
• Drama of the Rich (1974)
• The Beast (1974)
• Seven Beauties (1976) (aka Pasqualino Settebellezze) Nomination Academy Award for best actor
• L'innocente (1976)
• A Night Full of Rain (1977) as Paolo
• Blood Feud (1978)
• Lovers and Liars (1979)
• Life Is Beautiful (1979)
• Good News (1979)
• My Darling, My Dearest (1981)
• Lili Marleen (1981)
• Where's Picone? (1983)
• American Dreamer (1984)
• Fever Pitch (1985)
• Saving Grace (1985) as Abalardi
• The Rogues (1987)
• Snack Bar Budapest (1988)
• Blood Red (1989)
• New York Stories (1989)
• 'o Re (1989) as Francis II of the Two Sicilies
• Time to Kill (1989)
• Lo zio indegno (1989)
• Dark Illness (1990)
• The Amusements of Private Life (1990)
• Once Upon a Crime (1992) as Inspector Bonnard
• Giovanni Falcone (1993)
• Like Two Crocodiles (1994)
• A Walk in the Clouds (1995) as Alberto Aragón
• Palermo - Milan One Way (1995)
• The Elective Affinities (1996)
• The Border (1996)
• The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (1996) as Taxi
• Más allá del jardín (1996) as Bernardo
• Celluloide (1996)
• Mimic (1997) as Manny
• Dolce far niente (1998)
• Milonga (1999)
• Una noche con Sabrina Love (2000) as Leonardo
• Hannibal (2001) as Inspector Pazzi
• CQ (2001) as Enzo
• Viper (2001)
• The Whole Shebang (2001)
• The Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair (2002)
• Darkness (2002) as Albert Rua
• I Love You Eugenio (2002) as Eugenio
• Joshua (2002)
• Ciao America (2002)
• Incantato (2003)
• Five Moons Square (2003)
• Forever (2003)
• My House in Umbria (2003) as Inspector Girotti
• Man on Fire (2004) as Miguel Manzano
• 13 at a Table (2004)
• The Shadow Dancer (2005) as Father Moretti
• Casino Royale (2006) as René Mathis
• Tirant lo Blanc (2006) as Emperor of Visantia
• Quantum of Solace (2008) as René Mathis
• The Gambler Who Wouldn't Die (2013)
• Promakhos, (2014), as Petros by Coerte Voorhees, John Voorhees
• Shades of Truth, (2015), as Aaron Azulai by Liana Marabini
• On Air: Storia di un successo (2016)

TV work

• E le stelle stanno a guardare (1971) as Arthur Barras
• Sins (1986)
• Frank Herbert's Dune (2000) as Emperor Shaddam IV

[ Source: Wikipedia ]