Franco Nero is an Italian actor whose piercing blue eyes, rugged charisma, and commanding presence made him a star of European cinema in the 1960s and 70s.
Best known for his role in the cult classic Django (1966), Nero built a legendary career spanning over five decades and hundreds of international films, from spaghetti westerns and war dramas to Shakespeare adaptations and Hollywood thrillers.
Early Life and Film Debut
Franco Nero was born Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero on November 23, 1941, in San Prospero, a village near Parma, Italy.
After studying economics and trade, he pursued his passion for acting at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. His chiseled looks and intense presence quickly got him noticed by filmmakers, and he began landing small parts in Italian films in the early 1960s.
His breakthrough came in 1966 when director Sergio Corbucci cast him as the lead in Django, a gritty, ultra-violent western that would become one of the most influential films in the spaghetti western genre. Nero’s performance as the mysterious gunslinger dragging a coffin across the desert turned him into an instant cult icon.
International Stardom
Following the success of Django, Franco Nero’s career took off across Europe and beyond. He starred in a string of Italian westerns, crime thrillers, and historical dramas, including The Mercenary (1968), Keoma (1976), and The Fifth Cord (1971). He also worked with major directors such as Luis Buñuel (Tristana, 1970) and Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Querelle, 1982).
Nero’s multilingual abilities and international appeal helped him cross over into American cinema as well. He appeared in big Hollywood productions like Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Enter the Ninja (1981), and Die Hard 2 (1990), playing a wide range of characters from resistance fighters to slick villains.
Personal Life and Vanessa Redgrave
In 1967, Nero met English actress Vanessa Redgrave on the set of Camelot, where he played Lancelot to her Guinevere. The two began a romantic relationship and had a son, Carlo Nero, in 1969. Though they separated for many years, they remained close and eventually reunited, marrying in 2006.
Their enduring love story is one of the most well-known and respected in the entertainment industry, a real-life romance that survived time, distance, and careers on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Later Career and Legacy
Franco Nero never slowed down. He has continued to act well into his 70s and 80s, appearing in both European art films and genre movies. In 2012, he made a memorable cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, passing the torch to Jamie Foxx’s new-generation Django with a nod of approval.
Over the years, he has also taken on work as a director and producer and has been honored at numerous international film festivals for his lifetime achievements.
