David di Donatello for Best Actor

David di Donatello Award for Best Actor
Pierfrancesco Favino is the current recipient of the award (2020)
Country	Italy
Presented by	Accademia del Cinema Italiano
First awarded	(for lead acting in films released during the 1955/1956 film season)
Currently held by	Pierfrancesco Favino — The Traitor (2019)
Website	daviddidonatello.it

The David di Donatello Award for Best Actor (Italian: David di Donatello per il miglior attore protagonista) is a film award presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, Academy of Italian Cinema) to recognize the outstanding performance in a leading role of a male actor in an Italian film released during the year preceding the ceremony.^[1] The award was first given in 1956, and became competitive in 1981.^[2]

Vittorio Gassman and Alberto Sordi are the record holders in this category with seven awards each, followed by Marcello Mastroianni with five.^[2][3]

Nominees and winners are selected via runoff voting by all the members of the Accademia.^[4][5]

Winners and nominees[]

Below, winners are listed first in the colored row, followed by other nominees.^[1]

Vittorio De Sica was the first winner in the category for his role in Scandal in Sorrento (1955).

Vittorio Gassman (right) is one of the only two actors to win the award seven times, from The Great War (1959) to The Family (1987).

Alberto Sordi won the award seven times out of eight nominations, one of the only two actors to achieve so, winning for his roles in films from The Great War (1959) to An Average Little Man (1977).

Marcello Mastroianni won the award five times out of six nominations, the first time for his multiple roles in Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963).

Ugo Tognazzi won the award three times, for his roles in L'immorale (1967), La califfa (1970), and My Friends (1975).

Nino Manfredi won the award four times from 1969 to 1978, for his roles in I See Naked (1968), The Conspirators (1969), Bread and Chocolate (1973) and In the Name of the Pope King (1977).

Gian Maria Volonté won twice for his roles in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) and Open Doors (1990), being nominated four times.

Giancarlo Giannini won the award four times out of seven nominations, from 1971 for The Seduction of Mimi to 2001 for I Love You Eugenio.

Singer and entertainer Adriano Celentano won twice from 1976 to 1980.

Francesco Nuti won twice for the same role, in The Pool Hustlers (1982) and Casablanca, Casablanca (1985).

Roberto Benigni won the award for his roles in The Little Devil (1989) and Life Is Beautiful (1997), which also earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Nanni Moretti won only once out of eight nominations, for his role in The Yes Man (1991).

Sergio Castellitto won the award twice for his roles in The Great Pumpkin (1992) and Don't Move (2004), being nominated six times.

Fabrizio Bentivoglio won only once out of six nominations, for his role in An Eyewitness Account (1996).

Bruno Ganz won the award in 2000 for his role in Bread and Tulips, the first foreign actor to achieve so.

Toni Servillo won the award four times out of eight nominations, for The Consequences of Love (2004), The Girl by the Lake (2007), Il Divo (2008), and The Great Beauty (2013).

Silvio Orlando won in 2006 his role in The Caiman after seven nominations.

Elio Germano won the award three times out of four nominations, for his roles in My Brother is an Only Child (2007), La nostra vita (2010) and Leopardi (2014).

Valerio Mastandrea won the award twice, for The First Beautiful Thing (2010) and Balancing Act (2014), being nominated seven times.

1950s[]

1960s[]

1970s[]

1980s[]

Year	Actor	Role(s)	Film	Ref.
1979/80
	Adriano Celentano	Guido Quiller	Velvet Hands
1980/81
	Massimo Troisi	Gaetano	Ricomincio da tre
	Michele Placido	Berardo Viola	Fontamara
	Carlo Verdone	Pasquale Amitrano / Furio Zoccano / Mimmo	Bianco, rosso e Verdone
1981/82
	Carlo Verdone	Sergio Benvenuti	Talcum Powder
	Beppe Grillo	Giovanni	Looking for Jesus
	Alberto Sordi	Marquess Onofrio del Grillo / Gasperino	Il marchese del Grillo
1982/83
	Francesco Nuti	Francesco 'Toscano' Piccioli	The Pool Hustlers
	Johnny Dorelli	Philip Neri	State buoni se potete
	Marcello Mastroianni	Giacomo Casanova	That Night in Varennes
1983/84
	Giancarlo Giannini	Salvatore Cannavacciuolo	Where's Picone?
	Francesco Nuti	Francesco	Son contento
	Nanni Moretti	Michele Apicella	Sweet Body of Bianca
1984/85
	Francesco Nuti	Francesco 'Toscano' Piccioli	Casablanca, Casablanca
	Ben Gazzara	The forgetful man	A Proper Scandal
	Michele Placido	Mario Vialone	Pizza Connection
1985/86
	Marcello Mastroianni	Pippo Botticella / Fred	Ginger and Fred
	Nanni Moretti	Father Giulio	The Mass Is Ended
	Francesco Nuti	Romeo Casamonica	All the Fault of Paradise
1986/87
	Vittorio Gassman	Adult Carlo / Carlo's grandfather	The Family
	Diego Abatantuono	Franco Mattioli	Christmas Present
	Gian Maria Volonté	Aldo Moro	The Moro Affair
1987/88
	Marcello Mastroianni	Romano	Dark Eyes
	Philippe Noiret	Dr. Athos Fadigati	The Gold Rimmed Glasses
	Carlo Verdone	Carlo Piergentili	Io e mia sorella
1988/89
	Roberto Benigni	Giuditta	The Little Devil
	Giancarlo Giannini	Francis II of the Two Sicilies	'O Re
	Carlo Verdone	Piero Ruffolo	Compagni di scuola

1990s[]

Year	Actor	Role(s)	Film	Ref.
1989/90
	Paolo Villaggio	Prefect Gonnella	The Voice of the Moon
	Gian Maria Volonté	Judge Vito Di Francesco	Open Doors
	Sergio Castellitto	Paolo	Little Misunderstandings
	Giancarlo Giannini	Giuseppe Marchi	Dark Illness
	Nanni Moretti	Michele Apicella	Red Wood Pigeon
	Massimo Troisi	Michele	What Time Is It?
1990/91
	Nanni Moretti	Cesare Botero	The Yes Man
	Diego Abatantuono	Sergeant major Nicola Lorusso	Mediterraneo
	Claudio Amendola	Principe	Ultrà
	Silvio Orlando	Luciano Sandulli	The Yes Man
	Sergio Rubini	Domenico	The Station
1991/92
	Carlo Verdone	Bernardo Arbusti	Maledetto il giorno che t'ho incontrato
	Enrico Lo Verso	Officer Antonio	The Stolen Children
	Gian Maria Volonté	Roberto Franzò	Una storia semplice
1992/93
	Sergio Castellitto	Dr. Arturo	The Great Pumpkin
	Carlo Cecchi	Renato Caccioppoli	Death of a Neapolitan Mathematician
	Silvio Orlando	Saverio	Un'altra vita
1993/94
	Giulio Scarpati	Judge Rosario Livatino	Law of Courage
	Diego Abatantuono	Saint Joseph	For Love, Only for Love
	Nanni Moretti	Nanni	Caro diario
	Silvio Orlando	Ciro Ascarone	Sud
1994/95
	Marcello Mastroianni	Pereira	Sostiene Pereira
	Fabrizio Bentivoglio	Giorgio Ambrosoli	Un eroe borghese
	Massimo Troisi	Mario Ruoppolo	Il Postino: The Postman
1995/96
	Giancarlo Giannini	Sergio Amidei	Celluloide
	Sergio Castellitto	Giuseppe 'Joe Morelli' Romolo	The Star Maker
	Ennio Fantastichini	Ruggero Mazzalupi	August Vacation
	Giancarlo Giannini	Turi Arcangelo Leofonte	Palermo - Milan One Way
1996/97
	Fabrizio Bentivoglio	Pietro Nava	An Eyewitness Account
	Claudio Amendola	Claudio Braccio	My Generation
	Leonardo Pieraccioni	Levante Quarini	The Cyclone
	Sergio Rubini	Joystick	Nirvana
	Carlo Verdone	Romeo Spera	I'm Crazy for Iris Blond
1997/98
	Roberto Benigni	Guido Orefice	Life Is Beautiful
	Nanni Moretti	Himself	April
	Silvio Orlando	Vincenzo Lipari	Auguri professore
1998/99
	Stefano Accorsi	Freccia	Radiofreccia
	Antonio Albanese	Alex Drastico / Ivo Perego / Pacifico	La fame e la sete
	Silvio Orlando	Ernesto	Fuori dal mondo

2000s[]

2010s[]

Multiple wins and nominations[]

The following individuals have won multiple Best Actor awards: Wins Actor 7 Vittorio Gassman Alberto Sordi 5 Marcello Mastroianni 4 Giancarlo Giannini Nino Manfredi Toni Servillo 3 Elio Germano Ugo Tognazzi 2 Stefano Accorsi Roberto Benigni Sergio Castellitto Adriano Celentano Valerio Mastandrea Francesco Nuti Carlo Verdone Gian Maria Volonté

Both Vittorio Gassman (left) and Alberto Sordi (right), here pictured on the set of The Great War (1959), won the award seven times, more than everyone else. Carlo Verdone has been nominated nine times, more than everyone else. Antonio Albanese and Kim Rossi Stuart are both the most nominated actors without any wins, having been nominated six times each. The following directors have received three or more Best Actor nominations (* indicates no wins): Nominations Actor 9 Carlo Verdone 8 Nanni Moretti Toni Servillo Alberto Sordi 7 Vittorio Gassman Giancarlo Giannini Valerio Mastandrea Silvio Orlando 6 Antonio Albanese* Fabrizio Bentivoglio Sergio Castellitto Marcello Mastroianni Kim Rossi Stuart* 5 Stefano Accorsi 4 Elio Germano Nino Manfredi Francesco Nuti Gian Maria Volonté 3 Diego Abatantuono* Roberto Benigni Alessandro Borghi Marco Giallini* Luigi Lo Cascio Luca Marinelli Michele Placido Sergio Rubini* Ugo Tognazzi Massimo Troisi

See also[]

• Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor
• Cinema of Italy

References[]

External links[]

• David di Donatello for Best Actor at IMDb
• Daviddidonatello.it (official website)